Fans of the BlackBerry devices were pinning their hopes on a new 5G smartphone that OnwardMobility had promised they will launch within 2021. Now, with the year drawing to a close, there is still no sight or even whispers of the said device, leading many to speculate if there is still time for the company to catch up or they will be forced to defer their plans.
As it is, OnwardMobility is already running way behind schedule as they had initially stated back in August 2020 that they will be launching the said smartphone by the first half of 2021. They had also started recruiting staff in February 2020 though there have been no new developments since then.
Fortunately, as PCMag reported, the company is still there, and their website is still hanging on with the ‘coming 2021‘ message. That makes it just weeks left for the company to deliver and while it’s going to be huge if they are indeed able to deliver a 5G BlackBerry handset, that seems quite unlikely at the moment.
However, the thing to keep in mind is that there have also been some unprecedented developments sweeping the earth ever since the company first stated its intention of coming up with a new 5G smartphone. There has been the pandemic that led to lockdowns in most parts of the world. Supply chains got disrupted like ever before and with some parts of the world, including some regions in China facing fresh lockdown, companies still are far from being operating to their optimum.
Add to that the acute chip shortage, another fallout of the pandemic, which has forced companies to alter or even shelve their product launch plans. It is not known though if OnwardMobility is also facing a similar challenge with its BlackBerry plans or if there is something else plaguing the company. It would have been great if they took the time to keep us posted on the developments at their end though unfortunately, that isn’t the case at the moment.
Meanwhile, there sure are the likes of the Titan and Titan Pocket from Unihertz that too offer smartphones with a physical keyboard though what is missing is that enhanced emphasis on data security and privacy, something that BlackBerry has always been known for. Let’s hope there is some positive change on this front, and that die-hard fans of the brand get to lay their hands on a brand new 5G BlackBerry handset soon enough.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
