Be still my beating heart! Could it be? Could my dreams finally be coming true? Could I possibly see BlackBerry hardware sporting Android software?
I’ll never forget my very first smartphone – a BlackBerry 7250 on US Cellular. I immediately fell in love with the physical qwerty keyboard, the push email – at the time it was amazing. After that I went through several different iterations – Curves, Bolds, Torch Sliders, even the newer Z10, Q10, and Z30. I always have been and always will be a BlackBerry guy at heart.
However, there’s that little niggling problem of apps. BlackBerry was banking on developers flocking to it’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system, but that really didn’t take off as they hoped. Then, they fell back on the Android run time – running Android apps within the BlackBerry 10 OS. That helped, but not all apps worked right, and there was no Google Play Services without doing a lot of hacking, side-loading, and giving your login credentials to a third party (never went that way myself).
But now, Reuters is reporting that sources inside BlackBerry have told them that for the first time, BlackBerry is considering running Android on an upcoming smartphone. The unnamed sources said that the move is part of BlackBerry’s strategy to focus on software and device management. It is not certain at this point whether Android would spell the end of the line for BlackBerry 10.
Two sources said that by launching an Android-based device of its own, BlackBerry would be sending a signal to skeptics that it is confident that the BES12 system can not only manage, but also secure smartphones and tablets powered by rival operating systems.
Two of the sources said that Android will most likely be used on an upcoming slider device to be released this fall. The device, which was shown off briefly in Barcelona this year, features a full touchscreen and a full physical qwerty keyboard that can be slid out of sight when not being used.
My dream device, after having used many devices across Android, BlackBerry, WP7/8, and iOS, would be a device with the styling of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 but running Android. Maybe Virginia was right – there really is a Santa Claus.
How about you? Do we have any readers like myself who just love a good physical qwerty keyboard? Let us know in the comments!
[button link=”http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/12/us-blackberry-google-android-idUSKBN0OR2ZM20150612″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Reuters[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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