Blackberry returns this year with a new keyboard-equipped handset. Rumors said that it will be called 'Mercury'.

According to Wired, TCL took over Blackberry's hardware division and obtained a license to produce BlackBerry handsets after it ditched the said division. During TCL's reign over BlackBerry's hardware division, it has already produced 2 Blackberry handsets at the moment: The DETK50 and DETK60. This year, the company is adding a new handset to their Blackberry collection: a phone model codenamed 'Mercury'.

Mercury's look is a "classic" BlackBerry as Phone Arena described it. It has a keyboard fixed in the handset rather than having a sliding keyboard arrangement. It has been designed this way because lots of consumers wanted a "good-old-fashioned hardware QWERTY keyboard" Last year's DTEK models lacked the QWERTY keyboard feature.

Phone Arena described the handset's design as a mixture of assertive straight lines and graceful curves that resembles classic Blackberry models but with a touch of modernity. The phone has metal bezels that resembles the Blackberry Passport in silver. The back has a textured rear surface that aids the grip and gives the phone a premium look.

TCL has kept the phone's specifications and capabilities until now. Some of the rumors said that the phone will have a fingerprint scanner embedded in the keyboard's space bar. Another rumor stated that the screen has an unusual 1620 x 1080 resolution because the shape of the display appears to correspond with that aspect ratio. While a lot of speculations have surfaced the internet about the phone's components, the company has confirmed nothing at the moment.

Mercury also uses a USB Type-C port. The phone will most likely run on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. The device will also have the Blackberry's unique grid-based app switcher.

The new Blackberry Mercury will be launched at the Mobile World Congress in February and will be sold in North America and Europe initially.

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