DTEK60 Launches

[kav2001c]

http://ca.blackberry.com/smartphones/dtek50-60-by-blackberry/specifications.html

New Blackberry 

[IWIK]

@Eviron yea, it is on the higher end, although it was on sale, not sure if that's over now. I wouldn't expect the "Mercury" physical keyboard phone to be very cheap, probably similar pricing to the current DTEK60.
All depends on your situation. I compare to what I would be paying and use that money to buy what I want.
You probably won't get launch prices like the Q5 any time soon.

[Evrion]

@IWIK but the price! I don't have that kind of money to drop on a phone. I got the Q5 because it was cheap (actually free with the cheap contract) It's paid off now. I would take a Priv though if you want to toss one at me 🙂 I'm with PM because I can get a cheap plan.

[IWIK]

@Evrion The Priv has an excellent keyboard, if you don't mind the larger phone.

[Evrion]

Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on Blackberry, and will be looking seriously at upgrading to an Android Blackberry if there is a keyboard and a not crazy price.

[kav2001c]

@Evrion apparently there is a QWERTY model coming for end of year. They had expected 3 releases for 2016, so DTEK50, DTEK60 & ?

[pakmode]

Lol - I still have a Blackberry 10 phone and honestly love it.

I'm going to have to give it up in a few months when WhatsApp will no longer be supported, but until then I'll continue to use it.

All things considered, BB10 is a great OS and it would have been a 3-horse race had they released it a year or 2 earlier.  The delays honestly killed this company.

Had it been released in 2011 it would have held some market share rather then losing it all pretty much.

There are some great features in the OS, but it was too little too late. 

[Evrion]

I use a Blackberry Q5. It's a BB10 phone with a keyboard. I love the keyboard and the hub. I like that all for email and texting.

I woundn't mind getting a new phone, but if there is no keyboard (like the DTEK phones so far) I'm not actually interested.

[IWIK]

Ordered one for the wife Tuesday at noon, it was at my door the next day at 3. Looks good so far, haven't had a good chance to play with it yet.

[hassantq]

I hope they succeed because we always need more players for better competition and choice. I hope microsoft makes a good comeback too though cuz android/ios domination is not good. More players better.

[fktw]

@kav2001c, usually this is an argument Apple supporters use...never seen it used to defend BBRY. In any case, I was really just pointing out that bbry sells very few devices relative to its past, and I don't believe it was a false statement or even something that a bbry supporter would need to defend against.

[kav2001c]

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@fktw wrote:
@kav2001c, bbry's revenue dropped 90% in 5 years. My company went from all blackberries to 95% Android overnight in 2015. That seems to be the trend.

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@fktw but again, remember ONLY Samsung has shown any profits selling Android. 

HTC who many consider a major competitor to Samsung loses more money per quarter than Blackberry did in a year. And this is WITH selling high end devices back when Blackberry went nearly a year without any new hardware.

Small formerly noname Chinese brands make up the bulk of Android sales if you exclude Samsung. Nobody is making profits in hardware it seems like.

[fktw]

@kav2001c, bbry's revenue dropped 90% in 5 years. My company went from all blackberries to 95% Android overnight in 2015. That seems to be the trend.

[kav2001c]

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@srlawren wrote:

@kav2001c for my personal prefence, and I hate to say it, the downside to me is the extra BB software.  I realllly wanted to love Hub+ and related apps on Android when they were opened up to non-BB devices a short while ago ,but couldn't.  The setup I found clunky, and to do almost anything useful I wound up back in the dedicated apps anyway.  Sure you could just ignore them or I guess disable them on a BB, but then why are you bothering with a BB?  

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@srlawren oh no for sure, I even posted in first comment the secure boot + no outside mod roms will totally turn off a certain segment of the market

[srlawren]

@kav2001c further thought on Hub+... if it could somehow have completely replaced the built-in Android notification system, it would have been a lot better.  I realize this is likely forbidden for a g-apps enabled phone, but this is why it feels clunky, because it's an obvious layer on top.  And all the related apps.. Contacts... Calendar... etc., they just didn't seem to add anything for me over the stock Android equivalents.  If I could have JUST the Hub out of the suite, and it worked as well as on BB10 (which I loved!), I'd be a happy camper and subscriber.

[srlawren]

@kav2001c for my personal prefence, and I hate to say it, the downside to me is the extra BB software.  I realllly wanted to love Hub+ and related apps on Android when they were opened up to non-BB devices a short while ago ,but couldn't.  The setup I found clunky, and to do almost anything useful I wound up back in the dedicated apps anyway.  Sure you could just ignore them or I guess disable them on a BB, but then why are you bothering with a BB?  

Granted, the quick OS updates are nice, but not everyone cases.  And as you point out, the OnePlus 3 has the same proc, more RAM, and is cheaper.  So, what's the downside?  🙂

It's all personal preference of course.  I do think they're finally getting somewhere, but is it too late?

[kav2001c]

@fktw Media has greatly exagerated Blackberry demise (I posted in the other thread I strongly suspect most of these media writers shorted Blackberry stock since many stories were absurd to say the least)

The DTEK60 has one of the best CPU/GPU + RAM combos in existance at this point. Equivalent to Samsung's high end and better than most of the el cheapo phones.

Pricewise only OnePlus can touch Blackberry, as brands like Samsung & HTC are double the cost. 

Quickest Android updates in market. 

So downside is? 

[srlawren]

@fktw I finally gave up at the end of 2014 and moved from my Z10 to a Moto X, no looking back.

I'm happy to see BB finally putting out some nice options, awkward boom key placement aside.  Oh and finally a fingerprint scanner!  I guess if I were wanting a BB today, it would probably be the DTEK60.  But, at that price point (or less), there's a lot of great alternatives.....

[fktw]

Raise of hands: does anyone still use Blackberry outside of company issued phones?  Not trolling, actually curious about this.

[kav2001c]

@imm1304 the DTEK50 is already on epp program. 

[kav2001c · Accepted solution]

@daredogg they have introduced a bunch of security features to lock down the platform. Negative side to that is you are prevented from using things like custom roms.

They have been one of the best in terms of Android updates putting others to shame. 

They also have their custom security software, . This can be purchased and installed by any Android phone.

*edited numerous spelling errors as I posted earlier with a touchscreen  

[sley]

@daredogg I believe they're just marketing it as such. Their data use to all travel through (or still does) the BIS servers which they claimed to protect. Recent revelations though showed that they were quite happy to comply with government orders to open up the servers. 

[daredogg]

Can I ask about this bullet point?

• BlackBerry Security that protects the private details of your life from being hacked

Is their security superior to other brands on the market? The reason I ask is that BB/RIM had always targeted businesses and I'm wondering if the better security is the reason why.

[imm1304]

Both thd DTEK 50 and 60 look very good overall.  

Watch closely and they can be picked up on sale in months to come.  

I just wonder if they missed the boat already by releasing a much more expensive PRIV when they should have been selling equivalent of DTEK 50 and 60 for the last couple of years.