BlackBerry Priv available online from Verizon today, in stores March 11th

posted by Alan F.

Mar 03, 2016, 11:18 AM

BlackBerry Priv available online from Verizon today, in stores March 11th

The BlackBerry Priv is now available for Verizon customers ordering online. In-store sales of BlackBerry's first Android powered phone will take place starting on March 11th. The Priv, which launched early in November, was originally an AT&T exclusive until January. Now, the slider is available from three out of the four major U.S. carriers, although Sprint is expected to offer the phone sometime this year.

Verizon is putting a $720 price tag on the BlackBerry Priv for those looking to pay the full retail price of the device. Verizon customers also have the option of paying $30 a month over 24 months using the Verizon installment plan. Big Red has some other goodies that they are offering, such as 24GB of free data for life to those who upgrade or activate a new phone with device payment on the XL plan or larger. Those switching from another carrier can receive up to $650 per line to pay off Early Termination Fees or installment plan balances.

Believe it or not, there was once a time when BlackBerry accounted for 95% of the smartphones sold by Verizon. Those days are obviously long gone. But if you are a BlackBerry fan who lived through the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold 9930, and the BlackBerry Z10 to name a few, you owe it to yourself to check out this marriage between Android and BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Priv is now available online from Verizon

View more + 1 image

source: Verizon

Related phones

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

7.2

Read Full Review

User Rating:

7.1

Based on 22 Reviews

Display 5.4 inches
2560 x 1440 pixels

Camera 18 MP (Single camera)
2 MP front

Hardware Qualcomm Snapdragon 808, 3GB RAM

Storage 32GB, microSDXC

Battery 3410 mAh

OS Android 6.0 Marshmallow

FEATURED VIDEO

Options

63 Comments

24. jellmoo

Posts: 2701; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

Honestly, the Priv caters to a very different market. If you want a productivity device, the Priv is one of the best. If that's not your primary use, and you want a media consumption device with a bonkers good camera, the S7 Edge will serve you better.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 7:26 PM 0

25. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Some people probably wouldn't mind having the productivity features on the Priv. I think they're dooming themselves to fail though releasing so closely to the S7/S7 Edge.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 8:29 PM 0

29. Crispin_Gatieza

Posts: 3202; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

Phone's been out since November as a factory unlocked model. It's only Verizon that's joining the party late.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 9:46 PM 2

31. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Stop it, Crispin. You're just speaking too logically for the troll. He clearly doesn't get that BlackBerry can't control when CARRIERS release the device. Cue his fallback, go-to BS response of how he wishes the PRIV was universally unlocked like the Nexus 6P and the iPhone 6S, even though he never had intention of buying a PRIV in the first place.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 3:03 AM 1

36. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Dry those tears up, Princess. It's called an opinion. Stop getting so bum burned about it.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 4:28 PM 0

38. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

It's called making you look like the trolling idiot that you are. Stop getting your streak-stained tighty whities in a bunch over it.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 4:48 PM 0

41. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Looks like you're mouth is overflowing with bs again. That can't be good for your teeth in the long run.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 5:25 PM 0

44. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

If you're noticing the smell of BS, then it clearly must be from your upper lip.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 5:57 PM 1

47. Mxyzptlk unregistered

A poorly worded "no you." Lol looks like your trolling game is losing its edge.

posted on Mar 05, 2016, 9:12 PM 0

50. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

In other words: "Meanestgenius ALWAYS catches me with that response, and I ALWAYS fall for it. I wish I wasn't such a a trolling buffoon and could avoid it." There. I fixed your post for you.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 12:18 AM 1

53. Mxyzptlk unregistered

In other words: "Meanest is full of it and I just made him my b**** and now he's backtracking." What you meant to say.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 9:09 PM 0

56. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

You can always tell two things when you resort to mimicking me: 1) That you DESPARATELY want to be me 2) That you are absolutely done on this thread. Pack it up loser, and hold this "L" while you're at it.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 9:50 PM 0

59. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Mimicking, that's saying a lot coming from the same person who regurgitates responses. 1. You wish, I don't see myself as a pompous, arrogant, know-it-all who sees nothing but his own way 2. You're right, I am done. I've buried you enough as is. I have a better idea, why not give that "L" to Chen since they're used to losing. Losing relevance, losing market share, losing dominance...lol I can keep going.

posted on Mar 07, 2016, 10:19 AM 0

62. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Yes, you mimic me. And not just me. Several others. 1) Don't deny what is fact. Admitting it is the first step to recovery. I know you're done. You've verbally slaughtered by me enough in this thread. I'd rather give the "L" to Apple. Losing phone signals, losing pieces of the phone altogether because it's easily bent, losing customers private photos due to how easy iCloud has been hacked, losing customers respect because they keep releasing the same device with teeny tiny updates year after year, losing respect from other OEM's because Apple is a patent troll...lol I can keep this going as well. :)

posted on Mar 07, 2016, 2:51 PM 0

35. Mxyzptlk unregistered

I should have made it clearer and said Blackberry and Verizon waited to late to release it.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 4:27 PM 0

39. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Lol, now you're backtracking because your attempt at trolling got thrown in your face. And again, BlackBerry doesn't determine when the carrier releases the device. No OEM does, so cut the BS.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 4:50 PM 1

42. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Do you want some cheese with that?

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 5:26 PM 0

45. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Do you want some sack to go with your jock riding of BlackBerry?

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 5:59 PM 1

48. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Maybe you should grow a sack and start manning up to your bs.

posted on Mar 05, 2016, 9:13 PM 0

51. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Maybe you should stop biting on it so much and stop mimicking me so much, thus making yourself look like an even more pathetic troll than usual.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 12:19 AM 1

54. Mxyzptlk unregistered

This is pathetic. You've lost, you're done. End of story.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 9:10 PM 0

57. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

In other words: "I'm done here. Meanestgenius has worn my @$$ out once again. I always get crushed by him!" There. I fixed your post for you. And don't mimic me in your response, either.

posted on Mar 06, 2016, 9:52 PM 0

60. Mxyzptlk unregistered

You spew more bs than a bull taking a dump in a pasture.

posted on Mar 07, 2016, 10:20 AM 0

63. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

That bull isn't taking a dump in a pasture, it's taking a dump on your face and down your throat. No wonder you're full of sht.

posted on Mar 07, 2016, 2:52 PM 0

33. BobbyDigital

Posts: 2126; Member since: May 29, 2014

Are you really that stupid Michelle? The PRIV has been out for months now! It's just Verizon being late to the party as per usual, not BlackBerry. Why you can't understand that the PRIV is geared towards a different consumer is beyond me. But stupid is as stupid does and you suuuuuuuuuuuuure are STUPID Michelle.

posted on Mar 04, 2016, 9:28 AM 1

19. Pattyface

Posts: 1658; Member since: Aug 20, 2014

Then there's that build quality.. The priv is simply overpriced for what is given. BB is crazy to think in March this phone is worth the asking price. It's a great 500 phone but not so great at 720. We can be certain that other than the keyboard this phone is outmatched.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 6:29 PM 2

22. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

Outmatched compared to what? Newer hardware with the latest specs? Shouldn't that be the case anyway? (However, the Android experience on the PRIV has been the absolute best Android experience for me, and I've used Android handsets since the G1 all the way to the S6 Edge +, and now the PRIV). I really don't understand why anyone would be comparing the PRIV to say, the new, yet-to-be-released Galaxy S7 or LG G5 when the PRIV will have been out almost five months before their release or longer. I firmly believe that the PRIV is also catering to a different clientele. People looking at the S7 for their next handset will not be interested in the PRIV for the most part, and vise-versa. I personally have ZERO interest in any Samsung handset at this time, as I am quite happy with what the PRIV offers. I think it's not a stretch to say that other PRIV users like Crispin would agree with me. I also checked out the T-Mobile version of the PRIV. The build quality seems better than earlier models. The software updates have also improved the user experience on the PRIV a great deal. I think that all three devices are/will be great for those interested in them and will serve their respective users well.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 7:14 PM 2

28. Crispin_Gatieza

Posts: 3202; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

I concur. The Priv offers the best Android experience for what I need a phone to do. As for the build quality, I wasn't impressed when I first saw the AT&T models but those were early production. My T-Mo version is as solid as I've been accustomed to from BlackBerry. Only my Lumia 1520 takes better pictures and not by much. In other words, it beats most others out there.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 9:44 PM 2

23. meanestgenius

Posts: 23117; Member since: May 28, 2014

I also hope that you realize that I'm not attacking you or being disrespectful in any way. I'm just posting an honest response to your comment. I say this because there's an idiot around here that loves to troll BlackBerry articles that will most likely try and say that I'm "attacking" you, in an effort to get my attention. I think you know who she is.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 7:24 PM 0

26. Mxyzptlk unregistered

Well just remember, you aren't allowed to have an opinion in Blackberry articles without a pompous, egotistical, self-centered troll breathing down your back.

posted on Mar 03, 2016, 8:31 PM 0

view all comments

Latest Stories

View more news