As expected, BlackBerry Q5 has been launched today at an event in New Delhi at a price of Rs. 24,990. This smartphone was up for pre-order on the website of BlackBerry for quite some time.
BlackBerry is the third smartphone running on the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, and the second smartphone equipped with QWERTY keyboard and running BB10 OS, which is still liked by many users and sets it apart from Android smartphones and Apple’s iPhone.
BlackBerry Q5 is targetted for youth who spend lot of time on social media. This smartphone comes with the BlackBerry 10.1 operating software. The BlackBerry Hub lets the user stay closer to what is important without stopping what one is doing. You can create the perfect shot every time with BlackBerry Time Shift, and tell your story using BlackBerry Story Maker and share with friends on Facebook. In this smartphone, you can use BBM video and Screen Share and use apps from a catalogue of over 120,000 apps available on the BlackBerry World storefront.
BlackBerry Q5 is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor alongside 2GB of RAM. The smartphone comes with 8GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. This smartphone is equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera, capable of 1080p HD video recording and 2-megapixel front camera, capable of 720p HD video recording.. The smartphone is packed with 2,180mAh battery.
Specifications wise, BlackBerry Q5 is slightly different from BlackBerry Q10, which was launched only last month in India. BlackBerry Q10 has 16GB of internal storage compared to 8GB of Q5 and Q10 has 8MP rear camera compared to 5MP of Q5. The Q5 has a 3.1-inch LCD display,with 720×720 resolution at 329PP1, comapred to 3.1 inches LED display of Q10.
The Q5 will starat selling in retail stores across Indian from 17th July and will be available in four colour options – Black, White, Red and Pink. To promote this smartphone aggressively, BlackBery has announced that this device will be available against interest free EMI scheme also and no need to pay any down payment.
Considering that it is a mid-range smartphone, it should have been priced in the range of Rs 18,000 to 20,000 keeping in view of the fact that mid-range Android devices which are available in the price range of Rs, 18,000, are selling like hot cakes in India . But BlackBerry is in the habit of over-pricing its smartphones, which is also one of the reasons that the prospective customers are hesitant to buy them.
BlackBerry was criticised in India for launching its Q10 smartphone at hefty price of Rs. 44,900. Even its Z10 was overpriced and to contain the damage to some extent, Blackberry has come out with upgrade offer for Z10 and offering discount of upto Rs, 11,000 under this scheme.
