The introduction of iOS and then Android into the smartphone market didn't bode too well for BlackBerry. They company held on to some of their market share for a while, but over time they continued to slowly lose their user base to its competitors. Then something interesting happened, the Canadian handset maker tried to give it one more go in the smartphone market by utilizing Android and building their service and security features into the platform.
The BlackBerry Priv received a lot of attention due to its unique design and the first mainstream Android smartphone with a physical keyboard in quite a while. This marked the last physical smartphone the company released before they surprised the world yet again. Instead of making their own smartphones, they chose to go all in on the software part and license their brand and software to other handset makers. This is where the company signed deals with the likes of TCL and BB Merah Putih.
The results here were smartphones such as the DTEK50 and the DTEK60, which completely removed the hardware keyboard so many BlackBerry fans had come to love. Then the company released the KeyONE and besides some unfavorable manufacturing decisions (not gluing down the screen), it has been well received by BlackBerry fans. Now, it seems as if this licensing deal has been good for BlackBerry as the company has just announced they'll be expanding this in the future.
Not many details have been revealed yet, but the new operating system will be called BlackBerry Secure. It's built on top of Android as you would expect, and will come with all security features that are available with a BlackBerry-branded smartphone. The company didn't announce they had come to an agreement with Optiemus for the India market and are in talks with other manufacturers. They also feel they can provide software to the Enterprise of Things (EoT) segment for device such as connected televisions, wearables and medical devices.
Source: ET Telecom
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