BlackBerry licenses brand to Chinese manufacturer TCL Communication
BlackBerry licenses brand to Chinese manufacturer TCL Communication
BlackBerry and TCL Communication, a Chinese electronics manufacturer have agreed to a long-term global licensing agreement that will see TCL design, manufacture, sell, and support all future BlackBerry-branded mobile devices in all countries except for India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia, where BlackBerry already has licensing deals with other manufacturers.
Under the terms of the agreement, BlackBerry will also license its security software and service suite along with the BlackBerry name, logo, and all brand assets to TCL.
BlackBerry will continue to control and develop its security and software solutions, while TCL will manage the sales and distribution of BlackBerry-branded mobile devices.
This isn't the first partnership between the two companies. BlackBerry's DTEK50 and DTEK60 Android-based smartphones were rebranded TCL phones.