OS Watch: Samsung Won't be RIM's Savior

In response to BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Hein's comments that he's open to licensing the BlackBerry operating system, Samsung Corp. is saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." (See OS Watch: RIM Revisits Licensing BB10.)

The smartphone maker tells Reuters that it has not considered acquiring RIM nor licensing its BlackBerry 10 OS. Analysts have speculated that Samsung was a likely partner for RIM since it already builds for both Android and Windows Phone and is interested in diversifying away from Android now that it owns Motorola. But, the leading Android smartphone maker doesn't appear to have RIM's yet-to-be launched OS in its sights as of now. (See RIM-Samsung Tie-Up Rumors Won't Die.)

In other mobile OS news:

Samsung airs its dirty laundry: Samsung's Galaxy Tab sales make up just 4 percent of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s iPad sales, according to data revealed in the companies' ongoing trial. Samsung sold 1.4 million Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Tab 10.1 LTE tablets, while Apple has sold 34 million iPads in the U.S. That figure doesn't prove one side infringed on patents or not, but it does speak to how uneven the playing field is still today for the larger-screen devices. (See OS Watch: The Samsung, Apple Copycat Controversy.)

Digia's multiple OS ambitions: Finnish-based Digia Plc has acquired Nokia's Qt framework, but its ambitions for it extend to other OSs. The company plans to run Qt-based apps on Android and iOS by the first half of 2013. To date, Qt works on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and Symbian. Digia is still debating whether it will port to Windows 8 as well. Digia says it will pay 4 million euros (US $4.92 million) to acquire Qt, which Nokia acquired in 2008 for $150 million. (See Euronews: Nokia Sells Qt's Remains.)

Apple eases Wi-Fi hand-off pain: Apple's next version of iOS is going to make transitioning from cellular to Wi-Fi a less painful process, even if you're on a video call over FaceTime. Apple Insider spotted a "Wi-Fi Plus Cellular" feature in the beta version of iOS 6. If the feature does make it past beta, however, it could be limited by the wireless operators if they choose to charge for FaceTime, as AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is rumored to be mulling. (See Apple iOS 6 Shakes Up Mobile Communications.)

First Windows 8 phone captured: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK)'s first Windows 8 smartphone, its follow-up to the Lumia 800, has been spotted in the wild. Blog Nokia Innovation says the Nokia Phi will look nearly identical to the former Lumias, but with a bigger touch screen. It will also feature a Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) dual-core Central Processing Unit (CPU), Near-Field Communications (NFC) and Long Term Evolution (LTE). The phone will allegedly be available the last week of October.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile