Tag: blackberry smartphones

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 confirmed that it will be moving ahead with mobile devices using that operating system.

The release of the first BlackBerry Android smartphones is already underway as the Priv became available earlier this month and as the company watches its sales to see whether or not this device will make a difference in its rate of recovery.

That said, according to BlackBerry, it will not be halting its creation of hardware and it has a plan in mind.

In fact, recently, the company confirmed that the Priv will not be the last of the BlackBerry Android smartphones. Media reports have shown that an advanced security solutions expert from the company’s Advisory Division, Nader Henein, revealed that the use of the Google mobile operating system in the company’s handsets “wouldn’t be a once-off” occurrence. He went on to point out that purchasing an Android usage license “is too expensive and it is a mass market product – it is for consumers, it is for enterprise, and is really for anyone who likes the keyboard and the versatility of the operating system.”

It was also pointed out that Google has been supportive about the creation of BlackBerry Android smartphones.

This came as surprising news to many in the mobile technology industry as it has been a relatively common occurrence for BlackBerry to take shots at Google’s security levels, saying that the tech giant’s efforts to secure its operating system and its security controls have been insufficient.

That said, it is obvious that there is also some advantage for Google in this arrangement, if only that BlackBerry – a company very well known for its high level of mobile security – would add the Android operating system to its devices.

At the same time, what is not yet known is whether or not the use of the Android operating system will actually cut into the strong reputation that BlackBerry has in mobile security. It is a considerable risk, but considering the way the company’s smartphone sales have been going, it is clearly one that the company was willing to take.

Now, the world will be watching not only the progress of the Priv sales, but it’s certain that the rumors will start flying about what will be next in BlackBerry Android smartphones.