BlackBerry to launch Q10 smartphone in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – BlackBerry announced Monday the launching of its Q10 smartphone in the Philippines on June 7.

The Q10 is expected to bring nostalgia to  BB lovers who still prefer the classic BB QWERTY keyboard.

Available in two colors, black and white, the BlackBerry Q10 combines the power of the BlackBerry 10 platform with a large, re-engineered physical keyboard and touchscreen display – the largest ever on a BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone.

Cameron Vernest, Country Director for the Philippines at BlackBerry,  said they are excited to be working with their partners to bring the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone with QWERTY keyboard to its local customers.  

"The BlackBerry Q10 smartphone offers premium performance, set in BlackBerry’s signature keyboard design, that lets customers take instant action and stay connected to their work and personal networks throughout the day," Vernest said.

The Q10 sports an ergonomic QWERTY keyboard, which features a wider layout and larger sculpted keys. It is said to have improved hardware, communications and multimedia features, along with long battery life.

Among Q10's highlighted features are the BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Balance, BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), and BlackBerry Remember.

The Hub feature brings all conversations together in one place that users can access at any time from any app with a simple "peek" while the BlackBerry Balance technology separates and secures work applications and data from personal content.

The BBM, meanwhile, lets users  share things with the people that matter to them  in an instant. BBM on BlackBerry 10 smartphones includes voice calling and video chat, and lets user share screen with another BlackBerry 10 smartphone contact.

Yet the BlackBerry Remember helps users tackle tasks quickly with a new way to collect, organize and action all the information sitting in different places across your smartphone.

BlackBerry has yet to announce the Q10's suggested retail price.