BlackBerry KeyOne: Welcome return of the brand’s trademark keyboard

The new BlackBerry KeyOne is displayed before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Manu Fernandez / AP Photo

What do you call a BlackBerry device that isn’t a BlackBerry device? The BlackBerry KeyOne. Bear with me on this.

The first smartphone launch of this year's Mobile World Congress bears the BlackBerry name, but was actually made by TCL of China, which licensed the brand from BlackBerry – the company that is – back in December, after its strategic decision to withdraw from the handset business following declining sales.

All very important for BlackBerry, TCL, journalists and analysts, less so for the everyday consumer. What's more important is that the KeyOne is a pretty decent smartphone, even if it's unlikely to win back any former BlackBerry users to the fold.

Crucially, the KeyOne sees the return of BlackBerry’s once trademark physical keyboard, in a narrow enough body that’s comfortable to use with one hand. The trackpad functionality of 2015’s BlackBerry Priv has been retained, enabling you to skim over the buttons to easily navigate websites.

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Mobile World Congress coverage

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■ Review: Well-loved Nokia 3310 phone returns as a modern classic

■ Sony launches Xperia XZ Premium – the world's first smartphone with 4K HDR screen

■ In pictures: The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

■ Samsung reveals new tablets, confirms launch of Galaxy S8 phone on March 29

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Most impressive is the ability to assign a shortcut to virtually every one of the physical keys, accessible via a long press. F will bring up Facebook, U will open the Uber app, H accesses the help section and so on. It's a brilliantly simple but very useful feature.

Naturally the likes of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Intelligent Keyboard are all present and correct, together with the encrypted storage and Dtek security app. KeyOne users will also be among the first to receive Android security patches from BlackBerry.

Solidity is the name of the game across the KeyOne’s other features, with TCL including a pretty standard set of features that do the job with minimum fuss or flare.

The KeyOne’s design marks it out as a serious phone; its aluminium body and smooth rubber finish give it a solid, premium feel that’s a world away from the solid but identikit stylings of last year’s DTEK60.

It’s not a device for serious movie watchers, the physical keyboard only leaving room for a comparatively small but otherwise functional 4.5-inch LCD display. The dimly lit BlackBerry stand at MWC wasn’t ideal for trying out the 12MP and 8MP rear camera, but the few shots I took seemed perfectly fine.

The KeyOne will cost $549 when it goes on sale in April, significantly lower than the ill-fated Priv. While most of the world has moved on, the faded brand’s small but loyal band of adherents will love the KeyOne and its restored and upgraded keyboard. It seems as if BlackBerry’s story isn’t over yet.

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