This BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition appears to be running Android instead of BlackBerry 10

As I'm sure just about every CrackBerry reader knows already, BlackBerry has officially announced the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition and as expected it's running BlackBerry 10. But what if some of the pre-release versions were set up to run Android? A new set of images, as well as a video, have now appeared over at Mondo BlackBerry which appear to show off just that. A pre-release BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition running Android.

As we know from history, it's pretty easy to fake a BlackBerry running Android through the use of any of the launcher apps on the Google Play Store and about 3 minutes in Photoshop but there's something a little bit more interesting about this set of images and video. A few signs that maybe, just maybe, this thing might actually be legit. To be clear, I'm not saying it is. I'm just saying, there are signs that may otherwise not be accomplished. Which signs you're asking? Let me tell me you.

Icons - If you look carefully at the photos, you can see BlackBerry Safeguard is an icon on the device. Even through the use of a launcher, I've never been able to get that to show up. BlackBerry defines Safeguard as all the security measures on their device. Even though it's a bit of inside baseball, when they send out device review documents, Safeguard generally lists BlackBerry Protect, Picture Password etc. Meaning, if they are working on Android they could have coupled this into an app as a central spot for all things related to BlackBerry specific security. There's also a few others that wouldn't carry over if a launcher was used as well such as Help.
The device powers off - The images show the device powering off. Although it's in Portuguese, 'desligar' means switch off while 'encerrando' means closing. Unless there's some Photoshop magic happening here, that device is actually powering off via the power button. Something that wouldn't be controlled via a launcher as it doesn't tap into those controls. Just like the Android settings when accessed through the Android runtime can't turn off WiFi or Bluetooth, they also can't shut off the power.
The Keyboard - As you can tell by watching the video, the touch input comes off as being rather terrible but you'll also notice that moving around the device via the touch-sensitive keyboard also works. Granted, some apps that run through the Android runtime already work this way but, in my testing at least, I've never been able to use any Android launchers in that manner. It usually works within apps but never outside through a launcher.

With all that in mind, I'll once again reiterate. I have no idea if this thing is legit and if it is, no one is talking about it, so it should go without saying that everyone should take it with a HUGE grain of salt. That said, if it's a fake it's a pretty damn good one and I'd really like to know what tools were used to put it together because it appears to be integrating in ways that really should not be possible. Also, if you ordered a Passport Silver Edition, don't expect it to arrive running Android.

Source: Mondo BlackBerry

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