The once dominant smartphone, which was put in a tight spot earlier this year when TCL announced that it no longer plans to produce handsets with the BlackBerry name, is expected to return in 2021 with both a physical keyboard and 5G connectivity Onward Mobility said it has reached an agreement with BlackBerry and Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile to develop a BlackBerry 5G handset.

"Our handsets will have all the attributes and features of today's most sophisticated smartphones, with an emphasis on security and productivity, plus a competitive price point," said Peter Franklin, CEO of Onward Mobility.

Onward Mobility is not prepared to discuss specs, operating systems, or any other information necessary to evaluate the smartphone, so few details about the phone itself are available at this time. Onward Mobility also refused to provide a price range for the handset. What we do know is that the 5G handset will have a keyboard (is it really a BlackBerry if it doesn't? - Is it really a BlackBerry without a keyboard?

We thought we saw the last of the BlackBerry phones in February when TCL, which had held the license to manufacture and sell BlackBerry phones for the last several years, announced that its rights to manufacture phones under the BlackBerry name had ended. Instead, TCL focused on developing its own phones, and BlackBerry appears to have a new partner, Onward Mobility.

TCL's commitment to the BlackBerry lineup is commendable, and I was particularly impressed with the BlackBerry KeyOne released in 2017. The follow-up BlackBerry Key2 was less impressive, and the lower-priced BlackBerry Key2 LE highlighted one of the problems with these phones - they were quite expensive, given that the processors are typically a step or two behind the leading Android flagships.

While there is still some time before a 5G BlackBerry phone arrives in early 2021, Onward Mobility has already shown why it believes this new device will resonate with more potential users. In its announcement, the company emphasized that the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many employees who need secure access to critical data and applications to telecommute; BlackBerry's security software fits the bill, and the phone's physical keyboard is a The idea is to improve productivity at work away from the office.

Of course, the work environment has been different in other ways since the last BlackBerry phone debuted: the iPhone, which replaced the BlackBerry as the primary mobile device, has become a dominant force in the market thanks to its vast App Store and pace-setting processor. iPhone is strengthening its dominance in the market thanks to its vast App Store and pacesetting processor. The A14 chip, which is expected to appear in the iPhone 12 in the coming months, will make the iPhone an even more formidable competitor to the new BlackBerry models. On the Android side, there are phablets like Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which offers a huge screen, wireless connectivity capabilities with a Miracast-enabled display, and a more responsive S Pen.

This makes it a tough market for BlackBerry to enter next year. But Onward Mobility and its partners have plenty of time to work things out.