[FigureThisOut]

Here's the link
RIM Says BlackBerry 10 Will Soon Be Ready for Licensing - Bloomberg

Personally, I don't see much to quip about here if you're a Blackberry user. Gets more BB related things out there and some apps
might be better for people on only a Blackberry, thus encouraging people to switch to a Blackberry phone.

RIM Says BlackBerry 10 Will Soon Be Ready For Licensing
By Hugo Miller - Aug 13, 2012 11:53 AM PT

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) said it will soon be ready to license the company’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other manufacturers, even as it races to release its own devices with the software by early next year.
The new platform is in the final stages of testing, and RIM is now considering how other companies may be able to use it in a range of products, Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said today. The BlackBerry 10 lineup was built on software called QNX, which is used in cars, nuclear plants and military drones.

“QNX is already licensed across the automotive sector -- we could do that with BB10 if we chose to,” Heins, who has begun to carry a BB10 phone for his own use, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “The platform can be licensed.”

BB10, which has an improved Web browser and the ability to jump between applications while they continue running, is the linchpin of RIM’s efforts to regain market share from Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Licensing the new software to other manufacturers may help bolster investors’ confidence in the operating system. RIM’s stock jumped as much as 13 percent on Aug. 8 after Jefferies & Co speculated that Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) might license BB10.

After six straight days of gains, the Waterloo, Ontario- based company’s shares fell 2.1 percent to $8.12 at 2:47 p.m. today in New York. The stock has lost about 95 percent of its value from its mid-2008 high.
Sales Slump
Global BlackBerry sales tumbled 43 percent last quarter as RIM’s aging lineup of devices failed to match the consumer appeal of Android phones and Apple’s iPhone. BB10 will change RIM’s fortunes, Heins said today.
“We’re here to win,” he said. “We’re not here to fight for third or fourth place.”
The BlackBerry 10 represents a fresh start for RIM, which abandoned its old software to create the operating system. The new lineup uses technology from its 2010 acquisition of QNX Software Systems, which RIM bought from Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) for $200 million. The underlying software has been used by companies ranging from Cisco Systems Inc. to General Electric Co. to Caterpillar Inc.
In Heins’s vision for RIM, the company will expand the scope of its devices beyond BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets into other areas of mobile computing and what he calls machine-to-machine communications.
“Smartphones are a part of our business, but we’re looking way beyond this,” he said.

[rollingrock1988]

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Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) said it will soon be ready to license the company�s new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other manufacturers, even as it races to release its own devices with the software by early next year.
The new platform is in the final stages of testing, and RIM is now considering how other companies may be able to use it in a range of products, Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said today. The BlackBerry 10 lineup was built on software called QNX, which is used in cars, nuclear plants and military drones.
Enlarge image
Thorsten Heins, president and chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), speaks at the company's annual shareholders meeting in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, on July 10, 2012. RIM's Blackberry 10 operating system will be ready to license soon. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
�QNX is already licensed across the automotive sector -- we could do that with BB10 if we chose to,� Heins, who has begun to carry a BB10 phone for his own use, said in an interview at Bloomberg�s headquarters in New York. �The platform can be licensed.�
BB10, which has an improved Web browser and the ability to jump between applications while they continue running, is the linchpin of RIM�s efforts to regain market share from Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Licensing the new software to other manufacturers may help bolster investors� confidence in the operating system. RIM�s stock jumped as much as 13 percent on Aug. 8 after Jefferies & Co speculated that Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) might license BB10.
After six straight days of gains, the Waterloo, Ontario- based company�s shares fell 2.1 percent to $8.12 at 2:47 p.m. today in New York. The stock has lost about 95 percent of its value from its mid-2008 high.
Sales Slump
Global BlackBerry sales tumbled 43 percent last quarter as RIM�s aging lineup of devices failed to match the consumer appeal of Android phones and Apple�s iPhone. BB10 will change RIM�s fortunes, Heins said today.
�We�re here to win,� he said. �We�re not here to fight for third or fourth place.�
The BlackBerry 10 represents a fresh start for RIM, which abandoned its old software to create the operating system. The new lineup uses technology from its 2010 acquisition of QNX Software Systems, which RIM bought from Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) for $200 million. The underlying software has been used by companies ranging from Cisco Systems Inc. to General Electric Co. to Caterpillar Inc.
In Heins�s vision for RIM, the company will expand the scope of its devices beyond BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets into other areas of mobile computing and what he calls machine-to-machine communications.
�Smartphones are a part of our business, but we�re looking way beyond this,� he said.

[W Hoa]

"Heins, who has begun to carry a BB10 phone for his own use"

Say what?

[Ganon541]

Well if BB10 is in its "final testing phase" then that's all I care about. Now just polish off everything for Q1 2013 release!

[inicophone]

I read that too in The Telegraph article about Thorsten Heins in London, invited by the UK Prime Minister. He said something about it never resetting!

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a BB10 phone for personal use. And Prem Watsa too, after all - he went and bought more RIM shares so he must know or have seen something in the boardroom!

It's all exciting news for BB10. I can't wait for the BB10 Bold to arrive, and I am sure HTC or Samsung will carry BB10.

I just wonder what the devices will be like as it will have to be very similar to something RIM offers, screen resolution and so forth... It does make me wonder whether RIM would license out the touch screen variants, but keep the QWERTY offering as their offering for the future.

Either way, and the news here that Verizon will be behind BB10 is all very encouraging for it's release soon.

[FigureThisOut]

Well if BB10 is in its "final testing phase" then that's all I care about. Now just polish off everything for Q1 2013 release!

I just sure as heck hope this isn't some kind of distraction or pre-cursor to any sort of delay
that they might have again. I highly doubt it. But it is something to look at considering RIM.

[geoffsdad]

I was hoping RIM could do it all on their own, which isn't realistic. Deep down I thought A BB10 Bold and Tablet would bring them back within a year. Those of us that had stuck by our Blackberries would be able to go into Android Central and iphone forums and point out the inadequacies of other operating systems. Again, Not realistic. Licensing with Samsung could capture the "average" smartphone user that may not be so OS loyal but knows Samsung as a quality product. If it is the Strategy that RIM has to take then so be it.

[amazinglygraceless]

Just for the sake of discussion, what would this do to the expected release timeline? That is, if the OS is "mostly done" AND licensing is in the works what is the potential turnaround time to seeing BB10 pop up on other manufacturers devices?

[febo2175]

The real question we should be asking is "who is ready to license with RIM"

[njblackberry]

Don't new devices (in the US) require FCC and carrier certification.
Does anyone have a feel for how long that takes?

[FigureThisOut]

Just for the sake of discussion, what would this do to the expected release timeline? That is, if the OS is "mostly done" AND licensing is in the works what is the potential turnaround time to seeing BB10 pop up on other manufacturers devices?

I can only see BB10 popping up on other manufacturers devices once BB10 phones are
actually out. No way there are BB10 apps on other phones without BB10 devices being
out. Can you imagine the backlash? So, with that, I'd venture to say Q2 2013 for BB10
being on other devices.

[mikeo007]

They're just rehashing the old quote and trying to draw conclusions from it. Unless I missed something, the only quote related to licensing BB10 is basically "The platform can be licensed."

All the rest is simply assumptions and conjecture from the creative minds at Bloomberg.

Could it happen? Sure it could.

Will it happen? Nobody can say right now, unless we see proof from the horse's mouth.

[FigureThisOut]

Don't new devices (in the US) require FCC and carrier certification.
Does anyone have a feel for how long that takes?

Doesn't really take that long.

[cgk]

The real question we should be asking is "who is ready to license with RIM"

Indeed or to reformulate *why* do they want to license?

Looking at the usual suspects:

* Samsung - not interested
* Nokia - no chance
* Motorola - will free over first
* HTC - could do but the company is a basket case
* LG???
* Sony - ???????
* ZTE - ?????*
* Huwuai - ????????*



* problematic because of the Chinese angle?

[cgk]

Doesn't really take that long.

Well going off how long it took nokia to turn out a WP7 - just under a year?

I guess you could do it sooner if they simply take an existing android handset and make some minor changes - but since none of the minor players current make android handsets that make any serious money is that really a road anyone wants to go down?

[FigureThisOut]

Well going off how long it took nokia to turn out a WP7 - just under a year?

I guess you could do it sooner if they simply take an existing android handset and make some minor changes - but since none of the minor players current make android handsets that make any serious money is that really a road anyone wants to go down?

I was under the impression that based on solely hardware, FCC certification doesn't take
that long. Carrier certification is really a case by case scenario.

[playpen007]

Is this good news or what? Heins said this "The new platform is in the final stages of testing."

[playpen007]

Of course Samsung denies of licensing BB10 until guilty is proven. The reason RIM delay BB10 until Jan. 2013 is because RIM needs to finalize the deal with Samsung and help Samsung incorporate the BB10 software into their hardware.

[Engire]

Well if Thorsten is using a BB10 for personal use I have to wonder a couple of things.

Is he just carrying around a BlackBerry version of an ipod or is he making phone calls with it? If he is using it as a phone then he would need some sort of carrier support, would he not? And if he does have carrier support would they not already be testing the platform?

Just wondering.

[cgk]

I was under the impression that based on solely hardware, FCC certification doesn't take
that long. Carrier certification is really a case by case scenario.

Sorry I should have been clearer, I wasn't talking about FCC certification I was talking about the period of time needed to take a new OS and design a handset worth a Damn.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[cgk]

Of course Samsung denies of licensing BB10 until guilty is proven. The reason RIM delay BB10 until Jan. 2013 is because RIM needs to finalize the deal with Samsung and help Samsung incorporate the BB10 software into their hardware.

That results in "no comment", when they actually come and say "we have no interest" that generally means what it sounds like.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar - out of all the prospects, Samsung was always pretty far-fetched.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Knightcrawler]

Its been stated previously that carriers have been shown working bb10 devices and that they're were impressed with what they saw, so its not far fetched to think Thor has a fully functional BB10 device. It's probably not launch ready, but overall functionality should be there.

Im more interested in know if its a full touch hes carrying or a qwerty?

[geigerat]

I really think licensing would be great for the BB10 platform. The current BB fans are going to look at the BB10 made by RIM no matter what. What a licensing deal would do would open VAST amount of exposure to the BB10 brand. The average consumer probably knows little to no amount about BB10 and having RIM and company X advertising the new product would only help by a large factor. If Company X can create a low cost product that can go after non-premium and emerging markets (something RIM has come out and said that will not be the priority with EM countries) would be HUGE for BB10.

As many people have said on this website, I firmly believe that BB10 is going to be OS of the future. HOWEVER, this OS may not succeed because no matter how great something is, if people don't buy the phone it will fail. Even the TALK of licensing is great for RIM, people are talking about BB10. I have heard RIM getting talked about more on CNBC in the past two weeks than i have in the previous 2 months.

I haven't heard the comparison to Google, but i think it is an interesting point of view. Google creates their Nexus(correct me if I am wrong but it is a google branded phone so I assume they take most profits) and licenses(free?) out the Android software. BB10 creates the number 1 phone(s) for BB10 and then has other phones with the licensing of BB10 gaining the important exposure that is needed. For those people that have bought the lower android and enjoyed it, eventually they are going to desire the top notch android phone, the Nexus. That seems like a great business model to me.

Just my two cents to put into the conversation, please correct if I am wrong in any point.

[princesultan]

They're just rehashing the old quote and trying to draw conclusions from it. Unless I missed something, the only quote related to licensing BB10 is basically "The platform can be licensed."

All the rest is simply assumptions and conjecture from the creative minds at Bloomberg.

Could it happen? Sure it could.

Will it happen? Nobody can say right now, unless we see proof from the horse's mouth.

pretty much this. i hate how this is being blown up to "it will be licensed." all he said is that it CAN BE.

[W Hoa]

The reason RIM delay BB10 until Jan. 2013 is because RIM needs to finalize the deal with Samsung and help Samsung incorporate the BB10 software into their hardware.

I've come across articles that say January is the start of massive new IT purchasing. New calendar year and all that.

Their will hopefully be a strong uptake of BB10 phones along with that spending splurge.