BlackBerry has announced its second smartphone running the Android OS, the DTEK50. The phone targets the enterprise market with BlackBerry's portfolio of productivity and management tools, as well as the increasing number of users concerned about the security and privacy of their data on smartphones.
The new DTEK by BlackBerry App automatically monitors the phone's OS and apps to check if privacy is at risk and take action to improve it. The DTEK app also notifies the user when someone is taking pictures or videos without their knowledge, turning the microphone on, sending a text message, or accessing contacts or location. BlackBerry also promises extra security patches for Android and a 'secure boot', where each stage of the phone's boot chain must first verify that the next component is fully intact before proceeding, in order to ensure the device has not been tampered with.
For business users, the DTEK50 supports Android for Work and Google Play for Work, for integration and control of enterprise apps, as well as BlackBerry's suite of EMM applications and productivity tools. This includes WatchDox by BlackBerry for secure file-sharing, Good Work for business-class email and collaboration tools, Strong Authentication by BlackBerry as a VPN solution, SecuSUITE for Enterprise for secure voice and instant messaging communication, BBM Protected for encrypted messaging and BES12 for secure cross-platform management.
The DTEK50, which features a 5.2-inch full HD screen and support for microSD cards up to 2 TB, is now available for pre-order from Blackberry's online shop. It's available initially in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands for USD 299 and will launch in a number of channels around the world later, including electronics stores, carriers, VARs and distributors. This includes Rogers, Bell, Telus, Wind, Videotron and SaskTel in its home market Canada and Best Buy, B&H and Amazon in the US.
