BlackBerry “Visa” And “Victoria” Devices Rumored For 2015

While BlackBerry has created many QWERTY devices over the years, it is safe to say that the BlackBerry Passport has to be one of their more unique creations to do. For those hearing about the Passport for the first time, it is an upcoming handset from BlackBerry that will feature a QWERTY keyboard.

However the keyboard is also a gesture-based keyboard, meaning that users can swipe over it to perform certain commands, as well as press the keys for regular typing. This cuts out the need for a large touchscreen display as well as the need for a touchpad-like device found in BlackBerry’s other QWERTY devices. That being said, it seems that BlackBerry could be working on newer keyboard-based devices that could be just as interesting, if not more.

According to a post on BerryReview, Ofutur has discovered a couple of new patents from BlackBerry for two new devices which have been codenamed “Visa” and “Victoria”. As you can see in the patent above, it shows a device with a three-row keyboard. However what makes this interesting is that the keyboard can be folded away, thus exposing only one row of keys.

This helps to make the device smaller, as well as give users the option of typing using keys or using the onscreen keyboard. While we can’t be sure if the devices will be released as they are found, it has been suggested that the phones will sport 5.5-inch displays with a 1440p resolution and could be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset. Ofutur has also suggested that we could be looking at an early Q2 2015 release.

It definitely looks like an interesting device, although whether or not it will actually materialize remains to be seen, but in the meantime what do you guys think?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: BlackBerry, Patent