BlackBerry's Priv, its Android-powered smartphone with a sliding keyboard, is coming to Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint in the US after an exclusivity period with AT&T has run out. BlackBerry CEO John Chen announced the news today at a press conference here at CES in Las Vegas, saying his company had a 60-day agreement with AT&T not to announce carrier availability for the Priv, which began shipping November 6th of last year.
Chen couldn't give a time frame for any of the carrier releases, but T-Mobile CEO John Legere tweeted during BlackBerry's press conference to confirm the device will come to the T-Mobile network on January 26th. The Priv costs $699.99 unlocked, but AT&T has been offering the device for $250 with a two-year contract.
It’s true! #BlackBerry #PRIV coming to @TMobile on 1/26. But not this version – this is special for me #IAmBatman ;) https://t.co/n9jBXWvYnY
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) January 6, 2016
Chen says he's confident the company can hit a sales milestone of 5 million smartphones a year. "Things are starting to work," he said onstage. "We're generating cash, and we expect that to continue." Chen hinted in October that BlackBerry may exit the handset business altogether if the Priv proved a flop and the company couldn't hit that metric.
Update, 2:54PM January 6th: Added T-Mobile CEO John Legere's tweet confirming the time frame for Priv availability.