It’s been quiet on the BlackBerry front for a while. After the debut of the flagship PRIV in October last year, there was hardly a whimper from the ailing Canadian smartphone maker. Well, apparently it’s back with a new device. What’s this? A re-badged Alcatel Idol 4 it’s claiming to be the “world’s most secure smartphone”? Say hello to DTEK50.
Its only second Android smartphone to date, the DTEK50 unabashedly shares its underpinnings and design with the Alcatel Idol 4. Not a bad-looking phone of course, housed in BlackBerry trim. And in case you were wondering why–DTEK50 is made by TCL Corporation, the same folks who manufacture Alcatel OneTouch devices.
A mid-range phone at best, it boasts a 5.2-inch Full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip mated to 3GB RAM and 16GB of storage. Supporting microSD expansion up to 2TB, it also sports a 13MP f/2.0 rear camera and a 8MP selfie camera with front-facing flash.
There’s a 2,610mAh battery that supports QuickCharge 2.0 via its micro-USB port. The 4G LTE smartphone also packs Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC.
It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.
If you’re wondering about its peculiar name, it’s derived from BlackBerry DTEK security software that debuted with the PRIV last year.
If you’re concerned about security and privacy (and you should), then the DTEK50 could be your next device.
DTEK protects you from malware and other security vulnerabilities often afflicting the Android platform. While we love the openness of Android, it is also more susceptible to security risks–malware, adware, spyware, hacks and other threats.
This is where DTEK comes in. There are several things that make DTEK secure from the get go.
Device security from the bottom up
- A hardened Linux kernel: Reduction of Android attack surface through patches and configuration changes to improve security
- Address space layout randomization: Application/system memory is scrambled to make it difficult for attackers to target your device
- Hardware root of trust: At manufacturing level, a hardware root of trust adds security keys to the processor, on every DTEK50 device.
- A better bootloader: Secure boot process that only allows a BlackBerry-signed OS to be loaded.
- FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption: US government-grade encryption.
Continual and fast security updates
BlackBerry assures that it deploys Android updates to the DTEK50 and PRIV faster than any other device maker around.
Total control over your privacy and security
With the DTEK security app, OS and apps are automatically monitored. You can get a quick glimpse at the overall security rating for your device, and suggestions on how you can improve it.
DTEK tracks your apps and notifies you when someone is taking pics or videos without your knowledge, sending a text, or accessing your contacts.
Pricing and availability
BlackBerry DTEK50 is available to pre-order from ShopBlackBerry.com in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands for US$299/MYR1,221.
For a limited time, pre-order customers will receive a complimentary BlackBerry Mobile Power Pack (worth US$59.99). This offer expires 8 August 2016 @ 11.59PM PST.
The new device will be available in a number of channels around the world, including more than 40 partners including Rogers, Bell, TELUS, WIND, Videotron and SaskTel in Canada.
In the US, DTEK50 will initially be available at Best Buy, B&H, and Amazon.
Globally, available will be announced in the coming weeks.
Source: Inside BlackBerry
