As RIM (RIMM) faces faltering sales, increasingly outdated tech, and a fourth-place OS, it seems there are plenty of companies willing to make them an offer they can’t refuse. Though Amazon was reportedly rebuffed when they offered to buy them last summer, handset makers Nokia and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to make a joint bid for RIM.
The BlackBerry brand has really been on the losing end of the smartphone wars, and looks like it may be going the way of Palm if RIM doesn’t do something to regain market share quickly. And unfortunately, after posting dismal third-quarter results, RIM has to at least be considering their offer.
RIM in general has had a very bad 2011, with poor sales, the biggest service outage of the year, and a trademark lawsuit over their forthcoming OS. It would seem that the waters are good for a potential buyer to scoop up what’s left of RIM’s user base. however, RIM has been defiant in the past, and is convinced that they will win back much of their lost client base with a new lineup of tablets and handsets coming in the new year. Those in the tech media don’t seem as optimistic about RIM’s future, but ultimately it will be consumers that will decide their fate–and RIM is going to have to do something drastic to lure Apple fanatics and Android faithful away from their favorite devices.
If a bid were to be made for RIM, details wouldn’t likely be made public, but analysts speculate that RIM would be wise to consider as many offers as they can before they become even more of an outsider in the market than they already are.
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