BlackBerry was once the go-to platform when looking for secure devices that promise complete encryption with respect to communications.
However, with the emergence of tough competition from Apple and Google, the company could not maintain its presence in the market. Rather than get rid of its mobile division, BlackBerry decided to jump onto the Android bandwagon, releasing the BlackBerry Priv in 2015, the company’s first Android-powered smartphone. As usual, the Canadian firm insisted on the device’s secure nature despite the fact that Android has been known to be highly vulnerable when it comes to attacks.
Now, earlier this year BlackBerry promised that it will be coming in with more Android devices and do away with the BB10 OS, at least for now. On Tuesday, the company lived up to this promise by unveiling the second Android-powered BlackBerry DTEK50 smartphone. According to the company, the DTEK50 is the most secure Android phone on the planet at the moment and apparently, those who pre-order it will also receive a BB power bank of 12600mAh at zero cost.
The BlackBerry Priv, despite being powered by Android OS, kept the physical keyboard that has given BB its long-time identity in the smartphone market. On the other hand, the new BlackBerry DTEK50 is the first Android-powered BB handset to come without a physical keyboard. In short, you only get to interact with the on-screen keyboard.
Specs and performance features
The new BlackBerry DTEK50 is a mid-range handset just from the look of its specs. The display screen stands at 5.2 inches and it has a Full HD resolution of 1080p, which gives it a pixel density of 424ppi. According to BB, the screen is scratch resistant, but there is no mention of Corning’s screen protection technology on the phone.
Under the hood, the BlackBerry DTEK50 packs a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core that features an Adreno 405 GPU and is paired with a RAM of 3GB. You get 16GB of onboard storage, but you get room to expand the storage via a microSD card of up to 2TB. To keep the Full HD screen alive, the handset comes with a 2610mAh battery unit that is not removable, but BB claims that it can last up to 17 hours with moderate usage.
As for the cameras, there is a decent 13MP lens for the main camera that features PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, HDR, face detection, image stabilization as well as dual-tone LED flash. The lens can only record videos of up to 1080p. The secondary camera has an 8MP lens with f/2.2 aperture and 84-degree wide-angle views. It also adds both image and video stabilization, can record up to 1080p videos and to crown it all, it adds a selfie flash that ensures you get the best shots in poor lighting conditions.
Software-wise, the new BlackBerry DTEK50 is touted as the most secure Android phone at the moment. This is because BB has encrypted the used Android 6.0 Marshmallow to ensure that the phone retains the company’s security-centric approach.
To grab yourself a new BlackBerry DTEK50, you only need $299 and as noted earlier, this bundle will include a free 12600mAh power bank. Pre-orders are underway through the official BB website while shipping will begin during the week of August 8, 2016.