BlackBerry Re-Enters South Korea with Priv
The BlackBerry returned to South Korea with its Android handset Priv last Sept. 20.
The Canadian company exited from the Korean market three years ago and has returned now to compete with Seoul-based brands like LG and Samsung.
The one year old smartphone is cheaper compared to competitors from its original price at $749 down to $534.
It was first launched in the United States in 2015 but did not get much attention and sales compared to rival phones from Apple and Samsung. Its high cost was one of the reasons for its unsuccessful market standing, GSM Arena reported.
Analysts say that introducing Priv to a high-tech nation will be advantageous but i cannot be guaranteed that consumers will rush and line up to purchase an aging model, Phone Arena reported. It is also speculated that Priv might be the last chance for BlackBerry to survive the Korean market.
The BlackBerry Priv is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 with a 3 GB RAM. It boasts a 5.4 inch 1440 x 2560 display. It has a Corning and Gorilla Glass 4 with 4x pixel density and standard HDTV to guarantee rich colors of images and videos. It's display is also OLED to reduce power consumption.
The company's first Android phone also has a 32 GB memory space. As expected from the brand, it features a slide-out keyboard ideal for people with office works on-the-go.
The BlackBerry brand used to have an outstanding performance in the South Korean market. It was one of the brands that employers give away to employees as business phones due to its style comparable to a laptop. The company earned success in the country the way Apple did in the U.S.
The company along with others including Motorola, Nokia and HTC surrendered and backed out when Samsung rose in the market.
