Blackberry teams up with Amazon to get loads of Android apps

Blackberry announced a new licensing deal with Amazon Inc that will land the smartphone company 240,000 Android apps for Blackberry’s new devices.

Amazon runs a custom app store for its Android devices which doesn’t include core Google apps like Google Maps and Gmail. BlackBerry has already offered some Android apps for its BB 10 operating system, but a partnership with Amazon could let it easily load up more quality Android apps.

Blackberry has been struggling to recapture the mobile market in recent years. Since CEO John Chen has taken the helm, Blackberry has been working hard to reinvent itself in the mobile platform arena with a messenger service and a cloud based mobile management service. Last week the company signed a three-year deal with mobile payments firm Enstream, marking an expansion into enterprise.

BlackBerry is rumored to roll-out this line-up of apps this fall when it updates its operating system, Reuters says.