tech2 News Staff

Rumours about an Android-based BlackBerry smartphone have been floating around for quite some time. Now, Canadian phone reseller Baka Mobile has released a brief hands-on video of the new upcoming BlackBerry Venice.

The evaluation unit shown in the video offers a sneak peak as to how the device looks, feels and highlights some of its best features as well. The phone includes a QWERTY keyboard which features bio-metric sense touch previously seen on the BlackBerry Passport.

The video hints that the BlackBerry Hub messaging centre would be at the centre of the Android smartphone and would include a slot for the microSD card too.

Images prove that the device is running Android apps indicating the new device could feature a few Google apps such as Maps, Google+ or Google Drive, though hardware partners will need to license them from Google. In other features, the smartphone will include the standard BlackBerry apps.

The video does not confirm any hardware specifications. However, in terms of rumoured specifications, the BlackBerry Venice smartphone is said to sport a 5.4-inch QHD display with a 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution. It will be powered by a 1.8GHz hexa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 808 processor paired with 3GB RAM. The device will sport a dual-edge curved display and will come equipped with a 18MP rear camera along with a 5MP front facing camera.

According to reports, the BlackBerry Venice is expected to launch in November on all US national carriers.