BlackBerry 'Priv' Smartphone Flaunts Signature Retractable Keyboard! Release Date, Specs & Features Here

Mobile product line Blackberry has earlier expressed intention to release an Android-powered phone and now the company has made a demo of the device that should be expected by the users within the year.

According to the Business News Network, Blackberry CEO John Chen, during the presentation of the company's second quarter financial results, has confirmed that the name of the upcoming handset will be "Priv."

He explained that the phone will have "a curved, all-touch screen" with its signature retractable keyboard.

He also vowed that their newest introduction to the mobile market is the most secure one noting that their focus in its development was to protect user privacy.

Fortune observed that the demonstration of the new device was "uncomfortable" to watch especially that Chen fumbled on how to use the handset.

But despite this, the same report said the Blackberry CEO was able to highlight that the key feature of the phone is its slider.

"Your finger will be like a mouse," Chen was quoted by Fortune as saying.

He also revealed that the device now runs on Google though he also had a hard time setting the device up, which he claimed was a "demo unit."

Asked if the new phone will resolve the problem of a different operating system for Blackberry phones, Chen said that company could not provide a lot of applications made available in the Blackberry 10.

"Unfortunately, I can't put the two together for all the practical reasons and logistic and financial reasons. But this is really the best thing we could do," the CEO said referring to the Android operating system of the new device.

He also mentioned in a Toronto Sun report that he would like to "eliminate apps as an excuse not to buy our phone."

The company made efforts last year to solve the "lack of apps" problem when it partnered with the Amazon Appstore but the partnership did not prosper as Amazon's first phone also did not do well in the market.

"I was dying for Amazon to be successful with their phone," Chen said in the Toronto Sun report.

Now, Blackberry is hopeful that the "Priv" will turn things around for the company.

In discussing more details about the upcoming Blackberry gadget, Mobile Syrup detailed that that the phone, which may come late in December, is expected have a Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, an 18-megapixel camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

GSM Arena noted that the phone is also rumoured to sport a 5.-4-inch curved screen with 1440 x 2560 resolution. The handset will also reportedly have an accelerometer, compass and active noise cancellation with dedicated microphone.