The original BlackBerry Passport running BlackBerry OS 10.3 probably isn’t a device that you’d consider using, but how about one with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop? Before the Ontario-based firm officially unveiled the BlackBerry Priv last year, there were reports that its 2014 smartphone is getting an Android update and a video confirming as much even emerged online. While all of that verifies BlackBerry was indeed working on an Android version of Passport, nothing came out of it and the recent release of the Alcatel-made BlackBerry DTEK50 suggests that the Canadian firm is moving away from manufacturing its own phones. Well, that doesn’t mean a few prototypes don’t exist out in the wild and one lucky poster over at CrackBerry forums actually managed to get its hands on it.
The device that user “anandsihra” purchased is running Android Lollipop and its new owner reports that it “seems to be working very well”. In addition to all of the standard Android apps, this version of Passport also comes pre-installed with BlackBerry Hub and Privacy Dashboard apps. After a few hours of testing, the user reports that all of the standard apps and some random one downloaded from the Play Store were working as intended, adding that the battery life is good in comparison to the Galaxy Note 3, which they also own. It’s worth noting that all of the new apps installed on this device need to be opened in device’s wide-screen mode in order to scale perfectly as Passport otherwise displays them in a 4:3 aspect ratio with black vertical bars. Last but not least, the phone always shows the Android system buttons on its screen. The gallery bellow showcases the device in question.
Boasting a unique 4.5-inch screen with a 1:1 aspect ratio (1440 x 1440), Snapdragon 801 system-on-chip, Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage space, the Passport could still handle most of the tasks you expect a modern Android smartphone to do. However, due to the fact that BlackBerry released two newer devices after the rumors of an Android version of this phone started surfacing, the chances of this smartphone finally getting a commercial launch are slim at best.
