On Monday, we brought you news that Research in Motion CEO Thorston Heins was open to the idea of selling off RIM’s Blackberry brand, getting out of the manufacturing business altogether and focusing solely on software. Less than a week later, PC manufacturer Lenovo has expressed interest in purchasing RIM’s hardware division as part of their move into the international smartphone and tablet market.

While Lenovo remains the world’s number two PC manufacturer, desktops and laptops are seeing fewer sales as the world embraces smartphones and tablets. Lenovo has a strong smartphone presence in China, but now they’re looking to expand elsewhere.

Heins is reportedly looking to pull out all the stops in his mission to make RIM profitable, so there’s a chance that even if Blackberry 10 – which debuts on January 30 – has a successful launch, he’ll still be looking to offload the hardware operations.

via Mobile Syrup