BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins “examining all options” on company future

BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins has revealed the smartphone pioneer is “examining all options” for its long-term future, potentially including a possible licencing option for its technology or a takeover.

According to Reuters, the comments by Heins came in response to a shareholder question during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

“This is a long-term transition for the company, but I can assure you that we’re pushing very hard,” Heins says.

“BlackBerry will pursue every opportunity to create value for shareholders.”

A number of companies have been linked to speculation about a possible takeover of Blackberry in recent years, with IBM, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft and Nokia all cited as potentially interested in the company, which was formerly known as Research in Motion.

The renewed speculation talk comes as new figures suggest BlackBerry’s full touchscreen Z10 smartphone might be more popular with its users than the traditional keyboard design featured on the BlackBerry Q10.

According to figures published by BerryReview, downloads from users of the Z10 are significantly exceeding downloads from Q10 users for a number of popular apps.

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