BlackBerry has announced its Q5 smartphone at the BlackBerry Live event in Orlando.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins introduced the new device that runs BlackBerry 10, aimed at emerging markets, describing it as “youthful and fun”.
The Q5, that will be available in selected markets from July, features the typical BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard with discrete keys as well as a 3.1-inch touchscreen.
Other features of the Q5 include BlackBerry Time Shift mode and BlackBerry Story Maker that let you “weave together” photos, videos and music to create your own movie. BBM Video with Screen Share let users switch from BBM chat to a BBM Video conversation to communicate face-to-face.
Heins also announced the availability of BlackBerry 10.1 for the Z10 smartphone (Watch the BWB TV video review).
New BlackBerry 10.1 features include personalized notifications for your accounts and contacts, fine cursor control to make it easier and more accurate to type where you want, support for PIN to PIN messages for direct communication between BlackBerry smartphones and improved attachment support in the BlackBerry Hub. The HDR shooting mode allows for taking pictures in tricky lighting conditions and Time Shift mode lets you create the photo you want by moving parts of your picture backwards and forwards.
The free update to the BlackBerry 10 OS, will be rolling out in the coming weeks.