1. crackberrrry's Avatar
    A friend of mine is in TCL�s Board of Directors told us some interesting information related to the contract between these two companies. We met up in a business dinner event. I really love BlackBerry and had my first BB phone since 2007. I asked him some questions related to the latest phones and here they are some interesting points that he mentioned:-

    1- Since early 2016, BlackBerry asked TCL to license BB brand while BlackBerry would supply the software and security features to them, but TCL partially accepted on that and wanted to see how this route works by first rebrand some phones and see how well they sell. TCL could later accept partnering with BlackBerry if they experience good sales numbers.
    2- The deal begins with supplying Idol 4 as DTEK50 and later Idol 4s or TCL 950 as DTEK60. The selling of DTEK50 was an epic fail, because BlackBerry couldn�t sell more than 7000 units, and TCL has made more than this number and supplied BlackBerry with them.
    3- After the failure of DTEK50, BlackBerry asked TCL to cancel the production of DTEK60, but TCL claimed that there is contract obligations must be full filled and some units have already been made. However, TCL has made only 20.000 units. This is the first and last patch.
    4- BlackBerry took few weeks before the official launch to cancel different contracts from regional distributors and carriers and wanted to take a direct and sole control in order to sell these 20.000 units as soon as possible.
    5- TCL is not a BlackBerry partner anymore and they completely stopped any phones production for them.
    6- Our friend told us that he was very surprised with the low volume that BlackBerry sold so far. TCL thinks that BlackBerry�s brand doesn�t have a good recognition in order to use it in next phones generations. They were planning to release a phone with a physical keyboard, but that project has recently been scrapped due to the very low sold volume.
    I just wanted to share these interesting topics with you. I�m not confident they are 100% true, but it seems so. Thank you for reading.
    JeepBB and early2bed like this.
    11-06-16 03:04 PM
  2. david7saad's Avatar
    Oh my... Only sold 7000 units
    11-06-16 03:13 PM
  3. StephanieMaks's Avatar
    Pretty terrible numbers if true.

    I'm a bit of a pessimist and 7k units sold sounds low even to me, for the DTEK50. Though I guess without knowing the timeframe involved, the figure itself isn't that useful.

    Producing only 20k units of DTEK60 sounds believable to me, though.
    JeepBB likes this.
    11-06-16 03:14 PM
  4. BB-JAM215's Avatar
    Interesting. Thanks. So I guess that brings the chance of there every being a Mercury keyboard device down to about 0.5%.
    11-06-16 03:14 PM
  5. John Albert's Avatar
    So that means even the second class companies like TCL don't care about licensing BlackBerry brand!
    11-06-16 03:28 PM
  6. BB-JAM215's Avatar
    So that means even the second class companies like TCL don't care about licensing BlackBerry brand!
    What they care about is not loosing money making a phone for which there is no demand.
    JeepBB likes this.
    11-06-16 03:31 PM
  7. SteelGreek's Avatar
    Interesting. Thanks. So I guess that brings the chance of there every being a Mercury keyboard device down to about 0.5%.
    Coming soon �
    11-06-16 03:34 PM
  8. Renwick's Avatar
    One post, member since nov 6th. What a credible source!
    11-06-16 03:39 PM
  9. JeepBB's Avatar
    A friend of mine is in TCL�s Board of Directors told us some interesting information related to the contract between these two companies. We met up in a business dinner event. I really love BlackBerry and had my first BB phone since 2007. I asked him some questions related to the latest phones and here they are some interesting points that he mentioned:-

    1-Since early 2016, BlackBerry asked TCL to license BB brand while BlackBerry would supply the software and security features to them, but TCL partially accepted on that and wanted to see how this route works by first rebrand some phones and see how well they sell. TCL could later accept partnering with BlackBerry if they experience good sales numbers.
    2-The deal begins with supplying Idol 4 as DTEK50 and later Idol 4s or TCL 950 as DTEK60. The selling of DTEK50 was an epic fail, because BlackBerry couldn�t sell more than 7000 units, and TCL has made more than this number and supplied BlackBerry with them.
    3-After the failure of DTEK50, BlackBerry asked TCL to cancel the production of DTEK60, but TCL claimed that there is contract obligations must be full filled and some units have already been made. However, TCL has made only 20.000 units. This is the first and last patch.
    4-BlackBerry took few weeks before the official launch to cancel different contracts from regional distributors and carriers and wanted to take a direct and sole control in order to sell these 20.000 units as soon as possible.
    5-TCL is not a BlackBerry partner anymore and they completely stopped any phones production for them.
    6-Our friend told us that he was very surprised with the low volume that BlackBerry sold so far. TCL thinks that BlackBerry�s brand doesn�t have a good recognition in order to use it in next phones generations. They were planning to release a phone with a physical keyboard, but that project has recently been scrapped due to the very low sold volume.
    I just wanted to share these interesting topics with you. I�m not confident they are 100% true, but it seems so. Thank you for reading.
    Thanks for that.

    FWIW, I think what you've posted is entirely credible.

    The 7,000 D50 sales seem a little low, but I don't know when this conversation took place. If soon after launch, I could easily accept those figures because they were never likely to be selling in the 100,000's by targeting fleet buyers and CB'ers.

    Seems I was too optimistic with my 50k DTEK60 production run guesstimate ... I guess there's a first time for everything!

    It's becoming clear, to me at least, that the D50 and D60 have just been put out there to die. No marketing, no launch, no carrier support,... no hope. And that's apparently OK because hardware doesn't matter to BB anymore and none of their future plans depend on the DTEK phones.

    Kind of a sad end really. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it's all a bit anti-climatic.
    11-06-16 03:41 PM
  10. cgk's Avatar
    One post, member since nov 6th. What a credible source!
    True true... however it all fits - we need a second source.

    Having said that - anyone see anything useful in here:

    TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited

    (although the stuff with BBRY is likely subject to confidentiality but we might see something reading between the lines).
    11-06-16 03:43 PM
  11. buckshot_88's Avatar
    So does that means I should cancel my D60 order before it ships...lol.

    Damn, no matter how much I want to see BB succeed...they just keep feeding us the bloat.

    I wonder if support for the DTek60 would ever be pulled, even though its an android. That would be my only concern. As BB put their own little spin on the OS which makes it different than any other marshmallow or nougat os.
    11-06-16 03:46 PM
  12. JeepBB's Avatar
    One post, member since nov 6th. What a credible source!
    We'll see how credible it is when the sales figures are released at the next ER.
    cgk and StephanieMaks like this.
    11-06-16 03:47 PM
  13. John Albert's Avatar
    Everyone who tracked Shopblackberry inventory, will realize that BlackBerry couldn't sell over 200 DTEK50 units in 30 days.
    JeepBB, cgk and StephanieMaks like this.
    11-06-16 03:48 PM
  14. cgk's Avatar
    We'll see how credible it is when the sales figures are released at the next ER.
    It would explain a few things - it makes no sense to shift to the DTEK model if it was for only two phones - the discussion above makes sense - it wasn't BBRY who pulled the plug, it was TCL and with nowhere left to turn, they quickly line up our Indonesian friends (who are likely paying next to nothing for the license).
    JeepBB and John Albert like this.
    11-06-16 03:53 PM
  15. W Hoa's Avatar
    BlackBerry is making a big announcement in New Delhi Monday (tomorrow). Rumours are suggesting the roll out of DTEK60 in India is part of that announcement. In about 12 hours we'll know.
    11-06-16 03:59 PM
  16. GendelPrime's Avatar
    One thing to remember that if support ends for Android BlackBerry there will not be any way to update the software with a rom because of the bootloader being locked. No nougat based Cyanogen. It is the only thing stopping me from buying DTEK60.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    11-06-16 04:00 PM
  17. GendelPrime's Avatar
    I don't get the sales figures . Is the brand so toxic that they cannot sell a $300 phone with a track record of security updates. I can't think of anything in that price range except for the nexus 5x with the same level of support. The dtek 50 has better hardware except for the camera.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    11-06-16 04:05 PM
  18. buckshot_88's Avatar
    One thing to remember that if support ends for Android BlackBerry there will not be any way to update the software with a rom because of the bootloader being locked. No nougat based Cyanogen. It is the only thing stopping me from buying DTEK60.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    Exactly. We'll all just end up with a dead BB android OS instead of a dead BB10 OS
    11-06-16 04:09 PM
  19. JeepBB's Avatar
    I don't get the sales figures . Is the brand so toxic that they cannot sell a $300 phone with a track record of security updates. I can't think of anything in that price range except for the nexus 5x with the same level of support. The dtek 50 has better hardware except for the camera.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    The idol 4 is near-identical to the D50 - TCL make them both from their same reference design. The idol 4 is $100 cheaper, and is available in stores. While the idol doesn't have the BB security special sauce, it's kind of obvious that few seem willing to pay a hundred bucks for that.

    I wonder what the Alcatel Idol 4 sales have been over the same period?
    11-06-16 04:13 PM
  20. W Hoa's Avatar
    After the failure of DTEK50, BlackBerry asked TCL to cancel the production of DTEK60, but TCL claimed that there is contract obligations must be full filled and some units have already been made. However, TCL has made only 20.000 units. This is the first and last patch.
    This is a ridiculous comment. BlackBerry takes the 20k phones and makes a big splash so they can....unload them? BlackBerry wrote off millions of BB10 phones but it puts out 20k DTEK60 phones to what...not hurt the bottom line at earnings? LOL
    11-06-16 04:14 PM
  21. cgk's Avatar
    I am guessing the bigger problem is that corporations don't want to pay more for the secret sauce.
    11-06-16 04:16 PM
  22. John Albert's Avatar
    A question,
    Could this explain the hesitant release of DTEK60 when B&H, Staple, and other distributors pulled the pre-order few times before October 25th?
    Jayasheelan likes this.
    11-06-16 04:21 PM
  23. Bay 13's Avatar
    Get ready to buy BlackBerry phones made by that Indonesia company in the future.
    11-06-16 04:22 PM
  24. buckshot_88's Avatar
    A question,
    Could this explain the hesitant release of DTEK60 when B&H, Staple, and other distributors pulled the pre-order few times before October 23rd?
    I'd tend to agree with this statement *
    11-06-16 04:23 PM
  25. John Albert's Avatar
    The idol 4 is near-identical to the D50 - TCL make them both from their same reference design. The idol 4 is $100 cheaper, and is available in stores. While the idol doesn't have the BB security special sauce, it's kind of obvious that few seem willing to pay a hundred bucks for that.

    I wonder what the Alcatel Idol 4 sales have been over the same period?
    BlackBerry probably planned to produce hundreds of thousands of these handsets and send them to many distributors, but they eventually changed that plan.
    JeepBB likes this.
    11-06-16 04:24 PM
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