Remember the days when smartphone manufacturers experimented with physical QWERTY keyboards on Android smartphones? Well, BlackBerry might just be bringing this back. According to a report by Reuters, the company may be working on an Android smartphone with a slide-out physical keyboard.
If this sounds awfully familiar, it should be; BlackBerry actually teased a mysterious smartphone that features a slide-out keyboard back at MWC 2015. If that is indeed the Android smartphone that the company is working on, it could feature a curved display (ala the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge).
However, when BlackBerry was contacted by Reuters to comment on this, it simply said: “we don’t comment on rumours and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched.” More likely than not, the company is merely experimenting with the Android platform (for now?).
Many dedicated BlackBerry fans swear by the physical QWERTY keyboard. If the company is indeed working on an Android smartphone, it could sway a few loyal BlackBerry users to give the Android OS a chance. After all, the many upcoming features of Android M are pretty neat, such as Google Now on Tap.
With BlackBerry’s market share at less than 1% – not to mention its recent announcement of another round of layoffs from its mobile division – the decision to work on an Android smartphone could be a turning point for the struggling company.
(Source: Reuters)
