PRIV by BlackBerry - the company's first smartphone, which blends the BlackBerry security, privacy and productivity with Android;s features, is now available for pre-order for $699. For those of you in Canada, United States, and the UK, PRIV, powered by Android, can now be pre-ordered from these ShopBlackBerry and a number of mobile carriers.

• ShopBlackBerry Canada ($899 CDN)
• ShopBlackBerry UK (£559 Incl. VAT)
• ShopBlackBerry US ($699 USD)

BlackBerry is promoting the new PRIV smartphone as a private and secure mobile solutions. The company has has applied its security model to Android, including:

• BlackBerry’s Hardware Root of Trust, a manufacturing process that injects cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.
• Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain, which uses the embedded keys to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they haven’t been tampered with.
• A hardened Linux kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.
• FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption on by default.
• The BlackBerry Infrastructure, a secure distributed global network that transmits encrypted data to and from the world’s professionals.
  BES12, the Enterprise Mobility Management platform used by governments and corporations.

PRIV integrates with Android for Work to provide secure separation between work and personal data and applications. The Personal Space lets you download apps and protects your personal privacy, while the Work Space lets the enterprise secure its corporate data.

Th phone comes pre-loaded with the new BlackBerry DTEK application, designed to help you manage and protect your privacy. DTEK tells you which apps access your personal data and shows the overall security of your device based on factors such as the strength of your password, your encryption settings and the apps you have installed. DTEK even makes recommendations on how you can improve your overall security rating.

PRIV comes with full access to Google Play. IT administrators can also use Google Play for Work to manage and deploy enterprise applications. This allows them to whitelist apps to create a custom catalogue, self-host the APK files and ensure that users cannot download apps to their work space from anywhere else.

Specifications

• In the box:
  • PRIV Smartphone (Quantity: 1)
  • 3.5 mm stereo headset (Quantity:1)
  • MicroUSB 2.0 cable (Quantity:1)
  • +5V DC / 1.3A AC power adapter, OMTP Compliant (Quantity: 1)
    
• Baseline Software Support: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Size (LxWxD): 147 (184 opened) x 77.2 x 9.4mm
• Weight (w/battery): 192g
• Model Number: STV100-1
• Processor:
  • Qualcomm 8992 with 64 bit Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 and Quad-core 1.44 GHz CortexA53 (Snapdragon 808 Hexa-Core, 64 bit)
  • Adreno 418, 600MHz GPU
• Memory:
  • 3GB Low Power RAM
  • 32GB Flash
  • Hot-swappable MicroSD slot (up to 2TB)
  • Expandable Memory: MicroSD slot located on top of device, accessible via pin-eject tray
  • Display:
  • Curved 5.43"
    
  • 2560 x 1440 resolution
  • 540 DPI
  • WQHD Plastic AMOLED
  • High Brightness Mode for Outdoor Readability
  • 24-bit color depth
  • 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 4
    
• Rear Facing Camera:
  • 18MP Auto-Focus
  • Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
  • Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF), Fast focus lock
  • HDR
  • 6-element f2.2 lens
  • Back Side Illumination (BSI2) Stacked Sensor
  • Dual Colour, Dual 2 mm² LED Flash – Enhanced photo color balance
  • 4k Video Recording: 30 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 60 fps, 6DOF video stabilization combined with OIS for incredibly smooth video
  • 4x digital zoom
  • Continuous & touch to focus, face detection, image stabilization
  • Panorama, Burst, Live Filters
  • Multi-Frame Low Light Enhancement
    
• Front Facing Camera:
  • 2MP Fixed-Focus, f2.8
  • 1.75um pixel size
  • Image & video stabilization
  • 720p HD video recording
  • 2x digital zoom
  • Wide Selfie Mode (also known as Selfie Panorama)
  • Multi-Frame Low Light Enhancement
    
• User Interface: Gesture control plus touch sensitive physical keyboard with gesture support
• Ports and Connectivity:
  • USB 2.0 Connector with SlimPort enabled
  • USB 2.0 fully supported with standard microUSB 2.0 cable (included in box)
  • Cabled-Video Out, 4k @30 fps, supported with standard SlimPort adaptor (not included in box). SlimPort adaptor cables exist to support the following video protocols: HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort 1.1, DisplayPort 1.2, DVI
  • NFC
• Power Adapter
  • +5V DC / 1.3A AC power adapter, OMTP Compliant
  • QC2.0 Enabled – Compatible with QC2 Chargers
  • Dual mode Wireless Charging capable for Powermat (PMA) and Qi
    
• Battery:
  • 3410 (typ) 3360 (min) mAh 4.4V 680 Wh/L integrated non-removable battery
  • Fast charge enabled
• Battery Life: Mixed Usage: Up to 22.5 hours
• Network
  • FD-LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 17, 20, 29,30
  • HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6, 8
    
  • Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi:
  
  • 802.11 b/g/n for 2.4GHz
  • 802.11 a/n for 5GHz
  • 802.11 ac for 5GHz
    
  • 4G Mobile Hotspot
  • Wi-Fi Direct 2x2 MIMO
• Bluetooth Support: Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy (LE)
• GPS
  • Assisted, Autonomous and Simultaneous GPS
  • Pre-loaded Google Maps
  • E911 supporte
• Advanced Sensors : Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Time of Flight (ToF) Proximity, Ambient Light, Altimeter, Activity Monitor