Following the BB10 device that everyone was waiting for, the QWERTY keyboard Q10, BlackBerry have announced the arrival of its little brother, the Q5. The BlackBerry 5 represents the idea that there is a BB10 handset for everyone and every pricepoint. The BlackBerry Q5 features a QWERTY keyboard which is unlike the Q10 and very reminiscent of the 9320 with individual chicklet keys instead of a flowing layout, letting people with fat thumbs like me type easier. The BlackBerry Q5 also sports a 3.1Inch IPS LCD Display at 720×720 resolution which is similar to the display of the Q10 but is not Super AMOLED. Another difference between the Q5 and the Q10 is the lack of the weaved glass back as well as overall finishing of the handset; This is not to say the Q5 is build poorly because it is quite decent, rather it omits a lot of the luxury the Q10 exudes in favour for a better, friendlier price.
The BlackBerry Q5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual-Core 1.2GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 8GB Flash memory (expandable to 32GB). The camera isn’t too hot with a 5MP rear and 2MP front capable of shooting 1080p video and a LED flash. To address battery life concerns, the Q5 comes with a sexy 2,180mAh battery that will probably be more than enough to handle a days use. The Q5 comes as either LTE Enabled or HSPA+ as well as NFC or non NFC enabled.
The BlackBerry Q5 will be available from all telcos come the 15th of July for a RRP of RM1,299 and comes in Red, White or Black.
At this price, I think this is the device that will do the best in Malaysia for BlackBerry. A combination of decent price and no-frills features at the middle range of the scale makes it a great buy for the BB-curious or upgraders among us. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on this one.
Hit the jump for more pictures of the Q5!
