BlackBerry announced today the arrival of DTEK60, the second in its range of Android smartphones manufactured by a third party.

This follows the release of the DTEK50 earlier this year and the new high-end DTEK60 seems to have better specs and features compared to the entry level DTEK60 model.

                                              Fully Android

The Blackberry DTEK60 is based on a reference design from TCL and has a similar appearance to Alcatel’s Idol 4S. The 5.5-inch display has quad HD resolution and the metal-framed, dual-glass panel design is considerably nicer than the DTEK50’s utilitarian finish. BlackBerry has upgraded a number of other specs in the phone compared to the Alcatel version, giving it Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor and a higher-resolution, 21-megapixel rear camera. A 3,000mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0, a USB Type C port, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a customizable side button round out the DTEK60’s spec sheet.

                                                   Fingerprint Sensor on DTEK60

For the operating system, the DTEK60 comes on a Android 6.0 Marshmallow and BlackBerry says it is working with Google on an upgrade path for Nougat. The company is pitching the device as more secure than other Android phones, thanks to its secure bootloader, Hardware Root of Trust, DTEK app, and quick updates for security patches. The phone also includes BlackBerry’s suite of productivity apps, such as the Hub, Calendar, and keyboard. It’s not clear how much built-in storage the device comes with – am guessing 16GB – but it comes with a microSD card slot that’s expandable up to 2TB.

                                                                 Work and Play

                                                                     Scratch-resistant Screen

The DTEK60 continues BlackBerry’s transition from a full hardware manufacturer to a company that licenses its brand to other makers. BlackBerry says it had more of a hand in the specs and design features of the DTEK60 than it will with future devices that are fully developed by the licensed manufacturers.

BlackBerry’s plans for the DTEK60 are similar to how it sold the DTEK50: consumers can buy it if they really want to, but it’s primarily going to be sold to businesses and governments that will deploy it to their employees. For Blackberry lovers like me in Nigeria, the DTEK60 appears to be a good choice for anyone considering buying a news phone. And more so you can tabs on topnaija.n to see our review on the Blackberry  DTEK60.

The BlackBerry DTEK60 is available for purchase on the company’s website from today for $499 and If you deal direct with BlackBerry and pay before November 8th, you’ll also be handed some form of phone case (depending on your region) and a rapid charger for free.