Blackberry is now trying a new approach to increase their sales by launching an Android slider phone, stepping away from its own BlackBerry 10 OS this time.
It is officially called BlackBerry Priv. The name comes from the words "privacy" and "privilege," bringing together the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform, according to The Verge.
Its first phone running Android still keeps it slide out keyboard for those Blackberry fans who are used with the classic keyboard. This is a radical change for the company since losing a significant battle in the smartphone industry dominated by Apple's iPhone and devices running Google's Android operating system. It’s an impressive move of stepping away from its BlackBerry 10 software, also known as BB10.
Blackberry CEO John Chen emphasized the significant benefits of moving to Android. Making Android smartphone is cheaper because the operating system is already established and steady, CNET reported. Chen added that they are currently working on a project with Google.
Chen believes that Priv would provide a modest increase on company’s revenue growth. The company describes Priv as its flagship slider device under the Android OS. However, the company said that they will not totally abandon the BlackBerry 10 operating system, explaining that they will roll out an updated to version 10.3.3 in March 2016.
Blackberry Priv will feature slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. It is most likely to feature a hexa-core 1.8 GHz Snapdragon 808 processor, with a generous 3GB of RAM. It will also sport a 5.4-inch curved-edge screen display, and an 18MP rear camera, and a 5MP selfie shooter.
Priv is slated to be available by the end of 2015, and it can be purchased at all four major US carriers, big electronic stores and online stores as well.