ok so whats the deal with this passport shaped device coming in 2017

after today's news i feel the need to post this and hopefully get some productive responses.

we all know theres a rumored passport form factor shaped device running android coming hopefully Q1 2017.

after the sh*t that went down today, i have two questions that I hope we can get the ball rolling on....

1. if they do release this thing.... that would go against everything they announced today about no more of their own designs etc etc... we could go back and forth about what that actually means but at the end of the day the general consensus seems to be that BB will no longer be designing their hardware....

2. how the heck is this going to even be possible seeing as almost all of android and i would say over 95% of android apps are not developed for a 1:1 aspect ratio.... even if they could get the drivers to work with the keyboard and everything to play nice together.... in what universe would it ever work with the android ecosystem.... leading me to believe that at minimum whatever this thing is going to look like it will need at least a 4:3 screen???

am i off base?

dont crucify me if a thread along these lines already exists.... i couldnt find one....

why does everyone think it will be "passport" shaped...its 99% probably NOT the case.

could of sworn i read articles saying unnamed PKB device with "passport" dimensions... more than once... course it could have just been rumor sites leeching off eachother and everything could be wrong...

Sorry but you are off base...

There is a smaller more of a Classic with a taller screen phone.... ROME/MERCURY that is "planned". How the announcement today affects it.... is anyone's guess as Chen has not been totally clear. He's from business as usual, to hardware will be complete off the books by the end of the fiscal year.

Originally Posted by Esgetn2hoT

could of sworn i read articles saying unnamed PKB device with "passport" dimensions... more than once... course it could have just been rumor sites leeching off eachother and everything could be wrong...

Maybe older articles... there were some "proof of concept" devcies used back when they were switching from BB10 to Android. Might have even been considered as a possible release - some think the SE was going to have Android. Even one poster here that has gotten his hands on one, by some miracle.

But that's all old news and it simple isn't in the plans....

guess that answers my question lol

we can close this thread

A new Passport shaped device seems about as likely as the bronze Classic and "Keian" Porsche Design device based off the Passport running BlackBerry 10 being launched ;)

Posted via CB10

Yea I do remember reading that article - but as time went on it morphed into the mercury.

It looks like it will take design elements of the passport silver but not in its screen dimensions.

#whatisclassic

From the pics we have off the mercury, the screen just looks to small :(

Posted via BlackBerry Passport.

Attachment 409367

Seems to be an acceptable size to me, in my opinion.

Posted via SQW100-1/10.3.2.2876

Was that Rome mockup based on any actual verified information? I see it posted frequently.

Originally Posted by Dr Potato

Was that Rome mockup based on any actual verified information? I see it posted frequently.

The guy who posted it on instagram is supposedly pretty good when it comes to leaks. Take that by a grain of salt.

Posted via BlackBerry Passport.

I read somewhere that a 1:1 ratio isn't even allowed by Google. Thus I would think the best that Passport fans could hope for would be a 4:3 touch device if consigned to running Android.

Personally, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. My one disappointment re: last week's announcement is that if a niche player like BlackBerry won't innovate with a different form factor, no one else will either. No one's left to think different in this market anymore if BlackBerry is just rebadging off-the-shelf devices.

Posted via CB10