The BlackBerry Priv is out and so is the verdict. Reviews have been positive with the company's first Android-powered smartphone, an ambitious experiment that paid off by fusing classic BlackBerry with modern features.

Many have been impressed with the new Android smartphone, especially as it blends Google's endless waves of mobile content with one of the most secure handsets in the market. Gordon Kelly's review in Forbes described it as "very good."

"It's not perfect, but it's far better than anyone had any right to expect from a first generation Android device that melds so many polar opposites: touchscreen and physical keyboard, premium design and rubberised finish, Google's OS and good security," Kelly summed up the advantages of the new BlackBerry Priv.

In an interview with Fox Business, CEO John Chen revealed more thoughts about the new device and whether it's enough to save the tech company that has been overtaken by Apple and Samsung in recent years.

"We lacked applications," Chen said, summarizing the main problem that plagued the previous BlackBerry devices in the market. "We worked very hard the last couple of years to figure out how to address the issue. So the way to address the issue is to adopt an eco-system that is open and has a lot of applications, a lot of people providing applications. Android happened to be the eco-system that we picked."

While expectations have been high for the much-awaited Priv, there have been questions whether this Android handset might be BlackBerry's last smartphone, according to CNN Money. Speculation has been circulating about the company exiting the business after their market share slipped from over 70 percent to just around one percent these days. Chen addressed the issue, saying there are upcoming handsets that loyalists can look forward to.

"I'm gonna let the market tell me," he responded. "'Hail Mary' is the wrong word. It's [Priv] been planned for a couple of years. I kept telling people, I'm never gonna give up the so-called phone business. I love this device and we have a range of products after this."

He added, "If this phone, which we believe, there's every reason to believe that this phone will be successful — successful meaning receptive to the younger generation, the hipper generation — if this phone is successful, then we will be able to rebuild our phone business. I don't know whether 71 [percent] is realistic, but it will be a lot higher than one [percent]."