www.donkhead.com

So if BlackBerry's earnings decline as it is squeezed by rising
competition as Heard suggests, might it be in play? Who would bite?
The likely buyers are those with the interest in enterprise markets,
namely Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard Co.
(NASDAQ:HPQ).

Microsoft is the most commonly rumored bidder. There are a few
different rationales for a Microsoft purchase. One suggestion floated
last year is to take out RIM and supplant it with its Windows Mobile
operating system. However, at a $50 a share price tag, that's an
expensive acquisition just to eliminate a rival -- not to mention one
that could raise the ire of antitrust hawks. On the other hand, RIM's
tight integration with Microsoft's Exchange Server makes it an ideal
platform to soldier on under Microsoft's tutelage.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is not the only enterprise behemoth with a tight
link to RIM. When Hewlett-Packard acquired Electronic Data Systems
Corp. for $13.9 billion last year, it inherited an existing
relationship with Research In Motion that it has subsequently extended
in May. It certainly is not a stretch to imagine HP taking over RIM to
expand in the smartphone category, especially in light of reports that
rival Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is preparing an Android smartphone.

On Oct 28, 8:30 am, j <jkma...@gmail.com> wrote: