RIM CEO Blasts Android Phones As "All The Same"

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins may only have been in the big chair since Monday, but the new chief exec is already coming out swinging, blasting Android devices as "all the same" and rejecting suggestions that the struggling Canadian company should be sold off. Asked about persistent recommendations that RIM should ditch its own BlackBerry 10 plans and adopt Android instead, Heins argued to Crackberry that "there is just no room for differentiation because [Android phones] are all the same."

As for concerns by investors and BlackBerry enthusiasts alike that the CEO seemingly thought RIM was on a secure path as-is and requires no changes, Heins blamed poor communication for what's apparently a misunderstanding. "I was talking about drastic or seismic changes" he countered. "What I was trying to address was that there was some suggestion that RIM should be split up or should even be sold."

Prior to previous co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie relinquishing the reins of the company to Heins, they'd faced multiple calls by investors to explore the possibility of selling RIM off, either whole or piecemeal. There were also long-standing rumors that RIM had approached rivals – including Samsung and HTC – regarding licensing out BlackBerry 10, the QNX-based next generation platform that should begin showing up on devices toward the end of this year.

Heins argued that decisions on licensing would be made if rivals approached them, but seems otherwise committed to keeping RIM as a relatively complete, closed ecosystem. "There is no standstill at any moment here at RIM" he said, "why would I throw the value away of differentiating myself against the others?"

[via The Verge]