BlackBerry has a long tradition of building its own hardware and software, but having fallen on harder times of late, the company was forced to outsource hardware building and designing to another company. With the DTEKT50, its first mid-range Android phone, it partnered with TCL Communication and added its own subtle tweaks to a pre-existing reference design.
The result is an all-touch device running a clean-looking version of Android, but with BlackBerry's own useful software on top. Specifications are decent, and for a phone that costs less than £300, you get good value for money.
In a market this saturated though, BlackBerry's going to have a tough task convincing consumers that the added element of security is a big enough distinction.
BlackBerry DTEK50: Design
To describe it in the shortest, crudest way possible, the BlackBerry DTEK50 is essentially an Alcatel Idol 4 with a plastic back. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The lightweight, slim aluminium frame construction - combined with the textured plastic on the back - makes a device that's both grippy and light. From an aesthetic perspective, it doesn't look quite as premium as devices covered in glass on both sides. But unlike those, it won't slide off furniture or slip out of your hand.
A dark grey anodised finish on the frame contrasts really nicely with the polished, chamfered edges to give a result that is both elegant and subtle. Sadly, it is slightly hampered by the black plastic antenna gaps on the top and bottom which don't sit exactly flush with the edges.
The slim volume rocker switch on the right edge is coloured to match the frame, and is joined by a round "Convenience" key. This can be programmed to launch an app, or used as a shortcut to a specific function. As an example, you could press it to compose an email or a message, add an event to a calendar, set an alarm or use one of many other shortcuts available.
Above and below the screen on the front are two rows of machined holes which act as the grilles for the 3.6W stereo speakers. These are mirrored on the rear as well, so whether the phone is face up or facedown, you can hear your music and notifications clearly.
The micro USB port lives on the bottom edge, the 3.5mm jack is on the top edge, while the power button is - confusingly - on the left edge, opposite the volume rocker.
BlackBerry DTEK50: Display
Underneath a flat sheet of scratch-resistant glass on the front, there's a 5.2-inch full HD display.
It's fully laminated, which means there's no gap between the glass and the actual display panel. This has a few benefits, most importantly, it means colours and brightness are better than if there was an air gap. Also, it enables manufacturers to build the slim phones we've become accustomed to.
On first impressions, the screen seems really clear and text is nice and sharp. Colours are accurate, but there's not the vividness or high contrast levels you might get from an AMOLED-based screen. Still, the IPS panel offers great viewing angles and is generally pleasing to the eye.
BlackBerry DTEK50: Camera
The main camera on the back features a 13-megapixel sensor and f/2.0 lens and supports full HD video capture. As a bonus, the built-in BlackBerry camera app has a full manual control mode so that you can fine-tune your shots.
The manual control mode lets you adjust the shutter speed, white balance, focus and brightness. Those of you who like to play with long exposures for effects like light-painting and light trails will be disappointed to know that the longest shutter speed available is 1/2 second. Still, the addition of manual changes to other important settings should help you get the results you want.
The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor and also supports 1080p video recording, it also has a front LED light which - as well as being used as a notification alert - can function as a flash for well-lit selfies.
BlackBerry DTEK50: Hardware
Inside, powering the DTEK50, is a mid-range Snapdragon 617 with eight cores. It's paired with 3GB RAM to make sure that you get as smooth a performance as possible from a mid-tier phone, but sadly comes with just 16GB internal storage.
The upside is there's a microSD card slot which supports cards up to a massive 2TB, ensuring that it's future proof. What's more, BlackBerry's latest device supports Android Marshmallow's adoptable storage feature, so you can adopt a microSD card and use it as if it was internal storage for saving apps and app data as well as media.
There's a 2,610mAh battery which BlackBerry says will get you through a day, and even if it doesn't, it supports Quick Charge 2.0 technology for fast charging. It can half-fill the battery in just 50mins.
BlackBerry DTEK50: Software
With the Android marketplace being so saturated nowadays it can be hard for companies to put their own unique spin on devices. With BlackBerry, the most obvious way to do it was with software. It was something that worked well on the PRIV, and has yet again been implemented in to the DTEK50.
Starting with the most obvious - and where the phone gets its name from - the DTEK app is a very simple tool for checking up on your phone's security. It'll tell you your device's current security status and, more importantly, gives you access to more granular controls for choosing which permissions are allowed for individual apps.
If an app that shouldn't get access to your location or microphone has been getting permission to access those things, you can switch the permissions off. You can also see how many times a specific feature or function has been accessed by any app.
Like the PRIV, it has the Productivity Tab, which slides in from the right and gives you quick access to your upcoming events and tasks, as well as favourite contacts and messages. BlackBerry has also implemented its great predictive software keyboard for easy typing and the Hub which collects notifications, messages and events from across the device and collates them in to one, easy-to-use inbox.
As well as that, there's the useful pop-up widgets from the home screen. Any app that has white dots under its icon has widgets available, and you can access them by just swiping up from the icon. This saves lots of space on your home screen, and ensures you don't have any potentially confidential information always on display.
All these software tweaks are joined by a handful of BlackBerry apps like the calendar app, BBM, Device Search, Password Keeper, Notes and Tasks. While many might class these as bloatware, the company has been careful about including only the software which improves the experience and makes it more BlackBerry-like.
On top of all this, BlackBerry is committed to delivering prompt security updates. So when Google releases its monthly security patches on Android, BlackBerry is usually one of the first to follow in updating its own devices.
First Impressions
As first impressions go, it's impossible to ignore the phone's similarity to the Idol 4, but that's because it uses the same TCL Communication reference design.
Once you move past that observation you're left realising that this is a pretty solid mid-ranger. And for those who love the BlackBerry Hub for managing notifications and want the extra piece of mind that their information is secure, this is an ideal device, especially if their budget is under £300.
