BlackBerry is reportedly getting ready to launch its first smartphone(s) powered by Google’s Android operating system.

While the company hasn’t acknowledged plans to ship Android phones, BlackBerry has been dancing with Google for a while. Phones running BlackBerry OS can now run many Android apps available from the Amazon Appstore, and BlackBerry Messenger software is available for both Android and iOS devices, as well as BlackBerry phones.

Now Evan Blass reports that a BlackBerry phone with Android software will be available in the US from wireless carrier AT&T.

venice

Blass, who’s also known on Twitter as @evleaks, has a pretty strong track record for posting accurate information that’s been leaked to him before it’s available to the general public. He doesn’t do this for a living anymore, and the information isn’t always correct. But at this point there’ve been so many leaks about the possibility of BlackBerry releasing Android phones it’d be almost more surprising if he’s wrong than if he’s right.

He’s also posted picture (shown above) that could be one of the first Android-powered BlackBerry phones. It’s code-named “Venice,” and if earlier leaks are accurate, it’ll be a phone with a 5.4 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display, a slide-out keyboard, and 18MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, 3GB of RAM, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor.

But that might not be the only BlackBerry phone with Android software: Blass also posted an image shown above on Twitter, showing what appears to be a BlackBerry Passport phone with Google Android software. Does that mean BlackBerry will offer Android updates for phones that currently ship with BlackBerry OS? Or maybe we’ll see new versions of existing phones shipping with Google’s software.

Or maybe Blass is just messing with us.

passport android

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4 replies on “BlackBerry’s Android phones coming soon?”

  1. ‘it’ll be a phone with a 5.4 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display, a
    slide-out keyboard, and 18MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, 3GB of
    RAM, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor”

    specs sound awesome. never owned a blackberry but this sounds like it has potential. also sounds expensive!

  2. I like physical keyboards, but only real keyboards. I think I’d hate that one, with the layout like that.

    1. There have been a number of them in the past, including some of the Moto Droid series. I owned a Moto Droid 2 Global which had a physical keyboard. At this point though I’m not even sure that anyone makes them, because it’s no longer a feature that is important to me.

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