BlackBerry considers releasing Android phone, says report
BlackBerry may be looking to Google's Android operating system to power an upcoming smartphone.
The struggling smartphone maker could run Android on an "upcoming slider device" that will likely be released this fall, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources "familiar with the matter." The smartphone would, according to Reuters, combine a touchscreen with a slide-out keyboard that people could use if they prefer.
The move would be a tacit admission of the failure of BlackBerry's homegrown mobile operating system to win over new smartphone customers. The BlackBerry OS saw its market share fall to just 0.4 percent in 2014, according to IDC. An embrace of Android, however, would fall in line with the smartphone maker's focus shift toward software and services layered on top of devices.
