BlackBerry KEYone pulls one back for BlackBerry

blackberry-keyoneBlackBerry might be deem to be irrelevant among smartphone users, but they do happen to have a new lease of life as shown in the recent MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. TCL Communication, a leading global smartphone manufacturer from China, has decided to work alongside BlackBerry to reveal the latest BlackBerry smartphone to the masses, calling it the BlackBerry KEYone.

The BlackBerry KEYone would be the very first BlackBerry smartphone that rolled off from TCL Communication’s manufacturing lines, thanks to a new brand licensing agreement that was agreed upon just last December with BlackBerry Limited. The BlackBerry KEYone will arrive with a great camera, display and design for a truly special user experience. In other words, the KEYone brings together the best of BlackBerry Limited’s software and security, alongside TCL Communication’s commitment when it comes to reliable and high performing smartphones.

Those who are interested in the BlackBerry KEYone can pick it up from next month onward for €599/ £499/$549, depending on the region in which you live in. Definitely not the cheapest device around unlocked, but then again, it is not going to break the $1,000 price ceiling that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8 are expected to.

The BlackBerry KEYone arrives in an anodized aluminum chassis and soft touch textured back, featuring a 4.5-inch display at 1620×1080 resolution, with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Merging a touch display with a physical keyboard, users will have more useable space for typing. It will run on Android 7.1 Nougat right out of the box, in addition to BlackBerry Hub so that all of your messages will appear in one consolidated place. Running underneath the hood would be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with a Qualcomm Adreno 506 GPU, accompanied by Quick Charge 3.0 technology, a 12MP rear camera, and a wide angle 8MP front facing camera.

Press Release
[ BlackBerry KEYone pulls one back for BlackBerry copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Meitu T8 is first dual selfie camera smartphone in the world

meitu-t8While many of us look at the imaging quality of any smartphone to be an essential feature, the promise of bokeh like effects with a dual camera setup in any smartphone is almost too tempting an offer to resist, save for the relatively high price tag that comes with such territory, of course. Meitu, which hails from China and definitely should not be mistaken with the other Chinese brand, Meizu, has achieved a world’s first — the Meitu T8, touted to be the smartest selfie phone in the world.

The Meitu T8 claims to be able to offer DSLR-like camera features including image stabilization and low-light shooting, although we do wonder just how far that claim is able to travel. For sure it is the first smartphone that delivers Dual Pixel PDAF to the front-facing camera, and not only that, Meitu claims that its all new Magical AI Beautification capability is able to automatically retouch faces depending on the subject’s gender and age.

I myself have my concerns about such claims, since facial recognition AI has not quite made the cut thus far in terms of recognizing one’s gender. The Xiaomi handset that I use at the moment sometimes peg me as a female in my early 20s, but at times, it classifies me as a male in my 40s. Sure, there will be specific areas where the Magical AI Beautification will work in favor of the subject, but in a group?

The Meitu T8 will run on the latest newest MEIOS3.5 system, accompanied by 4GB of RAM as well as 128GB of internal storage that is huge enough for most ordinary folks. An unnamed ten-core processor will run proceedings from within, and it plays nice with every major mobile service provider in China. Expect the Meitu T8 to arrive in a quartet of fashion-forward colors: Magical Orange, Jazz Gold, Dazzling Blue, and Diamond Grey, alongside a recommended retail price of $479 thereabouts after conversion.

Press Release
[ Meitu T8 is first dual selfie camera smartphone in the world copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]