 | This article needs to be updated. (December 2021) |
 | |
| Product type | Smartphones |
|---|---|
| Produced by | TCL Corporation |
| Introduced | 2016 |
| Discontinued | 2020 |
| Related brands | BlackBerry |
| Markets | Worldwide (excluding Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) |
| Website | blackberry |
BlackBerry Mobile was a trading name used by TCL Communication between December 2016 and August 2020 to manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded devices worldwide, excluding the regions where BB Merah Putih (Indonesia) and Optiemus Infracom (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) operated.[1][2][3][4]
BlackBerry Limited, the creator of the BlackBerry brand, decided in 2016 to cease direct competition in the smartphone market and instead focus on producing security software. The last smartphone designed and manufactured by BlackBerry Limited was the BlackBerry Priv. TCL Communication (which had previously manufactured the BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60, the last BlackBerry devices to be sold directly by BlackBerry Limited) was charged with manufacturing, distributing, and designing BlackBerry-branded devices for the global market. The BlackBerry KEYone was the first device made under the BlackBerry Mobile brand, although it was partially designed by BlackBerry Limited.
In February 2020, it was announced that TCL Corporation would stop manufacturing the devices on August 31, 2020, coinciding with the end of their access to the BlackBerry license. The last developed phone was the Blackberry Key2LE.[5][6][7] In August 2020, BlackBerry signed a new licensing agreement for smartphones with the US-based startup company, OnwardMobility.[8] The company never released a device before shutting down in 2022.[9] The licenses to manufacture and sell BlackBerry devices in South Asia and Indonesia have also lapsed.
- ^ Orlowski, Andrew. "What is dead may never die – how to get a post-BlackBerry BlackBerry". The Register. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ Kharpal, Arjun (25 February 2017). "BlackBerry refuses to say die, launches new $549 device with a physical keyboard and Android OS". CNBC. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ "TCL carries flickering BlackBerry flame with new phone launch". Reuters UK. 25 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ Smith, Jake. "TCL announces 4.5-inch BlackBerry KEYone smartphone at MWC 2017". ZDNet.
- ^ Mobile, BlackBerry (3 February 2020). "pic.twitter.com/jhcfVHjVqL". @BBMobile. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "TCL won't make BlackBerry phones anymore, sending the brand back into limbo". www.digitaltrends.com. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ Rubin, Ross (10 February 2020). "With no brand license, Blackberry Mobile fades to black". ZDNet. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ blogs.blackberry.com. "OnwardMobility Announces Licensing Agreement with BlackBerry to Deliver a BlackBerry 5G Smartphone". blogs.blackberry.com. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "OnwardMobility is dead, and so are its plans to release a 5G BlackBerry phone".