BlackBerry Android Speculation Intensifies After Domain Name Registrations

BlackBerry has dropped another major hint that it has plans to release an Android-powered device in the near future after it snapped up two Android-related domain names -‘AndroidSecured.com’ and ‘AndroidSecured.net’.

The registrations follow a series of rumours that a BlackBerry device running Android will be released sometime this year and deal could be announced imminently.

“Important part”

BlackBerry looked to play down the significance of the purchases, telling Reuters it, “frequently registers domain names to support the breadth of our cross-platform portfolio,” with AndroidSecured.com, redirecting users to a BlackBerry enterprise-focused site.

However it added that, “Android is an important part of our cross-platform enterprise software strategy.”

The purchases will only continue to raise suspicions that a full-on BlackBerry and Android match-up is now just waiting to happen.

The Canadian manufacturer already works in part with Google’s platform using its BES12 device management system, which gives companies the ability to manage not just BlackBerry phones but also Android, iOS and Windows devices on their internal networks.

Such a move would also give the company more access to app developers, with developers eschewing BlackBerry’s platforms for Android and iOS. BlackBerry 10 does have access to Android apps on the Amazon Appstore, but the number of native apps falls short compared to competing platforms.

Several recent reports have indicated that BlackBerry is set to release a range of new mobile devices soon, one of which could be the first to feature the rumoured Android tie-up.

Photos of the “BlackBerry Venice” were revealed earlier this month by notorious tipster Evan Blass, better known as Evleaks, showing off a square design not too dissimilar from the company’s Passport device.

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