BlackBerry has brought its KEY2 LE smartphone to the Indian market today at a price of Rs 29,990. The KEY2 LE, as the name itself states, is a stripped down version of the BlackBerry KEY2 that was unveiled a couple of months ago in India. The KEY2 LE comes with Snapdragon 636 chipset, 4GB of RAM, Android 8.1 Oreo with various security features and houses a 3000mAh battery. The phone will be available during the Amazon Great Indian Days on October 12 and it will compete with the likes of Asus Zenfone 5Z, Xiaomi Poco F1, OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy A8 Star.
BlackBerry KEY2 LE: Specifications and Features
BlackBerry is aiming to drive some sales during the festive season, but the KEY2 LE is an overpriced smartphone by a huge margin. The KEY2 LE is quite similar to the KEY2 in terms of design as it has a QWERTY keyboard on the front. The phone rocks a 4.5-inch display on the front which carries a resolution of 1080x1620 pixels and 434 PPI. The fingerprint scanner is present inside the space bar on the keypad. The device is designed for physical keyboard enthusiasts and offers the iconic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard experience, said Optiemus Infracom which sells BlackBerry smartphones in India
Underneath, the KEY2 LE has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset, clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, that can be expanded up to 256GB with a microSD card. Like the BlackBerry KEY2, the KEY2 LE runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, and it comes preloaded with the BlackBerry security and productivity apps.
Optics wise, the KEY2 LE has dual rear cameras of 13MP+5MP. The primary 13MP sensor has a f/2.2 aperture, 1/3.1-inch sensor, 1.12µm and PDAF, which works in tandem with a 5MP depth sensor. The rear camera offers 4K and 1080p video recording at 30fps. On the front side, the KEY2 LE has an 8MP shooter for selfies and video calls.
"Security and privacy are becoming priorities in our data-dependent world and at Optiemus, we are committed to offering our customers a trustworthy mobile experience," said Hardip Singh, Executive Director, Optiemus Infracom.
As for the connectivity options, the phone offers Dual 4G, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and USB Type-C port. Lastly, the phone comes armed with a 3000mAh battery with fast charging support.
BlackBerry KEY2 LE: Pricing and Availability
The BlackBerry KEY2 LE comes in three colour options- Slate, Champagne and Atomic. Interested customers can pick up the smartphone exclusively on Amazon India starting October 12. The price of the smartphone is Rs 29,990 and it comes in a single variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Outside India, the KEY2 LE was launched for 400 Euro, which translates to Rs 34,000. It's a decent price from BlackBerry, but in India, we have the same Snapdragon 636 SoC smartphones at a starting price of Rs 10,999.
How is the KEY 2 LE Different from BlackBerry KEY2?
Aforesaid, the KEY2 LE and KEY2 both sport a similar design and display, but they differ a lot internally. The KEY2 ships with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC, while the KEY2 LE has the Snapdragon 636 SoC under the hood. The KEY2 has a bigger 3500mAh battery which is a good 500mAh higher than the KEY2 LE.
As for the cameras, the KEY2 comes with 12MP dual cameras on the rear side, as opposed to the 13MP+5MP cameras on the KEY2 LE.
BlackBerry KEY2 LE: Competitors in India
The KEY2 LE, priced at Rs 29,990, goes against the Asus Zenfone 5Z, Xiaomi Poco F1 and Honor 10. Having said that, all the three phones are flagship devices from the respective brands- the Zenfone 5Z and Poco F1 both come with Snapdragon 845 chipset, while the Honor 10 has the Kirin 970 SoC on board. At Rs 29,900, the Poco F1 comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, while the Zenfone 5Z priced at Rs 29,990 comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.
