Research in Motion made a lot of folks, particularly financial analysts, unhappy a few weeks ago when it announced it would not launch its Blackberry 10 operating system until the first quarter of 2013. But could have RIM decided to just do away with OS development altogether and use a third party system for its smartphones?
That appears to have been brought up as a real possibility, at least at one point. In a new interview with The Telegraph, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins admits to have considered using Google"s Android OS, stating, "We looked at it seriously ..."
In the end, RIM decided to stick with its Blackberry 10 OS plans for its future smartphones, with Heins stating, "We took the conscious decision not to go Android. If you look at other suppliers’ ability to differentiate, there’s very little wiggle room." He also hinted that Blackberry owners are a different breed that those who buy other smartphone products. Heins said:
Games, media, we have to be good at it but we have to support those guys who are ahead of the game. Very little time to consume and enjoy content – if you stay true to that purpose you have to build on that basis. And if we want to serve that segment we can’t do it on a me-too approach.
The BBM messaging service is still highly popular and there has been some talk about RIM opening up that service to other non-Blackberry smartphones. Heins states in the interview, "We’re running certain assessments around it but right now the focus has to be focus on BB10 and getting it out there. But look at the subscriber base. Don’t abandon them. We will be one of the future mobile ecosystems."
Source: The Telegraph