New Delhi: It seems BlackBerry’s friendship with Android is going to last a little more than its purported BlackBerry Venice smartphone.
It was only recently revealed that BlackBerry would launch a smartphone that runs Google’s popular OS. Now, a new video shows the company’s existing Passport smartphone running Android.
The video posted on YouTube by Dudu Tec Rock shows the BlackBerry Passport running the newer Android Lollipop OS. One of the interesting features highlighted in the video show the ability to scroll the display by swiping across the physical keyboard.
It shows that the device doesn’t solely run the Android software and retains some BlackBerry-centric features.
Other features highlighted in the video show the ability to optimise the screen for pages that are small for the big-screen of BlackBerry Passport via Quick Settings. There is also an option to launch the on-screen keyboard that can be opened above the physical keyboard.
It is rather strange to have BlackBerry relaunch its Passport smartphone with the new software at a time when the buzz is more about the slider Venice smartphone. However, it could also mean that BlackBerry is simply testing the new OS on existing hardware for a smoother rollout of its next devices.
A report on The Verge notes that the new phones are expected to borrow features from BB10 like BlackBerry Hub.
Till now there have not been any official announcements of bringing Android to Passport, but Venice smartphone has been already teased at one of the company’s events.
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