BlackBerry KEY2 and KEY2 LE
by Volker Weber
BlackBerry Mobile does not say what the LE stands for but I consider these three smartphones to be a Light Edition of the KEY2. The reason they exist is to bring the price down.
The KEY2 is a good phone with one major flaw: it has a terrible camera. And everybody seems to agree that it is also too expensive. The KEY2 LE will be more reasonably priced at 399 Eur and it's cheaper where it does not hurt. SD 635 instead of 660, four instead of six GB or RAM, 32 GB of expandable storage (or 64). The camera does not have a zoom lens which is pretty much unusable on the KEY2 anyway, so that does not change the equation. The body is made from polycarbonate instead of aluminium.
There is a single reason to buy either one: you want a physical keyboard. If you do want one, this is the one to buy. If you could not care less, you will find nicer phones for the same price. I recommend Nokia with AndroidOne.
I also happen to like the BlackBerry Motion which wears the endurance crown here at vowe's magic flying circus. But it's not a commercial success, and although it has been upgraded to Android 8.1, I cannot get a commitment from BlackBerry Mobile for Android Pie on either the Motion or the KEYone.
