[anon(5956773)]

Will phones that have bb10 right now get an update that's a droid/bb hybrid?

Or will bb10 updates continue to be that, and droidberries will have the hybrid os updates?

Seems this is a good question given BlackBerry's stance on focusing on software versus hardware.

[thurask]

Come back in six months, then ask again.

You know, once there's anything other than rumor or hearsay w/r/t a BlackBerry-Android mix.

Posted via CB10

[Bishkin]

Will phones that have bb10 right now get an update that's a droid/bb hybrid?

Or will bb10 updates continue to be that, and droidberries will have the hybrid os updates?

It depends on the droid model you are using now, what color is it?

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

I've got my PlayBook dusted off... Can't wait to get the update

[Troy Tiscareno]

No one can answer this question for sure but BB, and they certainly aren't talking. Despite the rumors, we don't even know for sure that BB is actually going to go Android - the in-house testing may simply be for internal development of BES, Android For Work, "Android Secured", etc.

Having said that, let's use some logic and pragmatism. BB continues to make staffing cuts, particularly in the handset department. That makes it less likely that they will be able to maintain 2 separate OSs for very long. There wouldn't be a business case for doing so either, because if BB actually did release a full Android phone (or series of phones), it would essentially be an official admittance that,from a market perspective, that BB10 had failed, and that Android was the way forward.

Further, IMO it would be very unlikely that existing BB10 phones would be upgraded to Android. I'm not aware of any smartphone ever changed to a totally different OS from the one it was shipped with by a manufacturer - there likely would be contractual and legal reasons not to do this. I suspect that, at best, BB might make a factory image available to allow users to flash their own phones if they chose, but even that seems unlikely. It's more likely that BB10 would be EOL'd (with perhaps a security patch or two, similar to the Playbook) and Android would be carried forward on the new devices.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

So if you have a BlackBerry... wait and see what happens

If you don't own a BlackBerry.... best to wait and see before you buy one. As the odds are not good you'll be buying into a platform with much support. Imagine if Google patches their Play Store and Cobalt or Snap move on from the platform.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Imagine if Google patches their Play Store and Cobalt or Snap move on from the platform.

I've said before: if some OTHER company that is trying to leech off of the Play Store managed to get some traction and some stories in the media, that could be a disaster for BB10. Of course Google is aware that BB10 users are violating the Play Store TOS, and of course they could prevent it, but it is currently so insignificant (and declining) that it isn't worth the hassle of doing so. But if another company does the same thing, and has the possibility of actually being successful, that could easily force Google's hand into securing the Play Store, and thus locking out BB10 users overnight.

John Chen must know this, and it probably factors into his decisions on the future of BB10.