BlackBerry announced earlier this month that some of the BB apps that were on the Priv will also come to other Android phones. However, there was a catch: only Calendar, Hub and Password Keeper were available and could run only on devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. But now the Canadian company has expanded the service even further.
More BB apps for Android devices
Last month, the Canadian firm announced that it will soon launch BlackBerry Hub+, under which it offers Hub, Calendar and Password Keeper, which serve useful purposes such as unifying all the user’s email and social posts, syncing work with personal accounts and organizing password records, respectively. There were a few limitations though, like that other BB apps such as Contacts, Device Search, and Notes did not make the leap, and the device had to be running on Android Marshmallow.
Now more Android devices will have more BB apps available to them. With the latest changes, the Hub+ app (including Notes, Tasks, Launcher, Device search and Contacts) is also compatible with Android devices that run 5.0 Lollipop, notes Android Authority.
All these five apps serve different useful purposes. The Contacts app allows users to store numbers in one location, while with Tasks app, they can follow and keep track of the progress of several tasks, set due dates and reminders. When a user has to find an email, a song, a meeting, etc., the universal search tool called Device Search will be of use.
The Notes app can be used to create a to-do list or shopping list. The Launcher app helps convert multi-step actions such as sending an email or making a call into a one-click action. Users can also customize their home screen panels by organizing apps and widgets.
BlackBerry app needs 2GB or higher RAM
BlackBerry shifted its focus to Android when it neared extinction. Last year, it introduced the Priv, which was well received, and this year, it introduced the DTEK50. Both are BlackBerry devices that run on Android and have some features typical to BlackBerry smartphones. Now several of those features have been made open to other Android devices too.
The Hub+ app can be tried free for 30 days, and after that, users will be required to pay 99 cents a month to keep using it, notes Android Authority. Also BlackBerry states that the app will work only on devices that have 2GB or higher RAM.
