Like TCL,
whose BlackBerry Mobile unit launched the BlackBerry KEY2 in the U.S. last
week, Optiemus has a license to use the BlackBerry name on some of its
handsets. Unfortunately, the license only covers India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and
Bangladesh. The two phones were given the codenames Ghost and Ghost Pro, and
feature a near bezel-less design, an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 4000mAh battery.
We were hoping that Optiemus would keep the Ghost
and Ghost Pro names, but today, tipster Evan Blass, who has been on top of this
device from the get go, tweeted out what he says are the retail names for the
two handsets. So we are now looking forward to the unveiling of the BlackBerry
Evolve and BlackBerry Evolve X. Blass earlier this year said that the pair will
both be equipped with a dual camera setup on back carrying low-light
enhancements and optical zoom. The renders also didn't reveal any front-facing
buttons, so we could see a rear-facing biometric scanner on the units.
The Evolve and Evolve X will be considered flagship
models, and both will run on Android. They will also feature the BlackBerry Hub
and the DTEK security app. The pair could be unveiled later in the current
quarter, which runs through September.
Because Optiemus is limited to the aforementioned
markets through its license with BlackBerry, we don't expect to see the two new
BlackBerry handsets made available in the U.S., Canada, or even Europe.