The solution is a second operating system, devoted to the design and implementation of strategy, that uses an agile, networklike structure and a very different set of processes.

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To safely operate in the mobile industry, a company needs to have substantial portfolios in the three main patent areas involved in the design of smartphones: operating system and software, hardware and wireless patents.

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If the Z10 and Q10 sales can keep the company afloat, if they can recoup the cost of the BlackBerry 10 operating system, if they can generate enough excess income to design new smartphones for release throughout 2013 and beyond, then they have a success.

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The company also plans to make the core language of its operating system available this summer to developers who can then use it to design new applications, much in the same way that companies like Apple have cultivated a community of app developers around their gadgets.

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They include Phil Schiller, global marketing chief, design lead Jonathan Ive and Scott Forstall, who oversees the iOS operating system for the iPhone and iPad.

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The first product based on the design, the SH7729, was also unveiled Thursday and will support Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, Hitachi said.

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