Leaked images claim to show BlackBerry's first Android phone Images have hit the web of what is purportedly BlackBerry's first Android handset. Eye candy. pic.twitter.com/GtJwOfOus8 — Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 19, 2015 The photos and short video clips were posted by blogger Evan Blass, aka Evleaks, who got them from an unnamed source. They allegedly show a device to be released …
As late as this morning, I would consider BB as sitting in heaven's waiting room, reminiscing with Nokia about times of old....
Now I am not claiming they can dodge that bullet, it may be a case of too little too late, but looking at Google's inability to patch against stagefright et al on phones that are newer than and cost double my laptop, you have got to ask whether BB even realise the goldmine they own. I mean, a company, known for security and business use cases, with android app compatibility already, can't market their capability of keeping their devices patched. Consider the factually um stretches I'm a Mac ads if you want a good example of that working.
I don't care if BlackBerry and Google are working together on something new (I don't think it will be pure Android), because I bought my first BlackBerry last week (Silver Edition Passport). I've been sitting on the fence since the original Passport came out... I wanted it but all the negative press and troll comments almost made me believe Android was better. Now that I have one, I wonder why I waited so long to try a BB10 phone. If the Silver Edition were an Android flagship it would cost at least $200 more than it's current price (Apple $400 more). BlackBerry will continue to support BB10 and still be synonymous with security.
My wife's BB Passport Silver turned up this week - amazing piece of kit. Given its size, I'm impressed with how well it fits into a pocket.
I'm now toying with using her old Q10, just for the quality of the keyboard.
There's a place in the market for BB, just not for everyone.
You know its not android that needs fixing, but the press, consumers and snakeoil vendors right???
Android is very secure, don't let a few rabid writers and biased snakeoil vendors fool you into thinking otherwise.
When was the last time you actually saw any android malware problems in real life? Never is my bet..
"Android is very secure"
Just LOL. Android is way behind Windows Phone, Blackberry and IOS for security.
"When was the last time you actually saw any android malware problems in real life"
Several of my friends have been hit with Android malware. There are plenty of examples of similar issues here http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-android-virus/
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To do that would require more testing, and cause confusion amongst some customers. Even for the type of user who likes reading the XDA forums from time to time would find a dual-booting phone a sub-optimal experience. I mean, if you were on a desktop PC and you just needed to use an application on a different OS for five minutes, you'd find it more convenient to use a virtual machine or a WINE-type facility... you wouldn't want to have to restart your machine.
On a Blackberry-class phone, this is even more important - you wouldn't want to risk missing a phone call from a potential client, would you?
Also, how would you synchronise your call logs between your two OSs?
So then BB would have to test the integration between the OSs, as well as testing them separately.
Various experts have been saying they'll be bust imminently for years. Hasn't happened yet.
There are some fairly influential niche users who would find it very difficult to move off the BlackBerry platform. For them it might well be cheaper to buy BlackBerry and run it as is.
"Various experts have been saying they'll be bust imminently for years" - agreed, but (a) I am not an 'expert', and (b) those who claim to be experts are invariably wrong, especially in the field they are claiming to be expert in. Especially true of IT experts who are generally gobshites not clever enough to do a proper IT job.
I think Google and BlackBerry are working on something different: a secured Android OS for business that will run an integrated suite of BlackBerry apps like the Hub and BBM but will have access to Google Play services and apps. Perhaps a heavily forked Android version that Google has agreed to support.
What exactly in android needs fixing? These days, its s fast secure and flexible mobile platform. Even SSL can be maintained via play services.
Android is currently under a microscope, you can put any OK S under a microscope and find yourself ways to spin a story to get your security firm in the news
"What exactly in android needs fixing? These days, its s fast secure and flexible mobile platform. Even SSL can be maintained via play services."
The messy, cluttered, chaotic design. Whatever it is about them that leaves me thinking "why the F**K did they do it like that?" The feeling that Android phones seem to be all about the OS and less about what you use the device for.
Every major new Android release I will buy a new Android phone and try it for a couple of months hoping that it is fixed so I will finally like it and get along with it and every time I am disappointed.
I keep calling emperors new clothes on Android, and hoping a new decent phone OS will break through one day.
That they'll release two versions. One android and one BB10. There's a frenzy in one of the forums discussing this. Either way, it's kind of exciting. When was the last time a new phone generated this kind of buzz? Apple? Ho hum, thinner again. Samsung? Ooh look, we're just like Apple only not!
Now, here's Blackberry going to produce some alternate universe Frankenphone, and frankly (heh), this is going to be pretty cool. Even if they fail, mostly, maybe they'll pick up enough disenfranchised consumers looking for the next it thing. Enough that it becomes the new it. And right there I'm smiling and looking for my popcorn tub. :)
From what I can tell one of the problems in porting BB10 to other manufacturers' hardware is that the bootloader and some hardware design features are a key security component in the BB10 ecosystem.
Makes sense - no open debug ports, signed boot, who holds those keys, etc, all the things that have to be done correctly to allow BB10 to be secure too. So without those things being exactly as needed on, for example, a S5, porting BB10 to the Samsung would be a big job. At least, this is my speculation as to why we've not seen BB10 on other hardware.
However, if BlackBerry make their own Android hardware they can be in charge of all of those features for themselves, so dual boot or whatever becomes a real option without screwing up any of their security accreditations for the BB10 variant.
Being a BB10 user I won't be rushing out to buy this Android phone from them. But if you are an Androidista, it could be very good. BlackBerry are undeniably good at hardware and their keyboard is also very good (screen or hardware). They're also one of the few manufacturers out there who aren't shy of making their handset a couple of mm fatter and putting in a decent battery. This Z30 of mine lasts the best part of two days. And it's built like a brick ****house.
" I just cannot get used to on screen keyboards that lag and are a pain to use."
I would have agreed with that right up to mid-2014. But after 4 sliders of various kinds, conventional BlackBerries, and a Q10, I discovered that for modern Androids from 4.4.3 on, on-screen keybaords work properly.
The downside is you really need a 5 inch plus screen, but the overall size and weight of the big phones can be lived with.
However, a slider with a big screen looks like just too much for convenient handling.
Slide out keyboards used to be available for Android. Even when screens were smaller and soft keyboards less advanced the market ignored them. Slapping a hard keyboard onto an Android phone makes it less desirable, not more, adding more weight and bulk to already large devices.
What I want is a dual SIM 7" phablet running BB10.
If I want a small phone, I certainly want something like my Q5, however having recently purchased a cheap Chinese Android phablet as a second phone I have found that is the form that works best for me.
If BlackBerry abandon BB10, then I will abandon them. Just like I abandoned Nokia when they dropped Symbian.
If I'm going to be pushed into Android, I'm not going to pay a premium for a phone.
BlackBerry would be far better off putting their system on some cheap Chinese hardware to replace the budget range they used to have, and keep a small range of high quality kit for business, etc.
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