BlackBerry’s upcoming Android phone continues to generate a huge amount of interest, some questionable leaks, some misinformation and a lot of wishful thinking on the part of some BlackBerry users.
Options like using Hypervisor, a Hybrid OS, a dual booting OS have all been debated and the merits and benefits (or not) discussed in depth by BlackBerry users.
Sometimes, the best solution is the simplest and that is what BlackBerry appears to be going with.
When you buy the new Android smartphone, you will get the choice of which operating system (OS) that you wish to install on the device, BlackBerry 10 or Android Lollipop.
There is no OS pre-installed! What is installed is a simple loader which allows you to select your OS of choice and installs that OS from (presumably) BlackBerry’s servers. I use the word simple because at the point in time where the OS starts installing on the smartphone, it’s really no different from doing a complete OS upgrade or installation that we are all used to.
There is no switching OS’s and no dual booting – it’s simple BlackBerry 10 or Android installed on the smartphone. One or the other!
However, if you wish to try another OS, you can do so by simply resetting your device in the normal fashion and you will once again have the option of which OS to install.
The benefits of this system are actually enormous. BlackBerry users who want try out the Android OS can do so. If they don’t like it, they can simply reset their device and install the BlackBerry 10 OS. The same applies to Android users. Android users now have the opportunity of giving the BlackBerry 10 OS a go and either sticking with it or removing it and installing Android.
Due to the fact that there is only one OS installed on the phone at any one time, BlackBerry are still free to include the Android runtime with the BlackBerry 10 OS but with the same restrictions like no Google Services, etc.
Interestingly, there are two prototypes on the go. One with the OS option that I have described and one that comes with only the Android OS installed on it. Unless BlackBerry are in self-destruct mode (which has been known to happen), I would expect the release device to come with the OS choice option.
Restrictions on me are tight and it took a lot of arm twisting and pleading from myself to be able to even write this article. No pictures were allowed  (I could have faked one) and the prototypes are not finished designs by any means.
I have to finish with the usual disclaimer that the information provided here is based on a prototype device.  There is no guarantee that this is what BlackBerry will finally go with but based on how it works at the moment, I would be hugely surprised if they didn’t.
