No Google Play on BB10

After last month’s severely flawed roll out of the BBM app for Android and iOS, BlackBerry is in the news again, this time denying rumors that a deal with Google will bring the Play store to BB10.

The rumors began circulating after an image apparently showing a BlackBerry Z10 running the Google Play Store was posted on several forums. The BlackBerry Z10 runs the company’s homemade BB10 OS, but using a MacGyver-like runtime tool, users can port over a variety of Android apps that work sometimes, or often crash immediately.    

Whether the photo is doctored, or the result of some weird Franken-port of the Play app, BlackBerry was quick to issue a statement to CrackBerry.com denying the rumor and reaffirming its commitment to the BlackBerry World ecosystem, which according to the company, is a thing.

"There is no planned support for Google Play on BlackBerry. BlackBerry World remains the primary source for trusted and curated BlackBerry applications and we continue to support open standards and open source tools so BlackBerry developers can continue to create great apps on any of the development platforms we support."

BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, has been struggling in recent years as Apple’s iPhone and a plethora of Android smartphones continue driving the company’s once ubiquitous handsets deeper into obsolescence.

Known for its iconic physical keyboard, the BlackBerry is still deeply entrenched in enterprise technology culture, where the company also markets its server solutions and can position the BlackBerry as a component to a corporate communications package. Even in this arena though, competitors like Apple are quickly making inroads.

Last year, the company released the BlackBerry Z10, its latest attempt at a touchscreen handset aimed at leveraging the company’s core strengths like email security and BBM, while also cloning the requisite amount of iPhone hallmarks like the absence of a physical keyboard. Although reception for the Z10 was not altogether negative, sales have been less-than good.

BlackBerry recently abandoned plans to go private after attempts to find a buyer proved fruitless. The company instead ousted CEO Thorsten Heins after less than two years on the job and appointed John Chen as interim chief.