Blackberry Finally Gives In

Evan Blass made headlines last month when he leaked the BlackBerry Venice, the embattled smartphone maker’s supposed capitulation to the power of Android. Now, Vietnamese website Tinhte has come out with the latest and most legit BlackBerry x Android leaks yet.

The above pictures are the latest evidence that the barely-there Blackberry is set to offer a sort of sizzling package to consumers. Right now, the BlackBerry Venice seems to have these following specs:

• Slider
• Qwerty keyboard
• Curved sides
• Micro SD slot
• Speaker across the entire bottom
• 18 MP main camera
• 2,560 x 1,440 Quad-HD display
• 3GB RAM
• Android 5.0 Lollipop

Venice is an upper midrange Android with these specs. Curiously but unsurprising is the absence of the BlackBerry Messenger app. Externally, it has a rubberized, texturized feel which is reminiscent of old Motorola models with a focus on ruggedness. The battery does not seem to be detachable.

Clearly the QWERTY keyboard an as independent feature was never enough to convince people to get a Blackberry. But the Venice will be its very first Android if leaks are to be believed, and that may be all it needs to get back in the game.

As of this writing, there is still no official word on BlackBerry’s position in the market, but there is increasing evidence that the touted November release on all 4 US carriers is a go. This might be a potential game-changer for BlackBerry which has seen its market share shrink to oblivion. 

Blackberry has a 0.8% market share. Android, on the other hand, has a solid 81.1% market share. If it can get access to that, then maybe BlackBerry will finally catch up to Apple’s iOS, 15.6%, and even Microsoft’s modest 2.6%.