BlackBerry delivers a slab-style phone for its latest Android

The BlackBerry DTEK50 seems to be a rebranded version of the Alcatel Idol 4, which comes with nearly same set of specifications. The official launch was spoiled a bit by a premature leak, but the BlackBerry DTEK50 should begin shipping in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe in a few weeks.

On the outside, the BlackBerry DTEK50 has a 5.2 inch display, ultra thin design and 8 megapixel front facing and 13 megapixel rear facing cameras.

Now available for preorders for a modest $300, the Marshmallow 6.0-powered device combines Android’s operating system with BlackBerry’s security, privacy and productivity features.

The release of the BlackBerry Neon images came a month after an AT&T executive confirmed that BlackBerry’s first Android device, the BlackBerry Priv, was struggling in the market, according to Forbes.

“We’re very confident that from a product perspective this will sell very well”, Thurber said of the DTEK50, whose name is derived from a feature on the Priv that informs users of their device security status and how to improve it.

This gives users of the DTEK50 secure voice calls, text messages and file sharing capabilities, while the DTEK app allows you to control and monitor security and privacy on the handset. What the Waterloo Ontario-based company has succeeded in doing with the device is, modifying the Android OS with its own technology developed originally for the BB10 platform to make it secure.

As far as security updates go, BlackBerry has been quick to push out the monthly security patches to the PRIV already (in fact, some months it beats Google to actually announcing the patch).

FIPS 140-2 Compliant Full Disk Encryption: Protects your private information, like pictures or bank information, from being stolen if you were to lose your phone. The company has also outfitted the software with its Hub with inbox unification and Convenience Key featuring frequently used apps.

BlackBerry is reported to have be two more Android smartphones coming soon, codenamed Argon and Mercury. It just didn’t offer enough to justify that $700 price.

“Security isn’t something that’s tacked on, it’s fully integrated into the BlackBerry device hardware and OS”. If the handsets made money BlackBerry would also buy itself more time in which it would be able to develop new secure devices.