BlackBerry 10 hype machine begins

Let the BlackBerry 10 hype begin.

With a little more than a week until the January 30 launch of the new software and devices that the company hopes will revitalize the smartphone brand, there are already bits of news leaking out.

First off, on Monday morning BlackBerry App World was rebranded as BlackBerry World. With BB10, the former app-only zone for the company will also carry and sell movies and music. While those other forms of media aren�t yet available, the new moniker is symbolic of the many changes that will come to RIM�s ecosystem.

As well, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins did an interview with German newspaper, Die Welt, where he speculated RIM might eventually seek out licensing deals with other phone manufacturers.

Related:Sneak peek at RIM�s new software

�Before you license the software, you must show that the platform has large potential. First we have to fulfill our promises. If (there is) such proof, licensing is conceivable,� he told Die Welt.

The company is also undergoing a full-scale strategic review, and Heins says nothing is off the table, including potentially getting out of the hardware side all together.

�This strategic review is still running ... We do not want to limit our options � There are several options, including the sale of the hardware production as much as licensing our software. But there is no reason for us to decide in (haste). It is important first of all to successfully put BlackBerry 10 on the market. Then we shall see.�

Finally, more screen shots of the new devices and the software have landed online. BGR.com has more than 100 photos of the software, including messenger and the hub online, as well as some speculation about pricing � a rumoured $149 U.S. with a two-year contract.

Of course, all definitive answers will be coming straight from the company next week

BlackBerry 10 hype machine begins - thestar.com