BlackBerry is said to be working on an Android-based phone, and such reports have been on the web for the past few days. But now we are hearing news of Android seen running on a BlackBerry Passport.
Will Venice be the new Android-powered phone?
While there have been rumors that the Canadian company is weighing plans to make an Android phone with a slide-out keyboard, Italian developer Nicola D’Amico amplified the excitement by posting a picture. The image shows Android running on a BlackBerry.
As of now, it is not known if it is an official picture or just another wave of rumors. Also the image is not very clear. There have been rumors that the company is planning to do something new rather than releasing an Android-based Passport. Also there has not been any affirmative statement from the Canadian smartphone manufacturer except for saying that it is still dedicated to BlackBerry 10. Some rumors suggest that the project has already been named Venice.
A report from N4BB read that Venice will likely launch in November. The slider phone will supposedly sport a 5.4-inch quad core display, 18 MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, 1.8 GHz Hexa Core (Snapdragon 808 chipset, 64-bit) and 3GB of RAM. The processor could be the one used by LG in its latest phone, the LG G4. These leaked features, if true, indicate that BlackBerry is planning something big, but whether or not it will run on Android remains to be seen.
BlackBerry takes a cue from Galaxy Edge?
Though BlackBerry has opened its gates to Android apps, accessing them on a BB phone is still not a smooth experience. To overcome this, the Canadian company might be thinking of an Android phone. An Android device would allow users to switch between Android and BB 10 as per their preference.
Also there are rumors that BlackBerry will partner with Samsung to release an Android phone. The device could run on Android Lollipop and offer select BlackBerry features as well. Eldar Murtazin, a mobile insider and blogger, thinks this phone will be released this year.
Earlier this year, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company showcased a phone with a curved display that had similar looks to that of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. This furthered the rumors that Samsung might assist BlackBerry in hardware development. For now, everything about this rumored device sounds pretty compelling with a design similar to that of the Galaxy S6 Edge, plus a slide-out keyboard, the Android platform and top-notch BlackBerry services.
