The new smartphones, even though will be running Android under the hood, will also integrate a few software functions of BlackBerry OS and application services such as BES12, BBM and BlackBerry Blend.
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BlackBerry has partnered with Google in a newly announced enterprise-focused partnership.
BlackBerry has a reputation for offering business-friendly smartphones with strong security, support, and other features that made the company’s handsets popular with enterprise users… until the iPhone and Android phones started to dominate the mobile space.
BlackBerry, which was once the leader in the smartphone segment, is now reportedly trusting Android OS to regain its position.
Blackberry’s plans to move to Android have been known for quite some time.
The new partners have been added to the company’s production chain to enhance the competitiveness of its hardware products, the sources added.
As said by Digitimes, BlackBerry has already approached a few of the biggest ODMs, including Foxconn, Compal and Wistron, for possible production partnerships that will see the Canadian company launching Android-based smartphone in the second half of the year.
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The BYOD-minded platforms are being woven into the BES12 realm through an integration facilitated by BlackBerry Secure Connect Plus, another BlackBerry app for providing behind-the-firewall access and encryption for corporate data in transit. “So if I can find a way to secure the Android phone, I will also build that”.
