BlackBerry DTEK 50

Strange to be posting about a BlackBerry phone in the Android section....but that's how it is now I guess. Last year BlackBerry launched the Priv, their first Android device, and now they followed up with a more affordable ($300) mid-range phone, also running Android.

I bought one last week, because my Z10 was 3-4 years old, and as much as I loved it (and the BB10 OS), it was time to put it out to pasture The DTEK 50 is made by TCL, a Chinese company that bought the rights to the French Alcatel name (for phones) and makes their own Alcatel branded phones. BlackBerry took the stock Alcatel Idol 4, added 3GB RAM and a rubberized back, and used that for the DTEK 50 hardware. I've had Alcatel devices before, and they are generally pretty decent. I like that the DTEK50 is flat on both sides and can sit on the table nicely.

On the software side, that's where BB is putting their added value. The phone is stock Android 6.0.1 (and clean Android, like Moto X, Nexus, etc.), but BB has added their "DTEK" security suite, which tells you which apps accessed which parts of your phone and when (eg. Facebook accessed your GPS location at 10:03 this morning). You can also block which apps have access to which parts of your phone. I hear that's something that Android will or has stock in some phones, but Android can vary pretty wildly, so I'm not sure which phones or which OS release has this, but it's available in DTEK50. BB also promises fast updates and security patches, I think same day that Android releases them. I only had the phone 1 week and already got an update after a couple of days.

The other main difference from stock Android besides DTEK is the BlackBerry hub, which was one of the best parts of BB10 OS. It is a great way to aggregate all your e-mails and messages into one easy and nice looking place. I think Android has something similar, but coming from a BB10 device, the BB Hub is something that I really appreciate. I do miss the gesture-based fluidity of BB10, and have to re-learn Android a little, but I'll give it a little time.

The phone works great in general, web-browsing and Facebook work much better (Facebook pulled their BB10 app, so it only opened in a web-browser on my Z10 :/ ) The 3GB RAM and updated sw also plays a big role I'm sure. In general after the first week, I'm still adjusting to the different OS, but I like the phone so far. Altho I appreciate the clean Android OS, I would like to see BB make it more gesture-based like BB10, but maybe in the future.

 

I checked on a couple of non-BlckBerry Android phones, and see that "BlackBerry Hub" and "DTEK" are available in the Google Play store, but they were not available for download on the non-BlackBerry phones. I don't know if BlackBerry will make these available on non-BlackBerry phones? Or if it's even possible? (ie. maybe they need to be integrated in the Android OS on a lower level?) The Hub and DTEK are what is making the phone "BlackBerry", well in addition to some encryption and some other built in security features that are not so visible. I would really like to see BB "own" the Android OS a little more, and move away from the stock to something more uniquely BB.

I bought the phone unlocked, so it didn't come with any restrictions regarding carriers, I can use it on any GSM/UMTS/LTE network.