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Blackberry's Software is DoD audited. If they change OS's they have to go though a lengthy re-certification program that Samsung KNOX and IOS6 only completed th

Blackberry's Software is DoD audited. If they change OS's they have to go though a lengthy re-certification program that Samsung KNOX and IOS6 only completed this 1 year ago. The US government is one of their major customers, and a lot of business men and women like the piece of mind their phone is DoD approved for security... Even if they do nothing else to secure it.

eli 13y ago
Didn't they just switch OSes last year? Blackberry 10 is QNX-based.
- valarauca1 13y ago
  Black Berry has owned QNX Since 2010 -Retracted- Your correct they did push BlackBerry10 in 2013, but BlackBerry 7 (No clue what happened to 8, and 9) was not an upgrade from 6 and was only available on newer phones. Which leads me to believe 7 was actually the QNX implementation.
  - mcpherrinm 13y ago
    I am very sure BB10 was the first QNX release. Its release slipped many times, and was over a year late to market.
    - jljljl 13y ago
      Wasn't PlayBook a QNX release?
      - valarauca1 13y ago
        Yes. OS: Blackberry Tablet (QNX) From the BlackBerry Tablet page "Another QNX-based operating system, known as BlackBerry 10, will replace the long-standing BlackBerry OS on handsets after version 7." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_PlayBook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_PlayBook
- omh 13y ago
  Their new OS is security certified as well: http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-fips-certification/ http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-fips-cer...
randomdata 13y ago
There's no reason the hardware couldn't run both OSes, letting the buyer choose the system they want. It changes the dynamics of the business to support that, but their current direction doesn't seem to be working for them.
- valarauca1 13y ago
  There is a very big reason. Android is a time-shared monolithic kernel. QNX is a Real-Time Microkernel. So you want to pay people to maintain 2 different kernels, for the exact same hardware, at the exact same company? When the primary customer of your phones are only interested in mobile email?
  - randomdata 13y ago
    Doesn't matter if it increases the profitability of the company in a meaningful way. That is the if, of course.
    - valarauca1 13y ago
      The problem is your assuming people who buy BlackBerry's currently want android. They pretty definitively didn't want touch screen keyboard. To make Android profitable you'd have to complete change their target demographic, and re-invent their company image from, "Phones for lawyers, and non-tech savvy business people" to "Phones for everyone." That's a drastic shift.
      - randomdata 13y ago
        The original parent suggested people wanted to buy Android devices with hardware that is on-par with what BlackBerry produces. > To make Android profitable you'd have to complete change their target demographic While I'm not sure agree with the aforementioned commenter, I'm not sure I agree with this either. Trying to shift to "phones for everyone" is what has left BlackBerry struggling now.

eli 13y ago

Didn't they just switch OSes last year? Blackberry 10 is QNX-based.

valarauca1 13y ago
Black Berry has owned QNX Since 2010 -Retracted- Your correct they did push BlackBerry10 in 2013, but BlackBerry 7 (No clue what happened to 8, and 9) was not an upgrade from 6 and was only available on newer phones. Which leads me to believe 7 was actually the QNX implementation.
- mcpherrinm 13y ago
  I am very sure BB10 was the first QNX release. Its release slipped many times, and was over a year late to market.
  - jljljl 13y ago
    Wasn't PlayBook a QNX release?
    - valarauca1 13y ago
      Yes. OS: Blackberry Tablet (QNX) From the BlackBerry Tablet page "Another QNX-based operating system, known as BlackBerry 10, will replace the long-standing BlackBerry OS on handsets after version 7." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_PlayBook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_PlayBook
omh 13y ago
Their new OS is security certified as well: http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-fips-certification/ http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-fips-cer...

randomdata 13y ago

There's no reason the hardware couldn't run both OSes, letting the buyer choose the system they want. It changes the dynamics of the business to support that, but their current direction doesn't seem to be working for them.

valarauca1 13y ago
There is a very big reason. Android is a time-shared monolithic kernel. QNX is a Real-Time Microkernel. So you want to pay people to maintain 2 different kernels, for the exact same hardware, at the exact same company? When the primary customer of your phones are only interested in mobile email?
- randomdata 13y ago
  Doesn't matter if it increases the profitability of the company in a meaningful way. That is the if, of course.
  - valarauca1 13y ago
    The problem is your assuming people who buy BlackBerry's currently want android. They pretty definitively didn't want touch screen keyboard. To make Android profitable you'd have to complete change their target demographic, and re-invent their company image from, "Phones for lawyers, and non-tech savvy business people" to "Phones for everyone." That's a drastic shift.
    - randomdata 13y ago
      The original parent suggested people wanted to buy Android devices with hardware that is on-par with what BlackBerry produces. > To make Android profitable you'd have to complete change their target demographic While I'm not sure agree with the aforementioned commenter, I'm not sure I agree with this either. Trying to shift to "phones for everyone" is what has left BlackBerry struggling now.