BlackBerry reportedly considering Android for an upcoming smartphone

According to a new report, BlackBerry may be considering putting Android as the operating system on an upcoming smartphone. The move is said to be part of a shift to a more software-centric strategy.

From Reuters

BlackBerry (BB.TO) is considering equipping an upcoming smartphone with Google Inc.'s (GOOGL.O) Android software for the first time, an acknowledgement that its revamped line of devices has failed to win mass appeal, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The sources, who asked not to be named as they have not been authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the move to use Android is part of BlackBerry's strategy to pivot to focus on software and device management. BlackBerry, which once dominated smartphone sales, now has a market share of less than 1 percent.

It isn't clear from the report if this shift would be for one particular upcoming smartphone, or if it would be a larger move away from BlackBerry 10. In either case, it would be quite the radical turn for BlackBerry, which has poured considerable resources into its efforts with BlackBerry 10. However, when asked to comment by Reuters, BlackBerry said that it is still committed to BlackBerry 10.

For right now, we'd recommend taking this latest news with the requisite giant grain of salt. Rumors of the BlackBerry upcoming BlackBerry slider running a further improved Android runtime, which BlackBerry already uses on current BlackBerry 10 devices, have been around since the device was shown off at Mobile World Congress.

Images of new BlackBerry devices LEAKED!

Blackberry has definitely been going through some hard times lately. The legendary company hasn't quite managed to stay relevant and is left targeting a pretty narrow, niche consumer market. The company's latest smartphone, the BlackBerry Leap, which came out at MWC 2015 didn't really manage to impress,, but there might still be some hope for the Canadian company to rekindle at least some of its former glory.

As some of you surely remember, at the very same Barcelona venue last month, Blackberry gave us a quick tease by bringing up on stage what clearly looked like a slider with a double-edged screen. A new set of leaked images seems to showcase the very same phone, as well as two more BlackBerry devices, so fans have a lot to look forward to.

First up, is the aforementioned curved device. It is dubbed the BlackBerry Slider or BlackBerry Venice and it is gearing up to be a true flagship offering. It should feature a 5.1-inch display, with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels. Currently, we can't really say in the display is actually curved, like the one on the Galaxy S6 edge, or the effect is achieved by some clever optical work, like with the upcoming Oppo R7, but that is really beside the point. The smartphone looks quite nice and a very pleasant change of pace for BlackBerry. Its specs sheet should also include an octa-core CPU, a 16MP main camera, 5MP front-facing shooter and a 3,650 mAh battery, so it is definitely studding into flagship territory.

There are two other new devices that are featured in the leaked photos. One is said to be a direct successor to the current BlackBerry Passport. As far as we know, it will bear the name Oslo and share much of its sibling's specs sheet, like the same 1440 x 1440 pixels display, Snapdragon 800 chipset, a 13MP camera with OIS and a 3450 mAh battery. The device also looks to be quite similar on the physical side, with the same spacious physical QWERTY keyboard.

Last, but not least, we have a device, allegedly bearing the model number P'9984, which could only mean one thing - a new Porsche Design handset. It also looks to be modeled after the BlackBerry Passport, but bears that signature design and color-pallet.

Neither of the devices has been discussed at lengths by BlackBerry, so we can don't have any info on availability or pricing.