It’s no secret that BlackBerry isn’t quite doing well in terms of sales and also in terms of competing with rivals. It is therefore not much a surprise to hear that the company is apparently considering launching an Android smartphone this fall.
It’s the extreme popularity of Google’s open source platform that has hurt its operations a great deal, but instead of countering it with its own BB 10 OS, BlackBerry has supposedly decided to embrace it fully. This step is being taken with an aim of directing the industry’s focus towards its software and device management solutions.
To be exact, its newly introduced BES12 system is at the bone of contention here. It enables corporate and government clients to manage their employees’ devices on their internal networks, and these include not just BlackBerry handsets but also Android, iOS and Windows offerings. According to inside sources in the know of Re/code, the company itself launching an Android smartphone will send a strong message that BES12 is indeed a reliable and secure option for other operating systems.
Now for the some device news; it’s being said that the first ever Android handset from BlackBerry will be the same one that the company briefly showcased at this year’s MWC. This phone bears an old-school slider mechanism, and ships with a touchscreen as well as a physical keyboard. Its other specs have been kept a mystery however.
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BlackBerry certainly isn’t new to the Android software, even as the company had introduced support for Android apps recently through its BB 10.3.1 OS. These apps can be grabbed by users now via the Amazon App Store.