If you were itching to get your hands one of BlackBerry’s year-old devices but wanted to get a hands-on impression first, the company’s opening a pop-up store in New York that will let you do just that.
You’ll be able to play around with the BlackBerry Priv, the company’s first Android phone, the Passport, Passport Silver Edition, Classic, and the Leap. In addition to being able to test these unlocked devices out — you’ll also be able to purchase them. Prices are the same as the ones on the company’s website, but BlackBerry is also giving away a free case and a sync pod with every smartphone purchase.
The company’s mobile market share has been on the decline for years, and recent efforts to make a comeback — such as the decision to only make phones running the Android operating system — haven’t helped. In fact, CEO John Chen openly said more than once that if the company’s mobile division doesn’t come up with a profit by the end of 2016, it will likely shut down.
BlackBerry should be on track to release two midrange Android handsets — after learning from the steep price of the Priv. One of these devices will have a physical keyboard, but we have yet to learn anything new about them, including when they’re being released. The two devices could be announced at the company’s upcoming Security Summit on July 19.
The pop-up store is in Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey St., near the World Trade Center. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday. It’s unclear how long the pop-up store will remain at that location.
