Blackberry confirms existence of Venice - now calling it Priv


I've been steering pretty clear of the rumours and leaks and whatnot in general, but by now many of you would have heard of the proposed device that will marry Blackberry hardware with Android software making a cool looking lovechild with a slide out keyboard called the Venice.

Well, rumoured no more...

Today, during the Quarterly Reports call, Blackberry's CEO, John Chen announced that the device is official.  Whereas some folks had used the name "Venice", John now calls it the "Priv"

"At the same time, we are focused on making faster progress to achieve profitability in our handset business. Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after BlackBerry's heritage and core mission of protecting our customers' privacy. Priv combines the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform," continued Mr. Chen.

So it's official now.

Now, that doesn't mean they're abandoning their BBOS as later on they announce their device roadmap:

First, the company will launch a flagship slider device, Priv, which will run on the Android operating system, bringing together the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform. In combination with BlackBerry's efforts to support Android for Work on the BES12 platform, the new device will offer best in class security for enterprise customers. BlackBerry expects the device to be available late in the calendar year in major markets in-store and online, and will release further details in the coming weeks. While the new device will provide a choice in OS to new and existing customers, the company remains committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which enables industry-leading security and productivity benefits.

Second, the company will continue to develop and enhance the BlackBerry 10 operating system and is confirming plans to release platform updates focused on security and privacy enhancements, with version 10.3.3 scheduled to be available in March 2016.

Notice they didn't announce any new devices with BBOS tho'.

Source: Marketwired via iTechTriad

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