Last chance saloon

Now that the first official photos of the new BlackBerry Priv have been released, there’s hope for us BlackBerry users and fans yet. Dimensions are not yet known, nor is the price, but it looks both thin and robust as well as equipped with a slide-out keyboard. And for those who care about apps, it’s an Android device.

CEO John Chen has finally shed the BlackBerry cloak of using only its own operating system while, he says, continuing to maintain security. He admitted that because of “logistic and financial reasons” he couldn’t put apps and the BlackBerry 10 together. “This is the best thing that we could do.” Such honesty is refreshing. Somehow the secure part will be separate from the Android part. Sounds perfect for a former U.S. Secretary of State.

BlackBerry certainly needs a boost. The Classic, released a year ago, was a bust. In the most recent three-month period BlackBerry sold 800,000 smartphones. During this past weekend alone, Apple’s newest model sold 13 million.

Priv, which stands for privacy and privilege, seems like an awful name to me. Like privy or outhouse. But I’ve had my Q10 since the launch in May 2013 and I’ve been happy with its performance. When I come to replace it, I’ll be looking at the Priv. If BlackBerry is still around.