Den kinesiske smartphone-producent TLC stopper med udgangen af august med at producere BlackBerry-telefoner, som dermed ser ud til at stå helt uden produktions-faciliteter.
Det sker, fordi TLC Communications licensaftale med selskabet bag telefon-mærket, BlackBerry Limited, udløber.
TLC overtog produktionen af BlackBerry-telefonerne i udgangen af 2016 med henblik på at producere ‘nye, moderne BlackBerry-telefoner globalt.’
“Vi er kede af, at TLC Communication fra 31. august 2020 ikke længere vil sælge BlackBerry-brandede mobil-enheder,” lyder det fra det kinesiske selskab.
“TLC Communication har ikke længere rettighederne til at designe, fremstille eller sælge nye BlackBerry-telefoner,” lyder det.
Selskabet vil dog fortsætte med at supportere eksisterende BlackBerry-telefoner frem til udgangen af august 2022, hedder det.
Hverken BlackBerry Limited eller TLC vil oplyse, hvorfor licens-aftalen ikke forlænges.
Canadiske BlackBerry var engang banebrydende på smartphone-markedet - ikke mindst på grund af mobiltelefonernes sikkerheds-niveau og udformning - og telefonerne havde en meget dedikeret brugerskare.
BlackBerry blev imidlertid meget hurtigt kørt bag ad dansen, da Apple lancerede den første iPhone i 2007, som på brugergrænsefladen var lysår foran BlackBerry.
BlackBerry Limited ejer i dag fortsat et større antal teknologi-patenter på en række primært mobilrelaterede teknologier.
Her er hele meddelelsen fra TLC Communications
When TCL Communication announced in December 2016 that we had entered into a brand licensing and technology support agreement with BlackBerry Limited to continue making new, modern BlackBerry smartphones available globally we were very excited and humbled to take on this challenge.
Indeed, our KEY Series smartphones, starting with KEYone, were highly-anticipated by the BlackBerry community.
What made these devices great wasn’t just the hardware developed and manufactured by TCL Communication, but also the critical security and software features provided by BlackBerry Limited to ensure these were genuine BlackBerry devices.
The support of BlackBerry Limited was an essential element to bringing devices like BlackBerry KEYone, Motion, KEY2 and KEY2 LE to life and we’re proud to have partnered with them these past few years on those products.
We do regret to share however that as of August 31, 2020, TCL Communication will no longer be selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. TCL Communication will continue to provide support for the existing portfolio of mobile devices including customer service and warranty service until August 31, 2022 – or for as long as required by local laws where mobile device was purchased.
Further details can be found at www.blackberrymobile.com or by phoning customer support at the numbers found at https://blackberrymobile.com/hotline-and-service-center/ .
For those of us at TCL Communication who were blessed enough to work on BlackBerry Mobile, we want to thank all our partners, customers and the BlackBerry fan community for their support over these past few years.
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many fans from all over the world during our world tour stops. The future is bright for both TCL Communication and BlackBerry Limited, and we hope you’ll continue to support both as we move ahead on our respective paths.
From everyone who worked on the BlackBerry Mobile team at TCL Communication over the years, we want to say ‘Thank You’ for allowing us to be part of this journey.
