Research In Motion on Tuesday unveiled a mobile platform that combines features of the legacy software used in its BlackBerry smartphones with the new QNX operating system used in its PlayBook tablet computer.

At a developers' conference in San Francisco, the Canadian company said it would install the new BBX platform in its next generation of smartphones and tablets.

We're giving developers the tools they need to build richer applications, and we're providing direction on how to best develop their smartphone and tablet apps as the BlackBerry and QNX platforms converge into our next generation BBX platform, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said in a speech opening the four-day event.

(Reporting Alastair Sharp; Writing by Frank McGurty; editing by Janet Guttsman)

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