BlackBerry Priv gets a moment in the spotlight with a new official showcase

You may remember a few weeks ago when John Chen, Blackberry’s CEO, demonstrated the Blackberry’s Android-powered handset in the most awkward interview ever. In a nutshell, he was aware that his company had built a phone called the Priv and that it had something to do with Google, and maybe there was an android or a robot or something involved somehow too. The poor guy looked a little out of his depth. Well, now Blackberry managed to keep their executives out of the room for a full 41 seconds to give the Priv the quick showcase it deserves.

It’s short, but there’s actually a lot crammed into this little video. We get a chance to see that 5.4-inch QHD dual-curved AMOLED display in action, and we get a good feel for the Priv’s practical size (147×77.2mm) and heft (192g). It’s nice to see our beloved Lollipop running on a Blackberry device, and the overall design of the casing looks sturdy and sleek.

The main thing on display about the Priv is, of course, the physical keyboard. This hardware is becoming increasingly uncommon, and Blackberry is hoping to lure back those mobile users who were once so addicted to their “Crackberry” devices, but who invariably set the company aside when it was no longer able to compete with the slew of apps available from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Orchestral soaring at the appearance of the physical keyboard might be a bit over the top–it’s a text message conversation about lunch, after all, not a triumph of the human spirit–but if you look closely around 0:21, you’ll catch a glimpse at a pretty slick little feature: the user selects anticipated words on the screen with only a flick of his finger. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but it looks like one of those things that could become second-nature after using the Priv for a while.

What are your thoughts? Sold on the Priv yet? Let us know in the comments! Also be sure to check out the hands on leaked this morning from Carphone Warehouse for another look at Blackberry’s first Android powered device.