The rumor mill has been churning non-stop for BlackBerry's first foray into the Android platform. Just recently, reports mentioned that the rumored Android-run BlackBerry, codenamed Venice, had been seen again, triggering speculations that the company is already in its final stages of readying the device for launch.
In a post on the BlackBerry observer site BlackBerryOS (originally from BerryFlow), it was mentioned that the new Android-powered Venice was seen at the Toronto Film Festival. A close look at the image shows the user had the Android Messenger app turned on, with a silver band lining the top of the device. It is unclear whether the silver lining is part of the device itself or part of the phone case.
Meanwhile, some analysts are wondering if BlackBerry's entry in the Android smartphone market is a sound decision.
In a report by The Globe and Mail, it was mentioned that a BlackBerry on Android should at least have a mid-range to above-average price, since the year has been tough on premium-priced smartphones. While Android-run smartphones captured at least 84 percent of devices sold in the quarter, with Samsung's Galaxy S6 the best-selling one, a big chunk of the market is from reasonably priced handsets.
Neil Mawston, executive director of London's Strategy Analytics, said, "The global Android smartphone [average selling price] has been falling this year for struggling brands like HTC and Lenovo, but it has been increasing for rising brands that are expanding into higher price-bands, such as Huawei and Oppo."
It remains to be seen if BlackBerry will provide a moderate price for its rumored Android device. Based on the reported specs, Venice will be an above-average performance smartphone, with a big 5.4-inch display, a Snapdragon 808 processor, and at least 3 GB of RAM.
