Research in Motion CEO Thorsten Heins has expressed interest in the idea of licensing the BlackBerry software, but now it appears he’s also open to the idea of outright selling the BlackBerry operations – manufacturing and all – to another company.

Of course, none of this can really be discussed further until the launch of BlackBerry 10 on January 30. Whether the launch is a huge success or a miserable failure could have dramatic effects on BlackBerry’s value as a brand. Heins himself said as much in this iffy Google translation:

Before you licensed the software, you must show that the platform has a large potential. First we have to fulfill our promises. If such proof, a licensing is conceivable.

If RIM does end up selling BlackBerry, they would be following in the footsteps of Google and Microsoft, focusing exclusively on software licensing while forgoing the hardware aspect. Heins plans to review all options after the BlackBerry 10 launch.

via MobileBurn