Blackberry 10 users can now run Android apps as well as those made for the Blackberry mobile operating system, the Canadian mobile phonemaker has confirmed.
The move is seen as a possible lifesaver for Blackberry, which has less than 1 percent of the mobile market, at least partly due to the paucity of BB apps, compared with the millions available to Android and iPhone users.
The new BlackBerry 10 OS 10.3.1 provides the usual access to the BlackBerry World app store but also adds entry to the Amazon Appstore, where users can download a variety of Android apps.
The new system also adds a voice-based “personal assistant”, like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana or Android’s Google Now.
A new Meeting Mode sets the latest Blackberries to silent mode while the owner is in a meeting and turns it back on after the meeting is over.
Another new feature, BlackBerry Blend displays text messages, e-mails, documents and other content from the mobile on a computer or tablet
