BlackBerry is taking another jab at the smartphone market, launching the "world's most secure" Android smartphone — the DTEK50.
While it doesn't exactly have the catchiest name, the BlackBerry DTEK50 does seem like a promising smartphone and it has an important mission to carry out: restore BlackBerry's relevance on the mobile market.
Once at the top of the food chain, known for its high-end, highly secure devices suitable for the elite, BlackBerry lost significant ground to rivals and has been struggling to make a comeback for years.
In an increasingly competitive smartphone market, the company's efforts to return to glory have yet to pay off. The BB10 devices did not exactly fly off store shelves, despite the initial interest the Passport has stirred or the various promotions BlackBerry had in place.
The company then decided to try something entirely new and shift to the popular Android OS rather than its own, launching the BlackBerry Priv as its very first Android handset. The device stirred quite some interest upon its debut, but still failed to become a top seller.
The steep price of the BlackBerry Priv was considered to be one of the main reasons the smartphone didn't make more waves. Earlier this year, upon confirming plans to bring two Android mid-rangers to market in 2016, BlackBerry CEO John Chen admitted that the Priv was overpriced, which limited its success.
The new BlackBerry DTEK50 now takes an important step in the right direction, coming at an affordable price point that should make it accessible to more potential customers.
While the BlackBerry Priv launched at a whopping $700, which many found unjustified for its mid-range specifications, the new BlackBerry DTEK50 arrives at a far more decent $299 price point.
The company's second Android smartphone still comes with mid-range specifications, but it finally has a price to match its hardware. For that $299 price tag, the DTEK50 offers a 5.2-inch full HD screen (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), a Snapdragon 617 processor, 3 GB of RAM, a 2,610 mAh battery, and support for expandable storage of up to 2 TB, among the highlights. Other specs include a 13-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel front shooter with flash.
Bottom line, the BlackBerry DTEK50 sports standard mid-range specs, but it finally does so at a reasonable price point. Moreover, BlackBerry touts the smartphone as the "world's most secure," boasting DTEK software for protection against malware and other security threats.
"With an NFC 'bump', bank info can be stolen. With malware, family pictures can be downloaded. It's scary, but this does happen on other phones. With DTEK50, you don't have to worry about this happening to you," touts BlackBerry.
Because standard specifications and a decent price point are not enough to ensure a smartphone's success, the enhanced security features of the BlackBerry DTEK50 are what make the device stand out from the crowd.
This approach may not guarantee the handset's success either, but it does give it more weight and a solid selling point. It remains to be seen whether the BlackBerry DTEK50 will manage to turn the company's fortunes around, but it does seem like a good step in the right direction. After such a long struggle to return to relevance, however, there's also the chance that the DTEK50 is too little, too late.
Bringing this proposition to the table a few years ago would have likely saved BlackBerry from a lot of hassle and uncertainty, but alas, better late than never. Does the new DTEK50 spark your interest, or have you long forsaken BlackBerry? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
