BlackBerry’s DTEK50 has been hailed as the most secure smartphone device in existence, and Ingram Micro beat out its rivals to secure an exclusive distribution deal for this newly-launched Android smartphone.
Huge interest from customers
Matt Bramwell, Ingram Micro’s head of mobile for the U.K., described the device as a great opportunity for the Canadian firm to win back market share. He further said that Ingram has had to place additional orders quickly to cope with demand. BlackBerry revealed the DTEK50 a month after CEO John Chen gave its hardware arm one year to return to profitability. In an interview with Mobile News, Bramwell said the Android-powered DTEK50 is the most secure Android phone in the world for price-conscious people.
“We’ve had huge interest from our customers. The reaction from the reseller channel has been incredible,” said Bramwell.
According to Bramwell, the new smartphone is a “genuine game-changer” for the Canadian firm, and it is going to elevate BlackBerry firmly into the Android space. Bramwell also noted that it is “a win-win for the customer” with all the added privacy, security, and productivity benefits.
A game-changer for BlackBerry?
BlackBerry’s new device will be available in the coming weeks. With the DTEK50 priced at less than half the launch price of the Priv, the Canadian firm is aiming at the mid-tier of the market. This is BlackBerry’s second smartphone powered by the Android OS. In October 2015, the Waterloo-based company launched the Priv exclusively with Carphone Warehouse.
The DTEK50 runs Android Marshmallow and comes with a 5.2-inch screen with an HD Display (16 million colors), and at 7.4mm, it is BlackBerry’s thinnest smartphone. Also the smartphone features an 8MP front-facing camera, 13 MP rear-facing camera, and 16GB of internal memory, which can be expanded to 2TB by using a microSD card.
Other features of the smartphone include the DTEK by BlackBerry App, which lets users monitor their apps and OS closely for potential risks to security and provides actions to take in case of a breach. Consumers can remotely handle, wipe or lock their device as well if it is lost or being used without permission. Alerts can be sent to the user’s secondary handset or their desktop if someone is using their device, like by turning the microphone on, taking pictures without their permission or knowledge, accessing their contacts or location, or sending a text message.
