BlackBerry's first Android smartphone Priv launched in India at Rs 62,990

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Canadian firm BlackBerry on Thursday launched its first Android-powered smartphone 'Priv' in India at Rs 62,990.

#PRIV by BlackBerry to be available in India from 30 Jan 2016 at an MRP of INR 62,990/-. Book your #PRIV today! pic.twitter.com/3rDgl2EVb7— BlackBerry India (@BlackBerryIN) January 28, 2016

First unveiled in October, Priv marks the BlackBerry's foray into Android-based smartphones.

According to invites sent by the company, BlackBerry will unveil Priv, "the secure smartphone powered by Android" on January 28.

BlackBerry's shift to Android is being seen a move aimed at helping the ailing company to return to popularity. Once an iconic business phone, BlackBerry has lost out to Google's Android and Apple's iOS-based smartphones.

BlackBerry had also hinted the company may soon unveil another Android phone this year.

The move will also help BlackBerry cash in on the app-rich ecosystem of Android, the lack of which has been an area of complain for many BlackBerry users in the past.

The smartphone went on sale in the US and Canada in November last year.

The phone comes with a 5.4-inch display and is powered by a 1.8 GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal memory (expandable by up to 2TB).

The single SIM 4G phone runs Android Lollipop OS and sports 18MP rear and 2MP front camera with 3,410 mAh battery.

With Agency Inputs