“BlackBerry is no longer just about the smartphone, but the smart in the phone,” Chen recently stated in a message to the Waterloo-based company’s customers. “Through this strategy, there will continue to be BlackBerry-branded devices in the market; when you see our logo it means security, from our class-leading enterprise software to devices secured by BlackBerry software.”
BlackBerry has released two Android-powered devices, the DTEK50 and DTEK60, in partnership with TCL Communications, the company also manufacturers Alcatel-branded smartphones. To distance itself from manufacturing handsets and into a security software and services company, BlackBerry has announced it has entered into a “long-term licensing agreement” with TCL Communications to design, manufacture, sell and provide customer support for BlackBerry devices.
“This agreement with TCL Communication represents a key step in our strategy to focus on putting the ‘smart in the phone’ by providing state-of-the-art security and device software on a platform that mobile users prefer and are comfortable with,” said Ralph Pini, COO and general manager of mobility solutions at BlackBerry. “TCL Communication is the natural choice to license Blackberry’s software and brand on a global scale.”
The next BlackBerry smartphone to launch will reportedly be the DTEK70, which is a device that will feature a fingerprint sensor embedded into the space bar, 4.5-inch display, 2.0GHz Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 18-megapixel camera with an 8 megapixel front-facing secondary.
[source] BlackBerry [/source]
