Verizon said that it plans to soon start selling the Priv, BlackBerry’s first Android-based smartphone.
In a Twitter post, Verizon says the device is “coming soon.”
The Priv is seen as key to the future of BlackBerry’s smartphone business. If it is not successful, BlackBerry could be out of the phone hardware business by 2017. John Chen has said the unit needs to show a profit by next year.
Getting Verizon and AT&T selling the phone directly is a critical first step, as carriers remain the dominant place where Americans get their phones.
Now the big question is whether consumers are willing to buy the $699 device rather than an iPhone or cheaper Android device.