Blackberry is making a return to the tablet market, through a partnership with Samsung, IBM and Secusmart, a German encryption specialist bought by Blackberry last year.
The product is called the SecuTablet, and is essentially a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 LTE, featuring software from IBM. It also boasts Secusmart's special MicroSD card, which is made up of a number of cryptographic chips for data security.
"Security is ingrained in every part of BlackBerry's portfolio, which includes voice and data encryption solutions," said Secusmart CEO Dr. Hans-Cristoph Quelle. "National and international government customers have entrusted their voice and data communications with the Secusmart Security Card for years. This same technology is what secures the new SecuTABLET."
This tablet is not the PlayBook 2 that Blackberry was rumored to be working on last year. The SecuTablet was, however, in the works before Blackberry acquired Secusmart, according to Quelle.
When Blackberry acquired Secusmart, questions were raised as to whether the tablet project would be continued. The effort survived, largely because Blackberry wants to offer its security solutions to as many devices and platforms as possible. Last year, the company announced that support for its management software would be extended to Samsung devices.
The device will be released during the summer and will sell for around $2,380. That may seem steep, but the device is not aimed at the consumer market. The intended user base is government agencies and enterprises. The device will be sold through Secusmart in Germany and through IBM everywhere else. That price will give clients the tablet and the Secusmart SD card, as well as the necessary app-wrapping software. Customers will also get a year's maintenance contract.
Blackberry has tried to enter the tablet market before, releasing the PlayBook tablet in 2011 in an attempt to compete with Apple and Samsung. The device was a flop and was criticized for a lack of core features.
The device news marks a shift in focus for Blackberry under the direction of CEO John Chen, who is trying to reignite the company's success through niche markets that it hasn't yet targeted. Blackberry was once known as a leader in the smartphone market, but its dominance has since fallen to competitors like Apple and Samsung.
