BlackBerry move to embrace Android may bring unexpected reward

The phrase "unexpected reward" sounds sarcastic and the move of Blackberry seems the final nail in its coffin. Why does the world need yet another digital touch slab maker? Wouldn't they dedicate their full potential of hardware design and real-time OS making (QNX) in something more future proof and innovative, like IoT?

I expect Blackberry will spin off QNX, which should be an IVI/IoT play. Trying to make yet another first-rate mobile UX if you have not got hundreds of millions to spend on R&D and developer relations ain't gonna happen.

Security and device management are still a relatively open field. If you don't want Samsung's bloatware but you do want manageable, secure devices, your choices are thin. There is room for a vendor with focus to do well in this potentially large niche.

And the above + BBM is the right thing to do to retain existing customers.

But here is the wild-ass possibility: What if Blackberry's idea of "Android" is the Android middleware and UX on QNX? They already have that mostly implemented in the form of Android compatibility for their QNX devices. What if this move just flips the UX to be Android-first, with Blackberry compatibility?