A report from ETTelecom indicates that Blackberry is looking at licensing deals for a secure Android OS developed for its handsets. The company is desperately trying to get itself back into the handset market. The Canadian company was once the go to brand for many who wanted to get their hands on a device. The BlackBerry devices with their QWERTY keypads became quite popular among users until the first smartphones started showing up in the market. Soon, Apple and Samsung handsets became more popular than BlackBerry and the latter faded away from the cellphone market for quite some time.
In 2015, the company made its comeback with the first Android-powered handset, called the BlackBerry Priv. While this smartphone essentially launched the company back into the global market, it did not impress many consumers. However, BlackBerry launched the KEYone this year, which turned out to be a great mid-range smartphone for business clients. The handset met with positive reviews as well.
What the Secure Android is about?
According to ETTelecom, the Canadian company is trying to form a partnership to create BlackBerry Secure, which is essentially a secure OS for BlackBerry's Android-powered handsets in the future. The company wants to launch this new platform to better control the security features in the smartphones that it develops and retails.
Currently, the company cannot modify the security features offered by the stock Android version, but after the introduction of the BlackBerry Secure, the company should be able to make certain changes curtailed to its handsets.
BlackBerry is currently in the midst of a licensing deal and says that it has received several offers.
It is also in talks with various hardware manufacturers who have expressed their interest in the secure Android project. This deal will allow OEMs to include the BlackBerry Secure software to the Android-powered handsets, to ensure that there is very little chance of vulnerabilities in the platform. The addition will also include all of the features that counted as the main appeal for BlackBerry, back when it was the most popular handset maker.
BlackBerry Secure and Enterprise of Things market
Android is not limited to smartphones and tablets only. The platform has reached many other devices tied to different fields of enterprises. For instance, Android is a dominating factor in the medical manufacturing industry and is also used in some televisions. If BlackBerry can make the OS safe with its latest plan, then it may open many avenues for the company to explore. This may be the boost that the company needs to become one of the major players in the smartphone industry.
