14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion is gearing up for the launch of a new mobile operating system, the BlackBerry 10 platform, which should be officially introduced on January 30, and which might get loaded on handsets from other vendors as well.
Whether that might happen or not, it remains to be seen, but the company’s CEO Thorsten Heins suggests that this is a possibility that RIM has taken into consideration.
Set to hit shelves in the first quarter of the year, BlackBerry 10 will bring a long range of enhancements when compared to previous versions of RIM’s smartphone OS, and it might be licensed to other mobile phone makers around the world as well.
RIM hasn’t unveiled a specific deal made on this, but the company’s CEO said more than once that he was willing to license the platform to other companies should the opportunity arrive.
In a recent interview with German newspaper Die Welt, he confirmed once again that RIM was considering signing licensing deals for the platform to boost its market share.
“Before you licensed the software, you must show that the platform has a large potential. First we have to fulfill our promises. If such proof, a licensing is conceivable,” he said, according to a translation from German provided by TechCrunch.
Thorsten Heins also explained that the company took its time building the BlackBerry 10 OS (which was expected to arrive last year) as it wanted to make it fit for more types of devices in the next years.
“We have taken the time to build a platform that is future-proof for the next ten years. Our aim is not only to smartphones, but also to the use, for example, in cars that will be in the future increasingly networked. We see with BlackBerry 10 completely new areas of growth,” he said.
RIM has already worked with over one hundred carriers around the world to ensure that the first devices powered by the platform are compatible with their networks when made available for purchase, soon after the January 30 announcement.
Various wireless carriers around the world, including those in Canada, the US and the UK, have already confirmed plans to launch BlackBerry 10 smartphones. In fact, these handsets are already up for pre-order in Canada.