BlackBerry 10 OS May Be Licensed to Rivals
Posted by aonenetworks On August 15, 2012
Though Research In Motion, the creator of the BlackBerry handset and operating system, has adamantly denied that they will be licensing any part of the new BlackBerry system to other companies, Thorsten Heins has apparently changed his mind on the subject.
QNX, BlackBerry 10’s new OS, is “already licensed across the automotive sector”¦ we could do that with BlackBerry 10 if we choose to,” and Heins added later in an interview with Bloomberg that “the platform can be licensed.”
This does not mean the software will be licensed, however, and there don’t appear to be any plans in the works to do so. There is also a recent statement from Samsung, who had considered using BlackBerry 10 technology, saying that they will not be buying any licenses for any software from RIM.
Licensing simply means that a third-party phone maker can use a specific technology on their devices. For example, Google licenses Android technology to over a dozen handset makers, and it has worked out for the best for the search engine giant. The OS’s market share takes over 50% of the market that isn’t occupied by iOS, according to a recent survey at ComScore.
“We’re not here to fight for third or fourth place,” Heins concluded. The BlackBerry OS is currently behind both Android and iOS. “We plan to eventually rise up above our current standing.”
Photo Credit: RIM
