The BlackBerry “Venice” is no secret; we’ve been seeing leaks left and right for a few weeks now. Even just three days ago, we got yet another look at the phone thanks to someone’s crafty spy shot skills at the Toronto Film Festival. Now, thanks to sources for Android Authority, we have what is perhaps our most comprehensive look yet…
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Evleaks’ <a href="http://9to5google.com/2015/08/19/android-blackberry-venice-leak-keyboard/">renders</a> of the BlackBerry Venice slider
More evidence that an Android slider from BlackBerry in on the way — probably the “Venice” device that we’ve been telling you about for quite a while — has now surfaced . As seen in a new spy shot originally shared by BerryFlow, BlackBerry looks to be pushing the “Venice” slider running some build of Lollipop out into the field for testing. This time, we’ve caught the phone running what looks to be the stock Messenger app…
The above blurry cam picture taken at the Toronto Film Festival, which assumably was snapped very quickly as to not make its photographer seem too stalk-ish, shows the Venice phone we’ve seen before, but with what looks to be case attached. Along the right side of the device, you can see two buttons aligned just like the ones of the Venice images that just surfaced two weeks ago.
And while the most recent imagery has shown the device running a full-fledged Android OS (meaning there’s not any real reason to doubt that this is the real deal), this is the first image we’ve seen of the phone in public. It’s not perfectly clear, but the app that’s running on-screen looks just like Android Lollipop’s stock Messenger app — with its blue navigation bar and all.
With the leaks continuing to stream in, it’s probably not going to be long before we see the announcement of what might be BlackBerry’s last ditch effort to catch at least a tiny part of the consumer smartphone market.
If there has been one thing missing from the Android smartphone market over the past few years, it’s a great device with a physical keyboard. In fact, ever since the T-Mobile G2 (HTC Desire Z) hit the market in 2010, there’s been nothing worth paying attention to. That’s why — to me — the rumored BlackBerry Venice is the most exciting phone of the year so far. At least, the most exciting unreleased phone of the year. As each week goes by, the chances of it becoming a real product get stronger. For the first time, the Android-powered BlackBerry has been shown of in real, leaked hands-on photos.
Evan Blass — otherwise known as Evleaks — shared with us an image last week showing what looks to be some silver variant of the much-rumored BlackBerry Passport running Android Lollipop. Tech blog 4GNews then went on just before the weekend to share images of what it called Passport Silver Edition. It turns out those images were from Dudu Rocha Tec., an Android-related Brazilian YouTube channel, and now we have a look at what is likely the much-rumored BlackBerry device in its full glory…
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After sharing this morning a render of the slide-out keyboard on what is ostensibly an Android-powered BlackBerry Venice, a device which the Ontario-based company has teased but made no mention of what OS its powered by, respected leaker Evan Blass is back with more goodies for the BB faithful. This time he has tweeted out a short video that shows off a render of the smartphone from all angles, with dramatic transitions and animations in tow.
BlackBerry has been rumored to be working on an Android phone for quite some time. In fact, almost as soon as its CEO John Chen teased the portrait slider dubbed ‘Venice’, it was predicted it might run Google’s operating. We’ve seen a leaked render showing the front of the device with what looks like stock Android. We’ve even seen slides showing off some of the BlackBerry-inspired user interface elements. What we haven’t seen yet is that ever-elusive keyboard.
We’ve been hearing a lot about BlackBerry’s long-rumored Android smartphone over the past few months. In fact, almost as soon as BlackBerry teased the ‘Venice’ slider back at MWC in Barcelona, it was rumored that the upcoming device would ship with Google’s OS onboard. A previous render showed a pretty clear image of Android running on the BlackBerry slider, and now some more official-looking images appear via CrackBerry to hint at a Google-powered system.
The internet got more than a little excited about BlackBerry buying up a couple of Android-related domains a few weeks ago. Although they came at a time when rumors of an Android-powered BlackBerry smartphone were floating around, turns out they’re nothing to do with that. As was always the more likely scenario, BlackBerry has used these domains to show us how it keeps our Android phones secure through its BES12 enterprise management system.
In a blog post today, BlackBerry has announced Android Secured, a dedicated web space for keeping customers up to date on the management and security of Android phones. The new Android Secured hub can be found at www.manageandroid.com.
To that end we’ve recently launched the Android Secured hub for fresh news and updates on all things Android security and Android management. Check it out and be sure to visit again soon as we curate the top articles and stories that will keep you on the cutting edge.
From just skimming over it quickly, it appears to be a collation of various articles and videos from across the web which BlackBerry thinks is important to share with its enterprise customers. There is some BlackBerry-created content too, like an eBook on enterprise mobile security (for example). This is undoubtedly a push to reaffirm the company’s relevance in a market where so many people now want to bring their own phones to work. And where companies don’t necessarily want to fork out for an iPhone.
This doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see a BlackBerry Android device. The manufacturer’s own chief, John Chen said the company might as long as they can make it secure. What’s more, there have been supposed leaks of a BlackBerry ‘Venice’ portrait-slider which may or may not be on its way.
BlackBerry has snapped up a couple of Android-y domain names very recently. Logs show that BlackBerry Limited bought AndroidSecured.com and AndroidSecured.net on July 7th. This move, of course, adds more fuel to the rumors that the company is planning to launch a Google-powered smartphone in the near future.
Evan came out last night to post an image of what looks to be a BlackBerry Passport running Android, and many were confused thinking it was the rumored slider phone coming to AT&T. Well, that picture was “just a Passport” according to Blass, and now he has posted a press render he says is indeed Venice, the phone that Reuters told us about in a report early last month…
Update: As I thought, this isn’t the slider. It’s just a Passport.
There seems to be some confusion — sorry for being obtuse. This is no slider, it's just a Passport: https://t.co/0AExZulvMy
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 3, 2015
Evan Blass just can’t stop. Earlier today he came out on Twitter to say that BlackBerry’s Android-powered “Venice” smartphone is on its way to AT&T, and now he has shared an image of what looks to be some kind of BlackBerry device running Google’s mobile operating system.
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A report from Reuters earlier this month said that BlackBerry has plans to build an Android smartphone, and now the company’s CEO, John Chen, has come out with a statement that is far from being a denial. According to Chen, BlackBerry only builds and sells phones that are what he believes to be the most secure on the market. If the company can do the same with Android — find a way to make it secure — it sounds like Chen is open to the idea…
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Update: It looks like the Amazon Appstore actually began rolling out to devices with the 10.3.1 update, and that BlackBerry was simply re-highlighting the feature it added previously. Perhaps humorously, it looks like not enough people use BlackBerry devices to even know if the addition is new or not. Some users have told us that they’ve had the Appstore by default since 10.3.1, which makes us think this feature is old. Move along.
BlackBerry is rumored to be going with an Android OS for its next hardware release, according to a report from Reuters last week. But while we haven’t heard anything about that handset quite yet, it looks like BlackBerry is already giving in to the inevitable fact that it just can’t keep up with the competition — on the software front, at least. Starting today, owners of some BlackBerry devices will be receiving an update that gives access to Android apps by way of Amazon’s Appstore…
According to a new report from Reuters, BlackBerry is considering releasing a smartphone with Android installed, as opposed to its own BlackBerry 10 operating system. The reasoning for the switch to Android is to allow BlackBerry to focus on software and device management. When asked about the report, BlackBerry said that it does not comment on “rumors and speculation” and is still committed to BlackBerry 10.
BlackBerry today has revealed a major software update for all of its BlackBerry 10 devices. Most notably, the update adds the ability for all BB10 devices to access Android applications. Bumping the build number to version 10.3.1, this update is rolling out to all BlackBerry 10-powered devices, including the Z10, Q10, and Z30. The company announced announced its intentions to add this feature in June of last year.
While rumors that Samsung was in talks to acquire BlackBerry for as much as $7.5 billion ultimately proved to be untrue, the two smartphone makers remain interested in working with one another. “We want to work with BlackBerry and develop this partnership, not acquire the company,” J.K. Shin, head of Samsung’s mobile phone business, told The Wall Street Journal.
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Earlier today a rumor appeared through CNBC that Samsung was considering buying up BlackBerry for its patents. After getting a nice 21% bump to its stock price, BlackBerry has officially denied the claims in a new statement:
BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY)(TSX:BB) (“BlackBerry”) is aware of certain press reports published today with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry. BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry. BlackBerry’s policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly it does not intend to comment further.
[tweet https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/555493972765061120 align=’center’]
BlackBerry, today at CES 2015, has announced that its BBM service is coming to Android Wear in early 2015. BlackBerry hopes that its Android Wear client will bring nearly the full capabilities of the messaging service to smartwatches. With BBM, users will be able to receive push notifications for new messages, read full messages, respond to messages with Google Now, and accept BBM invites.
BlackBerry might have pioneered the smartphone industry, but the iPhone and Android-based devices have since captured the market and left the Canadian company in the dust. Looking to remain relevant with modern smartphone users, the company ultimately caved in and released its popular messaging app BBM for Android and iOS. Today, users checking the Play Store will find a major new update for the app in their queue.
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The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics reveal that Android was installed on over 8 of 10 smartphones worldwide in the third quarter, as the mobile operating system captured 84% global market share for the three-month period ending September. That figure arrives just one day after the research firm reported that Chinese company Xiaomi has become the third-largest smartphone maker in the world.
Android continued to be a dominant player in global smartphone operating system market share, increasing its lead over iOS by three percentage points compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple’s mobile operating system held 12.3% market share during the third quarter, trailed by Windows Phone (3.3%) and BlackBerry (0.7%). Other mobile platforms accounted for less than 0.1% market share.
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BlackBerry may be finding it tough to compete in a world now dominated by Android and iOS, but it isn’t finished yet. The company has just announced a net loss of $207M in Q2, significantly lower than had been expected and far lower than the $965M it lost in the same quarter last year.
The company is pinning its hopes on its new square-screened BlackBerry Passport phablet, and says that it anticipates breaking even by the end of the 2015 fiscal year. CNBC noted that BlackBerry CEO John Chen said back in April that it could return to profit on sales as low as 10M handsets a year …
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The latest enterprise market share data from Good Technology shows that Android gained five points from iOS, hitting almost a third of the market at 32 percent while iOS fell from 72 to 67 percent. Windows Phone remains flat (and irrelevant) at just 1 percent. (BlackBerry data is not included as the company uses its own servers and activations are invisible to Good Technology.)
What’s particularly impressive about the numbers is that Good’s technology mostly connects mobile devices to Exchange servers and organizations that use Google services for enterprise, which are more likely to Android, aren’t being counted here…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzMUTrTYD9s]
As Samsung has done with past TV commercials for its flagship Galaxy S5, its latest ad for the device again takes the iPhone head-on. The new ad, titled “Wall Hugger”, focuses on mocking the iPhone’s battery life while showing off the S5’s Ultra Power Saving Mode and removable battery features. And in usual Samsung-fashion, it also borrows a line from comments Blackberry executive John Chen made back in March…
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