[Mynet85]

Good day everyone,

Today I ordered another batch of 50 DTKE50 phones from our UK mobile service provider. I was shocked, they told me that the DTEK50 phones reached end of life and the replacement model is the existing DTEK60. But that will cost £380, instead the £210 of the DTEK50. This time, they will be able to provide the ordered type and quantity from their current stock, but most probably soon they will run out of it.

I find this model life extremely short, the model is not even 1 year old. Especially strange, because BlackBerry (TCL) has/had only 3 models, not ten-twenty like Samsung, where it is normal that the non flagship phones have a short model life.

What do you think, is this possible?

Kind regards!

[BigBadWulf]

The DTEK line were essentially a short pilot run between BlackBerry and TCL, prior to their signing a licensing agreement, and TCL taking over hardware. BlackBerry exited hardware, and have liquidated the DTEK stock.

[Chuck Finley69]

Good day everyone,

Today I ordered another batch of 50 DTKE50 phones from our UK mobile service provider. I was shocked, they told me that the DTEK50 phones reached end of life and the replacement model is the existing DTEK60. But that will cost £380, instead the £210 of the DTEK50. This time, they will be able to provide the ordered type and quantity from their current stock, but most probably soon they will run out of it.

I find this model life extremely short, the model is not even 1 year old. Especially strange, because BlackBerry (TCL) has/had only 3 models, not ten-twenty like Samsung, where it is normal that the non flagship phones have a short model life.

What do you think, is this possible?

Kind regards!

BB/TCL only had two models DTEK50/60. They've since evolved to BBMobile which is owned by TCL and licensed the BlackBerry name. Their first product is the newly released KEYone.

[BigBadWulf]

Realistically, with no carrier involvement, they were born on life support.

[evodevo69]

So why did ya'll convince people it was a smart purchase when it was launched loll

Oh yea, it's a pilot run just to test things out, it might have an early EOL - but go buy it! It's perfect for enterprise and as a fleet phone!! Loll

To be fair though, I didn't really suspect anything until the dtek50 was heavily discounted only 3 months after it launched - that's when I was like, something isn't right...that pretty much held me back from buying the 60, which of course never saw any big discount, probably because it was made in even smaller quantities.


Posted via CB10

[conite]

DTEKs are NOT EOL. They will continue to receive monthly patches. No need to panic.

[BigBadWulf]

So why did ya'll convince people it was a smart purchase when it was launched loll

Oh yea, it's a pilot run just to test things out, it might have an early EOL - but go buy it! It's perfect for enterprise and as a fleet phone!! Loll

To be fair though, I didn't really suspect anything until the dtek50 was heavily discounted only 3 months after it launched - that's when I was like, something isn't right...that pretty much held me back from buying the 60, which of course never saw any big discount, probably because it was made in even smaller quantities.


Posted via CB10

Who is this "y'all" you speak of?

[Chuck Finley69]

So why did ya'll convince people it was a smart purchase when it was launched loll

Oh yea, it's a pilot run just to test things out, it might have an early EOL - but go buy it! It's perfect for enterprise and as a fleet phone!! Loll

To be fair though, I didn't really suspect anything until the dtek50 was heavily discounted only 3 months after it launched - that's when I was like, something isn't right...that pretty much held me back from buying the 60, which of course never saw any big discount, probably because it was made in even smaller quantities.


Posted via CB10

Any phone not from a Tier 1 OEM carries the same risk. Even non-flagship phones that are from Tier 1 OEM hardware retailers are riskier purchases if you're expecting updates. I don't expect much from a company exiting hardware and whose primary software business is Auto/EMM/MDM related.

[evodevo69]

Who is this "y'all" you speak of?

I guess in general, ahem, the folks who seem to pretty much buy every single BlackBerry device at launch, as far as I can tell?

Posted via CB10

[Mynet85]

DTEKs are NOT EOL. They will continue to receive monthly patches. No need to panic.

Correct me, if I see it wrong, but these patches are not phone specific, these are Android by BlackBerry patches, so for the OS. EoL means here, that TCL stopped shipping the phones to big resellers, phone companies. They will let run out stock and that's it, no restock will be possible.

I went through all of this with the BB Classics, but there at least it was available for 1,5 year, not 11 month...

[conite]

Correct me, if I see it wrong, but these patches are not phone specific, these are Android by BlackBerry patches, so for the OS. EoL means here, that TCL stopped shipping the phones to big resellers, phone companies. They will let run out stock and that's it, no restock will be possible.

I went through all of this with the BB Classics, but there at least it was available for 1,5 year, not 11 month...

I'm not really following you, but OS updates are device specific.

The DTEKs are BlackBerry phones, and will continue to receive patches as long as BlackBerry wishes them to.

The KEYᵒⁿᵉ is a TCL (BlackBerry Mobile) phone, and will continue to receive updates for as long as TCL contracted BlackBerry to provide them.

[adonesc]

Mine still works...LOL...and at the reduced price I've bought it...not too bad. I wouldn't make a big deal of EOL if true. It's not like the phone will cease to exist...it should still get you through a few years of usage..

[BigBadWulf]

I guess in general, ahem, the folks who seem to pretty much buy every single BlackBerry device at launch, as far as I can tell?

Posted via CB10

Well, the only ones who responded before you were Chuck and I. I neither owned nor recall saying anything about purchasing a DTEK50. Maybe Chuck did, but it was released a month before BlackBerry announced their exit from hardware, so I'm not sure what the point is.

[evodevo69]

Well, the only ones who responded before you were Chuck and I. I neither owned nor recall saying anything about purchasing a DTEK50. Maybe Chuck did, but it was released a month before BlackBerry announced their exit from hardware, so I'm not sure what the point is.

Loll I'm referring to people from last year when it launched

And there was speculation and buzz about their exiting hardware before the dtek50 launch - there was speculation they would exit long before the dtek's launched and it ramped up leading up to, and officially announced after the dtek50 launched.

Posted via CB10

[Chuck Finley69]

Well, the only ones who responded before you were Chuck and I. I neither owned nor recall saying anything about purchasing a DTEK50. Maybe Chuck did, but it was released a month before BlackBerry announced their exit from hardware, so I'm not sure what the point is.

I bought the DTEK50 just 10 weeks ago when it seemed like there wasn't much time left to buy. I bought the DTEK60 just 6 weeks ago for the same reason. I like to buy hardware after 6 months or so at minimum so the wrinkles can be ironed out..

[bb10adopter111]

I guess in general, ahem, the folks who seem to pretty much buy every single BlackBerry device at launch, as far as I can tell?

Posted via CB10

So, those people shouldn't buy the phones they want because more risk-averse people might follow them? By that logic everyone should only buy a Samsung Galaxy or the latest iPhone. No thank you.

Posted with my trusty Z10

[bb10adopter111]

Loll I'm referring to people from last year when it launched

And there was speculation and buzz about their exiting hardware before the dtek50 launch - there was speculation they would exit long before the dtek's launched and it ramped up leading up to, and officially announced after the dtek50 launched.

Posted via CB10

Any person who read any business journal or tech column after 2013 would have known that BlackBerry was considering exiting HW for years before the launch of the DTEKs. Anyone silly enough to only use a fan site for information about buying a phone doesn't understand what a fan site is.

If you want objective information on a product, you need to do more than talk to people who like it. LOL

If you go to a BMW fan site, you'll think it's easy and affordable to buy and service an old BMW. And, for the people posting, it is. But for the average driver, buying a used BMW and expecting to service it yourself is not a good choice. Blaming the posters after making a bad decision based on their personal preferences is ridiculous.

Posted with my trusty Z10

[chi-town311]

Ok - got it. When buying a consumer product, I should research all relevant business journals and tech websites before making the purchase. I should never rely on any claims made by the manufacturer of the phone, what the general standard of support is expected to be, or the people who are fans of the manufacturer.

[PantherBlitz]

Good day everyone,

Today I ordered another batch of 50 DTKE50 phones from our UK mobile service provider. I was shocked, they told me that the DTEK50 phones reached end of life and the replacement model is the existing DTEK60.

He is giving you salesspeak. The 50 is not EOL, they merely do not have any in stock because it is out of production. Furthermore the 60 was not meant to replace it. The 60 is a higher-spec'd model that is also out of production.

The next time you need to order phones TCL will (hopefully) have a BlackBerry vkb model available for you to consider.

[Bertie Bear]

Ok - got it. When buying a consumer product, I should research all relevant business journals and tech websites before making the purchase. I should never rely on any claims made by the manufacturer of the phone, what the general standard of support is expected to be, or the people who are fans of the manufacturer.

Yes that's right. You should especially disregard the manufacturer's website which shows it as a current device with a "Buy Now" box.
And also promises to provide security updates "long after you purchase it". (Note: not even " long after the release date"!)

[Paulelmar18]

If I understand you correctly, then I should not consider everything that is written on fan pages? Even on CB?

[Chuck Finley69]

Ok - got it. When buying a consumer product, I should research all relevant business journals and tech websites before making the purchase. I should never rely on any claims made by the manufacturer of the phone, what the general standard of support is expected to be, or the people who are fans of the manufacturer.

Fans of any type of product are skewed indicator for an overly positive bias.

[FF22]

I bought the DTEK50 just 10 weeks ago when it seemed like there wasn't much time left to buy. I bought the DTEK60 just 6 weeks ago for the same reason. I like to buy hardware after 6 months or so at minimum so the wrinkles can be ironed out..

No wrinkles - the embalming solution eliminated those.

[bb10adopter111]

Ok - got it. When buying a consumer product, I should research all relevant business journals and tech websites before making the purchase. I should never rely on any claims made by the manufacturer of the phone, what the general standard of support is expected to be, or the people who are fans of the manufacturer.

The manufacturer's site is different than a fan site, which is what I was responding to. Though, to be truthful, I'm pretty skeptical of manufacturers' claims as well. :-)

Posted with my trusty Z10

[bb10adopter111]

If I understand you correctly, then I should not consider everything that is written on fan pages? Even on CB?

Consider away, but don't treat it as objective opinions! Fan sites are best for technical tips and workarounds.

Posted with my trusty Z10