The purported new BlackBerry smartphone, codenamed BlackBerry Venice, has once again made the rounds on the Internet as a newly leaked video has landed on YouTube to give eager customers a glimpse of what the upcoming phone has to offer.
A Canadian phone retailer, Baka Mobile, has uploaded the four-minute hands-on video.
"We got our hands on the new BlackBerry Venice," reads the description of the video.
The video says the smartphone is an evaluation unit, which means the software is still not final.
However, from the looks of it, it seems that the phone runs on something which seems very similar to stock Android Lollipop.
Previous rumors that surfaced in the past say the device will come with a Qualcomm 808 chip and will house 3GB of RAM. Other rumored specs that we have heard so far include a 5.4-inch QuadHD display as well as a microSD card slot.
Based on the video, it seems that the phone's main selling point is its sliding keyboard, making it the first smartphone to boast of this feature. Interestingly, the keyboard keys seem to be touch-sensitive.
It also seems the device is borrowing the nifty sensor of the BlackBerry Passport. This feature allows the user to swipe across the keyboard like a trackpad to scroll through documents even if the user is only using only one hand. This will also save the user from reaching up to the screen so often.
"I really hope this saves Blackberry. This device has to be one of the best and most interesting devices I've ever seen," writes Vikas Nanda, a YouTube user.
"Such a promising video. Would have liked to see more focus on the software though. The hardware specs and screenshots have been leaking for months," another YouTube user, Jugal Shah, commented on the video. "What I really want to know is how the Hub works, how well integrated it is, how fluid the interface is, the battery life, the keyboard typing experience, etc. Any chance of that happening before you have to send the device back off?"
BlackBerry has yet to announce the official details on this new smartphone. However, speculating from the leaked renders and from the newly shown hands-on video, it seems that this device is ready to hit the streets soon.
Watch the hands-on video below.
