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Is BlackBerry Launching an Android Phone?
An anonymous reader writes: According to a Reuters report BlackBerry may launch an Android phone with a hardware keyboard. If true, it's a definite shift in their business model. "We don't comment on rumors and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched," said the company in an email. Google declined to comment.
It's only what a tiny minority of consumers have been asking for since the release of Android...
FTFY
That "tiny minority" who wants blackberry hardware with android software is likely a multiple of the current size of blackberry users. Not that it isn't tiny compared to other android phone users, but it's probably still much much larger than the current BB userbase.
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
QNX is used for embedded systems. It's used in many industries. And Blackberry now owns it. It is a highly stable OS. So it saved time from having to actually write a new OS. And given the fact that it is certified for critical systems (nuclear power plants, your car engine, planes, etc), it was probably a short path to add any security layers that were needed. Toss on a GUI and you get BB10.
For development, we actually get an emulator that emulates actual phone hardware.
Blackberry knows more about what their customers want than you. You think they should target consumers. AS a CEO, you have to look at it rationally. most industries are a duopoly. Breaking iOS and Android is a near impossible task. Chen is right now going after enterprise customers (health care and finance specifically). This is 100% the right move.
I feel sorry for people that use iPhones for work. They are a tremendous time waster thanks to things like a crappy keyboard. You can flat out do most things faster on a Blackberry. I am a consumer and love my Z10. I can't fathom how people put up with Android and iOS when they use it primarily as a communication tool. Whenever I see someone navigation an Android (the typical case in my peers), I feel like I am watching someone drive down the highway in reverse and saying how driving backwards at 75 mph is the way to go.
For communications which I use my phone for ...... Blackberry wins hands down. And I get about 90% of all the android apps thanks to the Amazon store. Truth is, I have everything I need on my phone using apps I got for free in the Blackberry store. The only thing I paid for was a stock tracking app.
Still not sold? Go read up on Blackberry Blend. It tethers to your phone wirelessly even if it is on the other side of the world and gives you a lot of the functionality (if not all) that you need to do work.
What are you talking about with batteries? My Z10 which is two years old can go 24 hours on a charge mostly because the OS (which you say sucks) is so damned efficient. People are reporting that the new Passport can go 24-48 hours on a charge. Meanwhile all the iPhone users are stuck hugging walls (to charge their phone while using it)