I figure that this phone is going to be the one to finally put BlackBerry's hardware division out of business. Whether Chen can save the rest of the company (basically BES at this point) is another question; but I think that's pretty doubtful, too.
The problem is that there's no way to "secure" a device whose design purpose is to gather data about its user. You can improve the encryption and harden it from hacking, but there's no way around the fact that Google's Android is, first and foremost, a device designed for spying.
I was thinking about buying the BlackBerry classic (I current use the Q10), but early rumors of Chen's overtures to Google changed my mind. If BB decides to join the OHA, then they would either have to disable / uninstall their existing ART implementation, get a waiver on existing devices (which will also herald the impending end of support for BB10), or backport Google's Android to existing devices.
The last option would certainly start a firestorm among existing users and could quite possibly result in a class-action suit because it would so drastically change the nature of the device. Existing users purchased BlackBerrys, not Androids. The same would be true if they disabled ART, thus crippling certain functionality of the handsets. So my guess is that they'll seek a waiver for ART on existing phones, recall all handsets in the possession of carrier partners, and kill support two years later (the usual term of a cell phone contract).
That would be a shame because "apps" and popularity aside, BB10 is probably the best phone operating system out there right now. I literally have never had a problem with it. No lock ups or freezes, no crashes, no spontaneous reboots, no battery pulls, no nothing. Other than for occasional updates, the phone hasn't been turned off nor acted up in any way since I activated it.
But alas, I think BB10 is history. Chen is obsessed with whoring the company to Google, and that's all there is to it. Unless foreign demand is enough to sustain the BB10 environment, the fat lady's waiting in the wings. Google won't tolerate the ART in new devices.
As for me, I'm already looking at options. One of the reasons I'm glad I switched to AT&T is because I can plug their SIM into pretty much any GSM phone and it'll work. Maybe I'll load Replicant onto an Android. I really don't give a **** about apps, so that would work for me.
Tizen is another option, although I'm not sure whether I trust Samsung any more than I trust Google. I'm inclined to simply because Samsung does have another business model besides user surveillance. But I'd have to do some research.
Same goes for Amazon's Firephone, which can be had essentially for free these days. Like Google's Android, it's designed for spying first and foremost. But because I already have multiple business relationships with Amazon (customer, AWS user, and affiliate), I'm not sure I care. The difference is that Amazon wants to sell me stuff, which is okay because I need stuff. Google wants to sell ME.
Windows phone is also a possibility. I'd have to look into whether anyone's figured out how to kill its spying functions. It is Windows, after all, so more than likely someone has figured out how to hack it.
And if all else fails, there's Apple. I have no objection to iPhones (other than that their email client is from hell and accounts for 99.9 percent of my email support calls). I just don't happen to care for iOS very much. But I could live with it if I had to.
There's also the possibility that BB won't join OHA. I'm not sure whether there's any requirement that they do so to pre-load Google's Android and its gobs of associated spyware onto devices. I know they need a license, but I'm not sure whether OHA membership is a requirement to get one.
Rich
