Jelly Bean 4.1 Update; BlackBerry 10 to Support Android OS Apps
BlackBerry announced that its BlackBerry 10 (BB 10) mobile operating system will soon be able to support Android 4.1 Jelly Bean apps.
The news was released today that stemmed from the company's developer-focused BB Jam Europe event in Amsterdam.
The updated move to Jelly Bean will be a huge improvement over the current system on the platform that runs an almost two-year old Android 2.3 Gingerbread, according to CrackBerry.
The company did not give the details on when users can expect to be able to access the Android 4.1 apps on their BB10 platforms.
On top of the news about the Android apps, BlackBerry also unveiled a couple of new products such as an updated SDK for keyboard-equipped devices and the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C.
The Dev Aplha C is a keyboard equipped model that will let developers customize their apps for the upcoming BlackBerry Q10, according to the developer's website.
The latest announcement comes after BlackBerry announced its two latest smartphones: the touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 and the hardware keyboard enabled BlackBerry Q10.
The Q10 comes with a fully-fledged mobile QWERTY-keyboard from a slightly smaller portrait display. It comes with a glass-weave cover, making it thinner and lighter, but also stronger than plastic.
The new Z10 comes with a 4.2-inch display with 356 pixels-per-inch (ppi), along with a textured backing that makes it comfortable to hold.
BlackBerry also announced in a blog post that it will hand out 12,000 limited edition red BlackBerry Z10 units to developers.
The special edition phone is identical in every way to the normal Z10, except for its gloss red finish and the engraving inside the phone's removable back cover which reads "BlackBerry 10 developer".
The Z10 is BlackBerry's first commercially available handset to run the new BB 10 operating system. It is a significant departure from the manufacturer's conventional approach to design and represents a big step in the right direction for the brand.
