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Electronics manufacturers Samsung and HTC have been name checked in a US analyst’s report suggesting that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) could soon license its BlackBerry operating system to interested third-party hardware companies.
(Credit: Samsung/CBSi)
Boy Genius Report is crediting industry analyst Peter Misek with the information, with Misek naming “Samsung, HTC and possibly others” as likely licensees of the as-yet-unreleased BlackBerry 10 OS. RIM is expected to unveil the new BlackBerry software at the annual Mobile World Congress telecommunications conference in Barcelona next month. The conference will also host presentations by Samsung and HTC, which are expected to launch new Android-powered smartphones and tablets at the event.
PlayBook potential
Building successful licensing agreements with third-party OEMs would be a boon for RIM after a difficult 2011, especially if these new agreements help to build developer interest for the new platform. BlackBerry 10 OS is reportedly built on the same QNX architecture that RIM used to develop its PlayBook tablet OS, and, while the platform in its current form shows immense potential, it has failed to direct developer interest away from iOS and Android projects.
The Ace up the sleeve of RIM and its BB10 platform is still the platform’s ability to execute Android apps, and to make the experience seamless for the end users. With thanks to the similarities between Android and BB10, RIM has been promising the functionality of Android apps on its PlayBook tablet for nearly 12 months, though it has yet to deliver this functionality to the end user. Still, if this is a major part of the BB10 roadmap for the immediate future, RIM (and its licence partners) could offer customers thousands of familiar Android app experiences, as well as a number of unique native BB10 apps that will only be available on the BlackBerry platform.
But why?
The reasons for RIM to seek partners is straightforward enough; third-party OEMs could bring innovation and variety to the BlackBerry platform that RIM cannot deliver on its own. Samsung and HTC would also offer large marketing budgets to promote the new platform, and an alternative source of revenue to the flagging RIM bottom line.
Samsung’s and HTC’s reasons for adopting a new platform are not so clear cut, given the success that both companies have enjoyed developing Google Android products over the last two years. Both companies also attempted to develop Windows Phone handsets at the same time, along with LG, and all were burned by the platform’s lukewarm reception. Samsung has also repeatedly tried and failed to build interest around its own Linux-based mobile OS Bada.
BlackBerry 10 OS may have a better chance of gaining critical mass, though, with a significant, if shrinking, BlackBerry user base still active around the world, and with the promise of key features, like the app store, not having to start over from square one.
The other major reason could be Google. Samsung and HTC have been developing Android products since the platform’s introduction in 2008, and you could argue that it is the hard work of both companies to market Android, and not Google’s own efforts, that has made the platform a success today. This is changing now, though, with Google working harder to promote the unique features of its software, but this new push from Google also coincides with its intention to promote Google-made products, like the Galaxy Nexus, which ultimately compete with products from Samsung and HTC. This and Google’s acquisition of Motorola could make developing Android products harder for OEMs like Samsung and HTC in the near future.
Even though RIM would continue to develop its own BB10 handsets and tablets as well, you’d imagine it would put much greater emphasis on advertising and marketing BB10 than Google has for Android. This, matched with the mature operating system we expect BB10 to have, and the design and innovation from the teams at Samsung and HTC, means we can look forward to some exciting new products from all involved.
