BlackBerry DTEK50
Over the past few weeks we've seen a lot
of leaks and rumors regarding BlackBerry's second Android-running smartphone.
At various points this was referred to as Hamburg, Neon, or DTEK50, with an
official press render leaking mere hours ago. And now we know that, out of
those three, BlackBerry chose DTEK50 to be the phone's official name.
As rumored, the BlackBerry DTEK50 is
just a rebranded alcatel Idol 4, a mid-range Android device that got announced
at the beginning of this year. The difference, obviously, is that the DTEK50
runs BlackBerry's interpretation of Android, and not alcatel's.
It comes with the BlackBerry Hub
preinstalled, as well as the BlackBerry keyboard, while DTEK (the software)
monitors your overall security rating and has suggestions for improving it.
DTEK tracks your apps and notifies you when someone is taking pictures or
videos without your knowledge, or accessing your contacts or location. The same
goes for when your microphone is turned on and when an SMS is sent.
The phone also features a programmable
BlackBerry Convenience Key, pop-up widgets, BlackBerry Device Search, Instant
Actions, and Gesture Controls as part of the Canadian company's software
enhancements to Android.
The DTEK50 is "the world's most
secure Android smartphone" according to BlackBerry - but if you believe
that then you also see how ironic it is that the much more expensive Priv is
apparently less secure.
As for specs, if you know those of the
alcatel Idol 4, then you know the BlackBerry DTEK50's too. The two handsets are
identical. So BlackBerry's newest offering comes with a 5.2-inch 1080p
touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus and LED flash,
an 8 MP selfie shooter, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 617 SoC, 3 GB of RAM, 16 GB of expandable
storage, and a 2,610 mAh battery. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
It's already up for pre-order from
BlackBerry's own website in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy,
and the Netherlands. It's priced at US$ 299, € 339, CAD 429, and £ 275, respectively.
It will become available during the week of August 8.