BlackBerry DTEK70 'Mercury' keyboard-bearing smartphone leaked online

BlackBerry Priv replacement codenamed 'Mercury' tipped for launch in 2017

The BlackBerry DTEK70, the last smartphone that the company will design and make in-house, has reportedly been sighted and images published online on the Chinese social-media network Weibo.

Codenamed 'Mercury', no further information was leaked alongside the image. But the shots suggest that BlackBerry will bring another keyboard-equipped smartphone to the Android market, no doubt replacing the BlackBerry Priv, which hasn't exactly flown off the shelves. It will also pack a huge front-facing camera sensor.

The device is expected to run Android, rather than BlackBerry 10, although it's not clear which version of the operating system the DTEK70 will come with.

While this is the first time we've seen a non-blurry image of the smartphone, which is expected to launch as the BlackBerry DTEK70, it's not the first we've heard about the device.

According to previous rumours, the handset will pack a 4.5in HD display alongside its full QWERTY keyboard and will come powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor backed up by 3GB RAM.

There's also talk that the BlackBerry DTEK70 will sport an 18MP camera sensor on its rear, an 8MP front-facing camera, 3GB of built-in storage, a 3,400mAh battery, USB-C connectivity and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the keyboard's space bar.

There's no word as to how much the handset will cost at launch, but BlackBerry CEO John Chen previously hinted that the company's next release will be markedly cheaper than the Priv.

He said: "A lot of enterprise customers have said to us: 'I want to buy your phone but $700 is a little too steep for me. I'm more interested in a $400 device."

The BlackBerry DTEK70 is expected to make its debut in the first quarter of 2017, although no exact date has yet been given.