BlackBerry Priv Android Smartphone: Key Features, Specs, Price, and UK Release

Blackberry for the first time will be forgoing their own operating system and is fully embracing on the upcoming .

With the premature launch confirmation having been hastily taken down, it has also been suggested that handset pre-orders will kick off tomorrow (October 23).

The BlackBerry Priv will be packing a hexacore processor and 3GB RAM to offer up a decent multitasking performance and there will be a 32GB on board memory with a microSD card slot for bolstering it should you need more space.

The BlackBerry Priv - originally code named, BlackBerry Venice, was changed to Priv to indicate BlackBerry's strong ties to security.

If you reserve your device now, you should receive it by November 6, or at least that's the date Carphone Warehouse is aiming for. The possibility of its existence came to the fore when BlackBerry CEO John Chen stated he would consider building an Android device if it could be made as secure as BB10.

Blackberry Priv will have a tag price of $749. The new blog post on BlackBerry Priv's security gives in-depth details about how the company has been able to ensure security and privacy to the device owners even with a new OS on board. It has an 18-megapixel rear camera with phase detect autofocus, optical image stabilization, and 4K video capture, as well as a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Priv's QWERTY keyboard beneath its 5.4-inch curved display may be enough to convince fans it's worth the money but BlackBerry is certainly asking a lot from people considering whether they should bet on its first Android device. Pre-registration will send emails about the release date to customers.

The phone will run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, but it'll also feature BlackBerry apps and services including BlackBerry Messenger and BlackBerry Hub. The phones also boasts the BlackBerry Infrastructure and the enterprise mobility management platform BES12.

"Whether you're protecting your personal privacy or business-critical data, the BlackBerry Priv is created to keep you safe and secure", he wrote.

A few of the other features of BlackBerry Priv are seamless integration with Android for Work to provide secure separation between work and personal data and applications.