Tag: BlackBerry operating system

The company intends to continue releasing Android based smartphones over 2016 but isn’t dropping its OS.

Even though BlackBerry has been discussing its intentions to continue to release smartphones based on Android throughout 2016 and potentially onward, the company has confirmed that it doesn’t intend to give up on its own operating system, BB10.

The Canadian smartphone manufacturer has said that it remains committed to supporting its own OS.

When BlackBerry’s CEO, John Chen wrote a recent blog post on behalf of the company, he expressed that “At CES 2016, BlackBerry has been busy discussing self-driving cars, global carrier support for Priv and consumer healthcare apps. But as we shift our energies toward all these exciting opportunities, does that mean the BlackBerry 10 operating system is dead? Far from it.”

Still, BlackBerry does intend to continue the successes it has seen by moving toward Android based devices.

Therefore, the company plans to keep releasing smartphones based on Google’s mobile operating system, but at the same time it will keep up its commitment to supporting the devices it has already released based on its BB10 OS, such as the Classic and Passport. Chen’s blog post said that the upcoming version of BB10, which will be 10.3.3 will have NIAP compliance certification. This means that the OS will have undergone “the strictest government-grade security tests.”

According to the CEO, the added testing will make it possible for the company to offer an increasingly secure ecosystem for its government customers and others that require the highest possible security levels for their smartphone device users.

Equally, Chen also pointed out that BlackBerry plans to keep up the work it has started on steadily improving its BB10 operating system throughout 2016. This will occur at the same time as it continues the development of smartphones that will be based on Android, following the positive reception that the Priv received upon its release at the end of last year. Within the blog post, Chen expressed that “We’ll share more details about our roadmap when we’re ready.” The company has been taking on some dramatic strategies as it works to claw its way back into solid relevance.

The company has now made its first moves that would indicate that it could embrace Google’s mobile OS.

As the Canadian handset maker works to be able to raise the revenue that it is generating from its software and device management sector, it now appears as though the next BlackBerry operating system that will be found on upcoming smartphones could be Android.

Many analysts are applauding the decision and have said that Android could breathe new life into the company.

The use of Android as a BlackBerry operating system could be enough o make the device arm of the company more appealing to consumers, say many analysts. According to Enderle Group technology consulting firm’s Rob Enderle, “From the standpoint of marketing, this is a great way for BlackBerry to get visibility. It really doesn’t hurt them much, and the upside is high.” That said, Enderle joins many other tech and financial analysts that have said that this decision is not without potential obstacles that would need to be overcome.

Primary among those challenges is that there would be more than one BlackBerry operating system.

If that is the case then BlackBerry would need to start managing devices running on its own mobile platform as well as those operating on Android. This would mean that some of the company’s resources could end up having to be used for the marketing of Android based devices, separately from the marketing that it is already conducting for the devices running on its own platform. That said, the majority agree that this downside is quite limited when compared to the potential benefit that it has to offer.

Enderle explained that the primary potential weakness that is caused by the use of Android on BlackBerry devices is in the form of security. That said, “that’s just the thing that BlackBerry can fix, so it could play out pretty well and I am actually quite surprised that they did not try this sooner.” He also pointed out that the company will need to deliver quite an impressive device in order to make this new BlackBerry operating system strategy actually work.