BlackBerry considering a move to Android: Report
BlackBerry is reportedly pondering putting Android on a slider phone with a physical keyboard, according to Reuters.
Sources told the wire service that the company is using Android on a handset to demonstrate the shift from its historic hardware business to one based on software and mobile device management (MDM).
In recent years, BlackBerry has opened its device management and messaging services to rival platforms.
"MDM has become table stakes; it is no longer a meaningful point of differentiation. The differentiation for BlackBerry in the future will be our ability to enable secure, productive mobile communications, collaboration, and other applications," BlackBerry enterprise chief John Sims said at the time.
As well as handsets, the company has been looking to secure and manage Internet of Things devices.
"If you think we have a big security problem with a billion smartphones, think what will happen when we have a trillion autonomous objects," David Kleidermacher said when he was appointed to the chief security officer position in February.
In March, the company launched a new mid-range 5-inch smartphone called Leap, which marked a return to BlackBerry creating all-touch devices, as well as a slider handset.
After many years of punishment, the company's financials are starting to look in better shape. In March, BlackBerry posted a fourth-quarter profit of $28 million on revenue of $660 million, and for the full year made a $304 million loss from $3.33 billion in revenue.
For its 2014 fiscal year, the company made $6.81 billion in revenue and a loss of $5.87 billion.