For years, Blackberry has stood its ground, albeit rather reclusely, when it comes to the mobile operating system (OS) wars dominated by the two big players, namely Apple's iOS and Google's Android OS. Of course, we understand that Microsoft has got something to say about that.

And, it was not until very recently that the Waterloo-headquartered telecom and wireless equipment company decided to take sides. Moving forward from its very own Blackberry OS, which, mind you, is still actively in service to this day, the company is launching the Blackberry Priv on Verizon Wireless -- their first ever smartphone that runs Android OS.

Price & Contract Details

For those interested, the Verizon Wireless offer comes in two options; one that will cost you a one-time payment of $720, and an installment plan for $30 a month on a two-year contract with zero cash out for qualified customers.

"PRIV by Blackberry, the first-ever BlackBerry to be powered by Android, combines Android accessibility and BlackBerry security in one sophisticated device," the description reads. "DTEK monitors your device and provides a heightened level of security. The 3410 mAh battery, dual keyboards plus BlackBerry's exclusive productivity features provide a powerful smartphone experience."

Specs and Features

The Blackberry Priv, which comes in black in the Verizon Wireless offer, runs on a 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor. It has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, which can be expanded for up to 2TB via microSD cards, according to PC Mag.

The Priv's display is a 5.4-inch AMOLED screen with curved edges and has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 (540 PPI). It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Slider. The phone, meanwhile, measures 5.8 by 3.0 by 0.4 inches and weighs 6.7 ounces.

The phone is touted to have up to 22.5 hours of battery life, courtesy of the 3410 mAh Lithium Ion battery. While the battery is non-removable, which is quite a deal breaker for some buyers, Priv comes with wireless charging and rapid-charge capabilities, although these are not inclusive of the deal and must be purchased separately.

Another feature of the Priv is the 18-megapixel camera equipped with dual-flash, fast-focus and image stabilization.

And for those old school smartphone users who can't live without a physical QWERTY keyboard, but would want the Android version for various reasons like access to the myriads of apps from the Google Play Store, then the Blackberry Priv lets users enjoy the best of both worlds.