Rumour: BlackBerry and Samsung to release smartphone with Android Lollipop and BlackBerry services later this year

Last week’s rumour that BlackBerry was considering the idea of using the Android operating system for an upcoming smartphone might not be so far-fetched after all, at least according to a tweet from Eldar Murtazin.

Samsung + Blackberry = Android Smartphone with Lollipop + BB services

— Eldar Murtazin (@eldarmurtazin) June 15, 2015

As you can see from the tweet above, he alludes to a joint venture between Samsung and Blackberry, with the device running Android Lollipop and having BlackBerry services baked in. This joint venture is believed to be released later this year.

After rumours of both Samsung and Microsoft making offers to buy the Canadian company, it seems that BlackBerry has chosen instead to strengthen its ties with Samsung. Firstly by teaming up to improve Knox security on Android and now apparently with an upcoming device running Android firmware with BlackBerry services baked in. It has to be said that BlackBerry aren’t in a great position financially, barely holding on to a 1% share of the smartphone market and having to cut jobs.

It’s an interesting rumour for sure. If true, what traditional BlackBerry features would you like to see included? Would you like to see an Android smartphone with a physical keyboard? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Eldar Murtazin (Twitter)

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