[Dat Gui]

Actually I'd argue that's their best shot at differentiating themselves in an already overcrowded market. PKB may not have mass appeal, but given the sheer size of the Android market, even if they pick up single digit percentages in sales, that'd be pretty big. As long as it's touch capacitive and has the actions / shortcuts... Throw in the Hub and swipe up on letter for predictions? Mmmm, I think it could do alright.

You just described the biggest bb10 features...

Posted via CB10

[Dat Gui]

I agree 100%, I work in the auto industry who are all using either iOS and/or Android devices and when I mention Blackberry in some conversations about smartphones, the reply I always get is "who"

Sorry folks, but here in the USA, the brand is all but dead. Nobody uses PKB devices here anymore and touchscreen devices are king now.

I hear Mr Chen talk about focusing on the enterprise sector, but I don't see it here in the USA? I am active in the auto sector who have thousands of employees throughout their supplier networks and I have yet to see one Blackberry device being used by anyone here?

I think it's time for a major shift in what they are thinking, just my two cents.

BlackBerry still owns most governments, they now own the car industry, they're not going to takeover markets over night. It's going to be a long journey

Posted via CB10

[Witmen]

I'd like to see them release the slider in both BB10 and Android versions. Leave the hardware identical on both, just have the software different. THC did it with their flagship phone. Why not BlackBerry do it? That way they would be able to gauge which platform would sell better moving forward.

[cgk]

If they were to release an android phone
1) it'd most likely be a cheaper phone
2) it wouldn't be anything crazy like sliding dual curve display, they'd probably play it more safe
3) they'll probably make both andorid and BlackBerry os phones or that would be the only andorid phone just to prove how well bes is. If it's really successful, they'd probably release more but I don't think it'll be that big of a hit

Posted via CB10

Do they even have the scale anymore to do "cheap" plus "quality" because what BBRY normally considers cheap and what android buyers consider cheap are miles apart...

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

If they were to release an android phone
1) it'd most likely be a cheaper phone
2) it wouldn't be anything crazy like sliding dual curve display, they'd probably play it more safe
3) they'll probably make both andorid and BlackBerry os phones or that would be the only andorid phone just to prove how well bes is. If it's really successful, they'd probably release more but I don't think it'll be that big of a hit

Posted via CB10

I just don't see the Handset Alliance allowing both Android and BB10... unless they remove the Android Player from BB10. But then that would remove most of the apps that I use - either downloaded via the Google Store or the ports that are in BlackBerry World. Without the Android Player the App Gap would become a Grand App Canyon.

I really don't know if Android is the answer or a means of transitioning away from hardware. But the simple truth is some kinda change is needed.

[Mr.mister]

I see that everyone has a negative thinking about BlackBerry lately and I'm guessing is because the leak stop so everyone is speculating about the worst that can happen.
It's been a while since I saw a good news about BlackBerry. Every website I go, everybody is talking bad about BlackBerry . I guess we will only know for sure on the 23rd and I can't wait to know what is john Chen 's app strategy that he was teasing a while ago.

Posted via CB10

[lactose]

Are all the major phone manufactures secretly offering a high end phone with keyboard ? Did I miss something ? The non-BB phones I see with PKB are not high quality. I just wanted to point out there hasn't been much of a choice. Many on here keep implying there is a choice and people choose not to have a keyboard. That isn't the case.

[Pcmx]

Assuming Mr. Chen could be a master of mission creep, dropping little bits of information allowing us to speculate what the end goal will be while being close to it; we've heard rumors here about a Passport running full Android, net neutrality, securing Android, Hub on Android, Samsung like hardware on the slider and a partnership, app gap diminishing, testers seemingly claiming exceptional performance of Android apps on some type of BlackBerry thing in the works (that is not Hypervisor), where QNX is doing it's heavy lifting in the automotive and health care industries and such best, Chen making money, and now the little drop of a large grain of salt from yesterday,..

I feel it plausible that BlackBerry could be trying to nail it down to a more unified handset solution that they can continue to produce to make that 40% of the business money on in the hardware division to better subsidize a software business focus transition and that the pkb could be that staple feature that would make a slider with a full touch sized display one device that could stand out, just enough, to capture some market share. We are the .4% and if they were to even double that, I think that could be an accomplishment there.

As much as I LOVE BB10, QNX is doing well, if not better, elsewhere and they need to sell more hardware handsets that are appealing to a larger audience (even if to enterprise using Android) to keep building upon that Who knows, only time will tell. I hope BB10 will stick around tho I'm not sure they would have the resources to consider two, if not just one, ehem, more popular operating system. That's how I see it but only time will tell.

[Tradesman644]

Its a good idea as long as its going to work the same as bb10 . But fully supports android apps

By that I mean same gestures same look to OS BlackBerry Hub...etc hopefully!

Though I don't want the slider... hopefully a device which looks like a slider and doesn't have a keyboard will be released (with better battery life than the S6)



Posted via CB10

+10000000000000000000000000

[RyanGermann]

Via my HTC One M9...

I thought that was meant as some kind of ironic joke when I read it... "try something different" coming from Mr. HTC One M9... the Android worlds OPPOSITE of "different" and "successful". You're fun!

[tufcustomer]

Imo, the best way to approach is the dual boot. Not because the rest of the world will care that BB10 is on it (they won't even care if Android is on it tbh), but rather because they will shake up the current market. None of the big players have offered a dual boot as of yet.

I understand the limitations of this being BB10 potentially losing the run time, but if it keeps BB10 alive I'm all for it. Sending BB10 the way of WebOS would be a shame.

Posted via CB10

[tufcustomer]

Its a good idea as long as its going to work the same as bb10 . But fully supports android apps

By that I mean same gestures same look to OS BlackBerry Hub...etc hopefully!

Though I don't want the slider... hopefully a device which looks like a slider and doesn't have a keyboard will be released (with better battery life than the S6)



Posted via CB10

Yea if they can mimick BB10 to the point where you can't tell that would be awesome. I'm sure they can.

Posted via CB10

[AnimalPak200]

I've said this before, making the slider a BB10 only device will be such a waste of all that (undoubtedly tough) hardware R&D.

It won't make people give up their current platform (because the other platforms are sufficiently good for most people), so it will probably sell in the few tens of thousands (if they're lucky).

If they offer an Android variant of it, then who knows... but people will definitely will be much more willing to give it a try knowing they don't have to give up their platform. Much like how you see people jumping between Samsung, HTC, LG, etc without much hesitation.

Just simply due to the much larger volume of possible Android customers,.. the sales resulting from the small fraction within that massive group that's curious enough to try it will probably be larger than any BB10 device's total sales to date.

Posted via CB10

[36dbldz]

NO BlackSung for me. I want a BB10 slider with all the features of a 9810 and a fully functional Link.

But if it is a BlackSung it will have all the marketing blackberry wish it had. It may actually let the masses know BB is not dead, and get the devices in peoples hands

[cbvinh]

I've said this before, making the slider a BB10 only device will be such a waste of all that (undoubtedly tough) hardware R&D.

It won't make people give up their current platform (because the other platforms are sufficiently good for most people), so it will probably sell in the few tens of thousands (if they're lucky).

If they offer an Android variant of it, then who knows... but people will definitely will be much more willing to give it a try knowing they don't have to give up their platform. Much like how you see people jumping between Samsung, HTC, LG, etc without much hesitation.

Just simply due to the much larger volume of possible Android customers,.. the sales resulting from the small fraction within that massive group that's curious enough to try it will probably be larger than any BB10 device's total sales to date.

The sad part is that if it proves successful and they sell in a nice volume, somebody in the Android world will be able to make one with better specs, cheaper. Will the BlackBerry patented keyboard configuration be enough in that situation?

[Stewartj1]

If I wanted an Android for a personal phone I'd go out and buy one but I don't because it's the OS that makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry for me. Otherwise it's like buying a Ford car and putting someone else's drive train in it. It's not really a Ford anymore in my eyes.

As it is, the S4 I use for work is enough Android for me.

Z10 via CB10

[trsbbs]

I thought that was meant as some kind of ironic joke when I read it... "try something different" coming from Mr. HTC One M9... the Android worlds OPPOSITE of "different" and "successful". You're fun!

It's a heck of alot different then the Z10 and Playbook sitting in my closet.
Thats for dam sure.

Via my HTC One M9...

[BBd00d]

In the eyes of the consumer, BlackBerry is dead. Remember that Joe consumer doesn't know much less care that BlackBerry offers eterprise software solutions. Even if they release an android slider, or any android phone, if the brand image isn't there, no one will want to buy it, cool and innovative or not. BlackBerry needs marketing and a lot of it. They are simply burying themselves for every moment that goes by, because brand awareness lacks.

Look at it this way, BlackBerry makes phones and software that happens to get things done more efficiently, but apple is a company that offers a more simplistic experience overall, oh, and they make phones, hardware and wearables. They are a glorified marketing company that people have bought into, and because of that they trust what apple offers. Isheep don't care whether their hardware is more dated, whether it looks the same year after year, whether they 'innovate' years after android has done the same thing...people love apple because they bought into the experience. For the record I hate apple, but I have my reasons for that.

If BlackBerry wants to grow and/or gain marketshare, they need to market what they stand for, not just offer products that do what they say, but actually sell their image, their idea, their beliefs. Once people figure that out, they will look at BlackBerry, and companies will reconsider BlackBerry in their workplaces.

Posted via CB10

[tufcustomer]

In the eyes of the consumer, BlackBerry is dead. Remember that Joe consumer doesn't know much less care that BlackBerry offers eterprise software solutions. Even if they release an android slider, or any android phone, if the brand image isn't there, no one will want to buy it, cool and innovative or not. BlackBerry needs marketing and a lot of it. They are simply burying themselves for every moment that goes by, because brand awareness lacks.

Look at it this way, BlackBerry makes phones and software that happens to get things done more efficiently, but apple is a company that offers a more simplistic experience overall, oh, and they make phones, hardware and wearables. They are a glorified marketing company that people have bought into, and because of that they trust what apple offers. Isheep don't care whether their hardware is more dated, whether it looks the same year after year, whether they 'innovate' years after android has done the same thing...people love apple because they bought into the experience. For the record I hate apple, but I have my reasons for that.

If BlackBerry wants to grow and/or gain marketshare, they need to market what they stand for, not just offer products that do what they say, but actually sell their image, their idea, their beliefs. Once people figure that out, they will look at BlackBerry, and companies will reconsider BlackBerry in their workplaces.

Posted via CB10

Unfortunately, this is one aspect even John Chen hasn't addressed. There were the commercials every now and then with the BlackBerry Passport, but still not enough to make an impact. At the same time for BlackBerry to market at the level of Apple really isn't realistic. They do not have the same reservoir of cash that Apple is sitting on.

Posted via CB10

[ozdezignr]

Nothing sells very well without letting people know what it is......having the company name on the current leaders in F1 is great, but it won't change public opinion that it is Still the old BlackBerry system. Maybe this rumour of an android joint venture is another way to sell BlackBerry to Samsung...no government intervention.

[kraski]

What if Chen makes an Android play for consumer sales, and keeps BB10 alive and releases Passport 2? I agree, the Passport is an awesome device, and based on personal usage (I have no enterprise specific app requirements) it totally fills all my needs. Other than losing my favourite e-book reader - MoonReader+ - I could forgo the Android runtime as well and wouldn't hesitate to buy the next gen iteration.

And we look at the specs for the Passport 2 and discover it's a Passport 1 with a few fixes and a changed exterior. I don't have the double typing, only had a minor case of the jittery screen. But there are some real issues with BB10

1) I get several daily emails with free and discounted Kindle ebooks. If I want to order one, clicking the link opens the native BB10 browser to a page for that book that allows me to add it to my wish list, but not order it. And there doesn't seem to be an option to select an alternative browser. This isn't an issue on my PC or any Android device I've had.

2) We have an Android runtime to expand our available apps. But not all apps will run fully, some not at all, courtesy of no Google services support. And there are lots of apps that there is no BB10 version.

Those are only several of the shortcomings. I love my Passport, but I'm not going to try to convince myself that it's perfect. Which makes me wonder if John Chen isn't crazy like a fox if he actually brings out the Android slider. He possibly gets to do several things with it.

A) He introduces the Android market to a REAL keyboard, with all the goodies Blackberry designs into it. Maybe not huge sales, but it gives the market something new and better to think about.

B) If the time ever comes where BB may decide it's wiser to go Android, this cuts the shock for the faithful. No surprise.

C) The one that keeps sticking in the back of my mind. Could this be the way to get an agreement between Blackberry and Google to get Google services on Blackberry devices? As an owner of several Google+ communities, not having Hangouts on my Passport to communicate with the rest of my moderators for those communities isn't helping me.

D) Courtesy of the latest iOS and the abilities of the Apple Watch, Apple is regaining some territory from Android, Windows phone has gained ground, both Blackberry and Android have lost a little. Could this, be an unspoken alliance to regain ground for both?

Just some thoughts. I'm not ready to start crying foul till we know a lot more.

[jmr1015]

In my opinion,
The slider can't be BlackBerry's first Android device for those reasons :
-People with android doesn't care about pkb
-I don't recall any supports for androids with pkb( correct me if I'm wrong)
-I'm a fan of the torch but I think the slider is more of a BlackBerry fan device than a device for testing the water on android

Posted via CB10

some of the first ever wildly successfully Android devices were PKB sliders... the T-Mobile G1 and original Motorola Droid come to mind




Motorola continued to produce PKB Droids up until the Droid 4 in 2012.



And other manufacturers still release PKB Android devices. I think LG still has a few in their lineup.

[igor10000]

With seeing the massive demand for the S6 Edge first hand, a dual-edge slider from BlackBerry running Android could see mass appeal. It would be an incredibly wise decision to have one model running Android with a BB10 skin. Add the latest eight core Exynos processor, BlackBerry natural sound, a Sony camera with ois, the passport touch keyboard and the awesome virtual keyboard, QHD screen, Hub access, and a massive battery.. You have a winner!

Posted via CB10

Yeah, and add hundreds of millions of dollars to market the thing first. Which BB does not have.

[jmerheb]

I think this would be a winner. If blackberry want to sell the Blackberry Experience Software it previously announced it 'has to' prove it and the only way to do so is to sell an Android Blackberry that takes the +ves from Blackberry software and hardware and the +ves of having Google play integration and services. Not everyone needs hardcore security, and for the consumer market a Blackberry Android is appealing. I also think its a positive for BB as it 1) could help ensure the viability of BB as a business in the long term to support BB10 for prosumers and corps and 2) introduce people to the benefits of BB software and BB10 phones.

[Yifan Li]

It's not about what the market wants at this point (the market wants the next phone that can change the world, something BlackBerry ain't gonna deliver) . It's all about selling the right device and enough of it to keep BlackBerry alive as a phone maker.

To me, the slider that runs android is the best move BlackBerry has made in a long time (if it is indeed running android) . It has the build quality and keyboard and longlasting battery along with all other BlackBerry goodies, and combine those with a popular os (not saying bb10 is bad but it's simply not good enough, especially when it comes to apps) you have a winner.