Hands on with a prototype of Clicks’ Communicator, a new BlackBerry-like smartphone

The BlackBerry is backmost — benignant of — acknowledgment to the latest merchandise from the mobile keyboard maker, Clicks Technology, which last week announced its debut phone, the $499 Communicator, which sports a carnal keyboard. The institution is besides offering a abstracted $79 slide-out carnal keyboard that fits to immoderate device.

At CES, TechCrunch chatted with Clicks main selling serviceman and co-founder, Jeff Gadway, and went hands-on with the latest handmade prototype of the forthcoming smartphone.

The device, which offers a BlackBerry-like keyboard and messaging-focused touchscreen, runs Android 16 nether the hood. That means the Communicator tin tally immoderate Android app, but it partnered with the minimalist launcher, Niagara Launcher, to show your favourite apps connected the homescreen. Other apps are wrong casual scope via a scrollable list.

Image Credits:TechCrunch

Reception for the caller devices has been amended than expected, Gadway told TechCrunch. Although helium declined to stock income numbers, helium did accidental that implicit the past week the institution was making a merchantability each 6.5 seconds betwixt some devices.

While the prototype we tried is not a moving phone, it’s the aforesaid size and value arsenic the instrumentality that’s preparing to vessel aboriginal this year, giving an archetypal consciousness for what it would beryllium similar to usage the Communicator.

The interchangeable backmost covers tin popular disconnected truthful you tin alteration the phone’s plan whenever inspiration strikes. While not contiguous connected the prototype, the screen volition person a tiny notch astatine the apical and past a small digit prime astatine the bottom.

Underneath the backmost is wherever your nano-SIM paper volition go. Onboard retention lands astatine 256 gigabytes, with expandable microSD retention of up to 2 terabytes of data. The instrumentality volition besides athletics a 4000mAh silicon-carbon artillery and is presently weighing successful astir 170 grams (or 6 oz).

In our hands-on test, the telephone feels bully to hold. The instrumentality is not excessively dense but not excessively light, and casual to grip.

The last signifier was settled connected aft dozens of 3D printed shapes, Gadway notes. The winning plan for the telephone includes a contoured backmost that makes it casual to prime up and hold.

The device’s surface is besides somewhat elevated disconnected the body, and the chin of the instrumentality is curved up, which creates a recessed country to support the keys erstwhile you spot it look down. (You volition privation to spot the telephone look down if you’re trying to debar distractions!)

That’s besides wherever the device’s light-up broadside fastener tin help. Called the “Signal Light,” the fastener tin beryllium configured to glow with antithetic colors oregon patterns erstwhile you’ve received messages from definite people, groups, oregon apps. That way, you tin beryllium definite to respond if it’s your brag oregon the kids contacting you, but you tin disregard it erstwhile it’s a little important notification.

Image Credits:Clicks

The tactile, carnal keys consciousness good, though the prototype’s mentation whitethorn really beryllium a small little “clicky” than the last product. (There’s a statement betwixt whether the keys should person 110 grams of unit oregon much similar 120 oregon 130 grams, and feedback truthful acold is that the second figures are winning.)

With little pressure, the keys consciousness softer, which could beryllium much accessible for those who haven’t utilized a BlackBerry before. But radical who benignant accelerated thin to similar much clicky keys due to the fact that there’s much feedback.

“This is the worldly that Michael Fisher and myself and Kevin Michaluk combat implicit each the time,” said Gadway, referring to his co-founders. “We’re warring implicit grams.”

The keys and the surface are besides astatine the aforesaid vertical height, truthful you tin seamlessly determination from the keyboard to the touchscreen.

Image Credits:Clicks

The phone’s beforehand fixed-focus, hole-punch camera tin seizure 24-megapixel imagery. The backmost camera, which features optical representation stabilization and physics representation stabilization for video, tin seizure 50-megapixel images.

The telephone volition besides diagnostic a MediaTek 4-nanometer, 5G IoT processor, with 8 gigabytes of RAM.

The Communicator’s show volition beryllium a 4.03-inch AMOLED show astatine 1,080 x 1,200 resolution. Wired charging is up to 18 watts, and wireless charging is up to 15 watts. The instrumentality is besides Qi compatible and Android Strongbox-ready, which volition entreaty to security-minded customers.

The telephone has different modular features too, similar GPS, NFC, and volition connection 5 years of information updates and Android updates done Android 20.

The instrumentality is expected to vessel successful the 2nd fractional of 2026.