Could BlackBerry be any less involved in the phone business that it is today? A year ago it designed its own phones that ran its own, home-grown platform. Today it rebadges other people’s designs and the phones run Android. Actually, yes, it could – see below for details*.
This week BlackBerry accidentally revealed details of its second TCL-designed device, on a webpage named “donotpublish.html”.
The new device rejoices in the name DTEK60, and it’s a higher spec device than its mid-range but capable brother the DTEK50, which we reviewed here.
Specs suggest a 5.5 inch with a 1440×2560 Quad HD display, running this year’s Qualcomm flagship chip the 820 Snapdragon, 4GB or RAM, a 3000mAh battery, 21MP and 8MP shooters, and for the first time on a BlackBerry, a fingerprint sensor.
For the DTEK50, BlackBerry rebadged and recased the reference design for a phone that TCL’s Alcatel brand sold as the Idol 4. The DTEK60 bears similiarities to the Asus Idol 4 Pro. That’s a device that will appear in both Android 7 and Windows 10 Mobile incarnations.
BlackBerry said three more Androids are on the roadmap, with the third, a QWERTY Android, expected next year.
BlackBerry may chafe at the use of the phrase “rebadged”. The company says it locks down the reference design with secure boot (it can’t be rooted).
BlackBerry yesterday opened a fire sale of its remaining Passports, with huge (£190) savings available on Passports. The last BB10 appeared 13 months ago. The Priv also gets an overdue price cut to £399.
The company is due to report o the quarter ending August 31st next Wednesday. ®
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* Having outsourced almost everything, the next logical step for BlackBerry would be to grant a full time “BlackBerry” license to a third party, such as TCL, retaining control of the certification process. This is now a well-worn path for Western manufacturers seeking to cut costs and take advantage of China’s manufacturing scale.
[Source:-The register]
