Research In Motion’s upcoming QNX-powered BlackBerry smartphones will support the ability to run Android applications when they hit store shelves, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The Waterloo, Canada-based company is adding the option in an effort to attract consumers who may have otherwise ditched their BlackBerry devices for iOS or Android, two operating systems with a much larger selection of apps. RIM has confirmed that its QNX-powered BlackBerry PlayBook will also run Android applications and we’ve seen a few pictures of it in action, but the company has yet to deploy a software update enabling it. Bloomberg also noted that the PlayBook will receive a software patch in September that will add the company’s Android app player, as well as fully functional BlackBerry Messenger and e-mail applications. RIM’s first QNX phone, the BlackBerry Colt, is thought to be launching either in the fourth quarter of 2001 or the first quarter of 2012.
