Blackberry has confirmed that TCL, which also runs the Alcatel brand, has licensed the Blackberry brand for smartphones on an almost global basis (BlackBerry To Drop Smartphone Design and Build). The first phones to be supplied directly by TCL are due early in 2017. TCL made the DTEK50 and DTEK60 (Blackberry DTEK60 Ships).
As expected, the phones will run Android and include BlackBerry’s Secure software.
This deal is reported to give TCL and Alcatel exclusive rights to sell phones everywhere except Indonesia, where BlackBerry has a current licensing deal, and India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
