Due to the metro-wide flooding in the last couple of days, the official launch and release of the BlackBerry Q5 was moved from last night to August 24. In any case, the handset should be available in stores by then for only Php18,690.
The handset will also be available on Smart, Sun and Globe but just like the BB Z10 and the BB Q10, only Globe LTE will be compatible with the device. The telcos will announce their own postpaid offerings for the Q5 soon.
The BB Q5 is the more affordable sibling of the BlackBerry Q10 with almost the same hardware features, including NFC and LTE. It even has a slightly higher battery capacity than the Q10.
BlackBerry Q5 specs:
3.1-inch IPS LCD display @ 720×720 pixels, 328ppi
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz dual-core
Adreno 305 graphics
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
HSPA+ 21Mbps and LTE 50/100Mbps (7 bands)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
5MP autofocus rear camera, LED flash
1080p video recording
2MP front-facing camera
720p video recording
GPS w/ aGPS support
BlackBerry OS 10.1
Li-Ion 2180mAh battery
120mm x 66mm x 10.8mm (dimensions)
120 grams (weight)
The Blackberry Q5 was announced in Orlando, Florida back in May during the global BlackBerry Live event which we attended. You can read more of our initial impressions of the Q5 here.
The Q5 will be available in stores this Friday with a suggested retail price of Php18,690. BlackBerry is also running a promo where you can swap your old BB for a Php2,000 discount on any of the new BB devices.
Updated: Representatives from BlackBerry Philippines clarifies that the model they are releasing thru official distributors in the Philippines will only be 3G/HSPA+ variant and not the LTE variant. They would not comment on what variants the carriers will be releasing (so it’s possible Globe will be shipping in their own units with LTE in them, that’s outside of BlackBerry PH’s coverage).