When you see a loved one who seems determined to hurt himself and is recklessly ruining his future, it's time for an intervention. Sometimes, outside help can be all it takes to turn the corner.
While I would hardly consider Research In Motion
It looks as if help may come from the other side of the world. The latest rumors suggest that South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung may be thinking about making a minority investment in RIM as well as partnering with the Canadian company to create phones running RIM's new (delayed) upcoming operating system, BB10.
This news comes from BGC Partners analyst Collin Gillis, who has met with Samsung recently and says Sammy is a bit nervous over Google's
Samsung produces some of the highest-quality hardware in the smartphone market, but it needs an operating system to give its devices life. It has its own proprietary Bada OS as well as some Microsoft
Adding RIM's OS, which grabbed an 8.8% share, to its mix could help Sammy diversify its OS base while improving the hardware quality of BlackBerry devices. This potential partnership would help Research In Motion much more than it would help Samsung.
A hookup between these two has been hinted at recently as a potential first step for a RIM turnaround. There's little sense in having Samsung take a minority stake, but there's more of a case for it to make BB10 phones.
But I still think RIM is doomed.
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