Rumors of an Android-run BlackBerry slider phone, codenamed Venice, have been making the rounds online these past weeks. Now, the Canada-based BlackBerry has made it official and announced that indeed, there will be a new BlackBerry Android smartphone in the market, to be called the BlackBerry Priv.
In a report by industry observer The Verge, company CEO John Chen confirmed the handset in the announcement for BlackBerry's second-quarter financial results. Meanwhile, the press statement for the confirmation of the Android-run BlackBerry slider reads, "Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after BlackBerry's heritage and core mission of protecting our customers' privacy."
Although Chen described the Priv as the company's flagship slider device, the CEO also pointed out that the company will not be switching to Android completely and will still continue to support their own mobile platform. Aside from announcing that the current BlackBerry 10 operating system will be updated to its upcoming 10.3.3 version early next year, Chen stressed that the BlackBerry Priv will not be a full Android OS but rather a combination of "the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform."
More recently, although BlackBerry is silent on the specs sheet of the Priv, Chen showcased the device somewhat awkwardly in a YouTube video that has since then been taken down. The video, however, can still be seen on some third-party websites like Business News Network.
Many observers, like The Verge, GSM Arena, and EnGadget, agree that while the video showcase by the BlackBerry CEO is somewhat awkward, it being just an ambush interview in an impromptu setting, the showcase itself is a definite sign that the Priv is already on its final stages, and may even be released before the year ends.
