RIM CEO Says It May Sell Hardware Division

Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins indicated that the company might sell its hardware business after it launches the BlackBerry 10 platform. Speaking to German publication Die Welt, Heins said the company's on-going strategic review could result in a sale of the hardware business or licensing its BlackBerry 10 platform to other hardware companies. Heins has suggested as much before. "The main thing for now is to successfully introduce Blackberry 10. Then we'll see," he said. RIM has spent the last year focusing on relaunching its BlackBerry platform. BlackBerry 10 is a wholly new operating system that uses gesture-based controls to flow through the user interface. It is based, in part, on the QNX core that makes up PlayBook OS. RIM is prepared to launch BlackBerry 10 on January 30, with its first new smartphones to follow soon thereafter.