There is a new BlackBerry-branded device with QWERTY keyboard coming in 2021 and we can’t keep calm

BlackBerry is set to return to Europe and North America in 2021 with a licensing partnership OnwardMobility and FIH Mobile Limited for a single 5G-enabled smartphone with a physical keyboard.

The brand that is still synonymous with QWERTY keypads, BlackBerry is set to return to Europe and North America in 2021 with a licensing partnership OnwatrdMobility and FIH Mobile Limited. (The Verge)

Hey, BlackBerry fans! We have some great news for you! The company might have been ditched by TCL earlier this year, but they are still alive and around and all set to bring in a new 5G smartphone, with, wait for it, a physical keyboard!

The brand that is still synonymous with QWERTY keypads, BlackBerry is set to return to Europe and North America in 2021 with a licensing partnership OnwardMobility and FIH Mobile Limited.

According to reports, BlackBerry has granted these teams the rights to develop, engineer and produce a new 5G-enabled smartphone that is going to be a BlackBerry-branded device.

As you might have noticed, it's going to be a device and not a series of devices. There is no information about whether this new licensing partnership is going to extend beyond just one product yet.

The market for Android smartphones with physical keyboards is very, very small and there are loyal fans, both ex-BlackBerry users and older users who prefer physical keyboards for various reasons, for whom this news is definitely going to be exciting.

However, for now, we have no more information from OnwardMobility about this project or any potential hardware.

“BlackBerry is thrilled OnwardMobility will deliver a BlackBerry 5G smartphone device with physical keyboard leveraging our high standards of trust and security synonymous with our brand. We are excited that customers will experience the enterprise and government level security and mobile productivity the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone will offer,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.

BlackBerry has not had the best time over the last few years and while this decision to come out with a 5G-enabled smartphone seems a little strange given the circumstances, the brand definitely has a significant fanbase that will be elated. And the fact that BlackBerry is alive enough to come around is also interesting.

We'll have to wait to find out more about the device to gauge whether this comeback is going to work for BlackBerry or not.