Canada-based telecommunications and wireless company, Blackberry, is contemplating shipping its upcoming smartphone with an Android OS.
A source who does want to be named told Reuters and the company is keeping other details of this very close to its vest.
“We don’t comment on rumours and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity; benefits that are unmatched,” the company said via email to Reuters.
The move, reportedly, is part of Blackberry’s strategy to pivot by focusing on software and device management. It isn’t clear if the move to use Android will make the company sacrifice the Blackberry 10 line of devices that launched in early 2013.
Other sources told Reuters that Blackberry may use Android on an upcoming slider device that was demoed briefly at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The slider will combine a touch screen with a physical keyboard, giving users an alternative.
Again, the move is still speculative, but if it falls through, Blackberry will have a shot at covering the grounds it lost to Apple’s iPhone and a plethora of devices powered by Android in the previous years.
