Can Android Save BlackBerry?

Rumor has it that BlackBerry is going to make an Android smartphone called Venice. The purported device will feature a 5.4-inch display with QHD screen resolution. The handset will be powered by a 64-bit, hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor running at 1.8 GHz and have 3 GB of RAM. For cameras, the device will reportedly have an 18 MP rear-facing camera and a 5 MP front-facing  camera. The Venice slider looks good, though I’m not sure that portrait sliders are useful and functional. This is because the physical keyboard is only useful when the phone is in a portrait mode.

I am skeptical because this is not the first time that BlackBerry has been rumored to be making an Android device. Going Android would have made sense for BlackBerry a few years ago. They could have shipped a flavor of Android with their enterprise email, top-notch security and BBM Instant Messenger layered on top. Now it seems a little too late.

Question: who buys BlackBerry devices nowadays? Unless your employer "forces" you to carry one, why would you willingly buy a BlackBerry as opposed to an iPhone or an Android device? I almost forgot that BlackBerry still makes smartphones. (I’m sure that the fine folks at CrackBerry have a different opinion). I asked a friend who works for AT&T about the BlackBerry Passport. He remembers selling one to a customer a few weeks prior. When I asked him what happened during the sale, he said: “nothing”. He just remembered the customer because that was the first time in several weeks that anyone had inquired about the Passport, let alone bought it.

Take a look at the videos and form your opinion one way or the other. Is this a real device or a Photoshop? If it is, will Blackberry release it? Is it too late for BlackBerry to go Android, and will going Android save the company from extinction?

Here is another video showing the sliding action of the Venice.