Could BlackBerry unveil a slider at MWC?

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BlackBerry might slide back into an old market

Could BlackBerry unveil a slider at MWC?
Are slider phones making a comeback?

It's been years since BlackBerry last released a phone with a sliding keyboard, but the company might be giving it another shot.

A couple of rumours have emerged which are individually quite questionable but together become more compelling. As N4BB reports, late last year rumours started bubbling of two new BlackBerry phones with concealable keyboards, dubbed the Visa and Victoria.

These devices seem to be based on an old patent, but the rumours suggested they'd launch in early Q2 of 2015. So far so suspect, but N4BB points out that BlackBerry's CEO John Chen has also stated that the company will unveil a unique concept device at MWC 2015.

Probably not coming soon

So far the only BlackBerry handset we're expecting any time soon is the rather more mainstream sounding BlackBerry Rio, so that probably wouldn't fit the bill of a concept device, but a slider phone could.

If we do see one at MWC then it may still not launch any time soon if at all, since it is possibly just a concept device and since the Rio was believed to be the only BlackBerry handset launching in the first half of 2015.

But the company will apparently be revealing a 12 month roadmap at the event, which this phone could be a part of and at the very least it would suggest that BlackBerry is looking into sliding keyboards again, which is good news for slider fans everywhere.

James Rogerson
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.