RIM Was Extremely Close to Running Google’s Android Platform on BlackBerrys
Posted by Techvibes Newsdesk
on 2012-08-02 4:00:00 PM
The way Research In Motion talks about BlackBerry 10, you’d figure the company is more about software than hardware. Especially with the salience of BBM and its emphasis on productivity performance and email.
But according to a candid interview with The Telegraph in the UK, CEO Thorsten Heins says RIM “seriously” considered running its BlackBerry devices on Google’s Android operating system before deciding to transition OS 7 into BB10.
In the end, “we took the conscious decision not to go Android,” Thorsten explains, but acknowledges that “we looked at it seriously.”
While the last thing the world probably needs is yet another Android manufacturer, one has to wonder: does RIM regret this decision? The doubly delayed BB10 has been hyped up to an almost impossible standard, and in the meantime, the company’s stock has been hammered and its once pristine reputation has been dragged through the mud.
It’s open for debate, but it’s probably something the seemingly always optimistic Thorsten wouldn’t reveal, candid interview or not.
