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It seems that BlackBerry may be working on releasing a smartphone that runs on Google's Android mobile operating system soon. According to Reuters, the Canadian phone maker is reportedly considering releasing an Android slider handset that will likely have a fall release. As a slider device, BlackBerry's upcoming Android smartphone is said to feature a touch screen together with a slide out keyboard that people could use if they want to.
If this reports turns out to be true, then it would signify an acceptance on BlackBerry's part that its own mobile operating system (BlackBerry OS) is just not winning mobile users over. Last year, BlackBerry saw the market share of its own operating system fall to just 0.4 (per IDC).
On the other hand, adopting the Android mobile operating system for its handsets would fit right in with BlackBerry's planned shift towards software and services that are offered on top of their hardware offerings.
Moreover, making a shift towards more a lucrative area, like software and services, would definitely be good for BlackBerry's business. It is truly admirable that the Canada based mobile manufacturer has held out this long despite the emergence of other dominant phone makers (such as Apple and Samsung), but perhaps it is high time that BlackBerry look for other means by which it can ensure its survival.
While BlackBerry has not confirmed the Reuters story, it did reiterate that it is sticking to its BlackBerry 10 operating system, which it claims provides security and productivity tools better than any system out there.
During the Mobile World Congress trade show held in Barcelona, Spain earlier this year, BlackBerry had teased a handset that sports a display screen that curves to the side (akin to Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone), and a slide out keyboard. Others may see this as the maybe same handset that Reuters' report was referring to, but there is just no way of confirming now if this is it. Apart from teasing this handset, BlackBerry also announced an all touch screen handset called the Leap during the trade show. This is interesting because the BlackBerry Leap is a clear departure from the phone maker's usual lineup of smartphones, which all feature BlackBerry's trademark physical keyboard.
In March of this year, BlackBerry also introduced plans to produce a BlackBerry Experience Suite. This combines BlackBerry features like its Hub messaging portal, virtual keyboard, and security capabilities, and then collects them into one package that will be used for iPhones and iPads, as well as most mobile devices running on the Android or Windows operating systems.
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