BlackBerry Venice Featuring Android Press Renders Leak

DroidModderX

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BlackBerry has been on the edge of extinction for years now. The only thing keeping them alive is the fact that some businesses refuse to use anything but blackberry since blackberry has made a name for themselves as being the most secure handset on the market. If you want to know Blackberry's clientele think medical field. I have not seen anyone carry a blackberry in real life in years. BlackBerry is looking to breath some life back into their company by creating a sleek device that runs Android. They have said they would only release an Android device if it could still be as secure as current Blackberry devices.

The image above is that of the rumored "BlackBerry Venice". As you can see it is running Android. It looks to be pretty thin, has curved edges, and front facing speakers! Unfortunately there is no USB Type-C. Who knows what other specs are included. Of course any of this could change this is just a render. I don't know if Im excited or just feel meh about this one. Who's interested in a BlackBerry Android device?

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FoxKat

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Hmmm. If Blackberry can make Android as secure as the BlackBerry operating system, then why can't Google and the other manufacturers make it just as secure as BlackBerry's operating system? I wonder if this isn't just a marketing ploy.
 

droidprincess

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Why can't BlackBerry keep their own OS and just upgrade their hardware to current standards?

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FoxKat

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Why can't BlackBerry keep their own OS and just upgrade their hardware to current standards?

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Good point! If their hardware was comparable with today's standards they could enhance their OS to compete with Android and be more user friendly. With a better GUI they could be very competitive. Then they would actually have an advantage over Android with regard to the security and yet not be so far behind in hardware or in user interface and software.

The problem I see though is that they don't license their OS. Being they're only one manufacturer, they will be competing against all the various designs and features that all the other manufacturers are able to come up with. So it's either BlackBerry, or ask the others. That a tough spot to be in.

If they licensed the OS, they might see some of the top contenders such as Samsung and LG and Sony and others actually embracing the technology and it could effectively become a top OS right along side Android and Apple.
 
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Brad9

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Google doesn't want privacy so they will never bother to work on that side of things and Samsung and co are all probably too big now to be to private aswell

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Jonny Kansas

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Samsung wouldn't use Blackberry OS. They're still trying to push Tizen. I think that's actually a good example of the uphill climb that Blackberry would have ahead of it if they updated their OS and pushed it onto comparable devices. Samsung is (arguably) the top dog in the android world now, making them a huge name in phones. But Tizen still won't take off for a long time, if ever.

Now, given Blackberry's track record in the business sector, they might stand a better chance, but they're already late to this game. BYOD has pretty well hit critical mass in many businesses and the devices being brought are Android and Apple devices. Gonna be a hard sell to get people to go back to BB.

If they hold true to their word and make a version of android as secure as their OS, it's not going to be the android we know and love. Android is open-source. The nature of the software lends itself to being very vulnerable. I think, if we see a BB device running android, it's going to be akin to Touchwiz or "worse," just to keep it in line with their security standards.

I'm interested to follow this and see what, if anything, comes into reality, but I was never a BB user/fan in the first place and I'm so entrenched in the Android ecosystem at this point that I won't be jumping ship, even if I'm impressed by what they do.
 

FoxKat

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Samsung wouldn't use Blackberry OS. They're still trying to push Tizen. I think that's actually a good example of the uphill climb that Blackberry would have ahead of it if they updated their OS and pushed it onto comparable devices. Samsung is (arguably) the top dog in the android world now, making them a huge name in phones. But Tizen still won't take off for a long time, if ever.

Now, given Blackberry's track record in the business sector, they might stand a better chance, but they're already late to this game. BYOD has pretty well hit critical mass in many businesses and the devices being brought are Android and Apple devices. Gonna be a hard sell to get people to go back to BB.

If they hold true to their word and make a version of android as secure as their OS, it's not going to be the android we know and love. Android is open-source. The nature of the software lends itself to being very vulnerable. I think, if we see a BB device running android, it's going to be akin to Touchwiz or "worse," just to keep it in line with their security standards.

I'm interested to follow this and see what, if anything, comes into reality, but I was never a BB user/fan in the first place and I'm so entrenched in the Android ecosystem at this point that I won't be jumping ship, even if I'm impressed by what they do.
You know, I forgot all about Tizen, and obviously that proves the point that you've made. It's an excellent observation and I completely missed it. It also does prove the up hill battle that Blackberry has as you indicated as well so it should be interesting to see how this all plays out.

And I agree that in order to make Android as secure as blackberry, it would have to shut doors on a lot of the software that's out there and make the operating system for more impenetrable than it is as we know it, taking much of the love away from Android that we've already grown to enjoy. In other words, say goodbye to customizations in many respects, and lots of software that allow us to do things that Apple and Blackberry users can't do now.
 

mountainbikermark

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Hmmm. If Blackberry can make Android as secure as the BlackBerry operating system, then why can't Google and the other manufacturers make it just as secure as BlackBerry's operating system? I wonder if this isn't just a marketing ploy.
Not gonna happen. It's just another name, like HTC, Samsung, etc, using Android.
Does anyone remember the crashes of the BB servers back when it was falling off a cliff in sales, basically singing its death knell? If memory serves the last crash was over 2 weeks before things got restored back . Since Verizon dumped them quicker than they did Windows Mobile I pretty much stopped keeping track of them after the Storm 2 flopped.

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Ollie

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Tizen is being designed for an entire ecosystem of hardware. The phone division will eventually be folded into their ginormous project, but everything else must be in place first.
 
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