Leaked images of BlackBerry smartphones running Android in place of BB10 have already emerged. Now, a new video of what appears to be the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition running Android 5.0 Lollipop has been posted online.
Google is about to bring a new member into its Android family, and there was a time when this company was not only a rival, it was king of the castle. BlackBerry was the go-to smartphone maker for years, and the popularity of its QWERTY-equipped handsets coined the term "crackberry," which has been defined as "nickname for a BlackBerry handheld device that functions as a telephone, PDA, and e-mailer and appears to have an addictive hold on its users."
BlackBerry lost its crown as more and more consumers began to make the jump to larger full-touchscreen smartphones like Apple's iPhone and Android-based devices like Samsung's Galaxy S series and Motorola's Droid lineup. The company plotted a comeback to its glory days in 2013, when it shipped the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10, which ran its next-generation and touch-optimized BB10 OS.
BB10 brought features to BlackBerry smartphones that iOS and Android users had already enjoyed for years, and the company attempted to attract developers to create apps for its new platform. This also proved to be its downfall, because Apple and Google both had a thriving third-party app ecosystem and many top developers didn't want to invest the time and money into an unproven OS. The lack of popular apps eventually led BlackBerry to add support to BB10 that allowed users to run Android apps, and now, the company is about to release new smartphones completely powered by Android.
Images of the BlackBerry "Venice" leaked in July and gave the world an up close look at BlackBerry's first Android smartphone. Now, a video has surfaced that shows what appears to be the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition running Android 5.0 Lollipop in place of BB10. The detailed video shows the Google Play Store in action, Chrome browser, Android Notification Center, Settings (which show the device is codenamed Oslo) and more.
BlackBerry hasn't officially announced it will join Google's team and release smartphones running Android, but the video below shows the wait shouldn't be long. Do you think releasing Android-based BlackBerry smartphones will turn things around for the company? Let us know in the comments below.
