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What do you think would happen to the Blackberry line if RIM were to be sold?
As a Canadian I really like to see home grown businesses continue to be successful. Unfortunately at the moment RIM's future is looking very grim (not being a pessimist only a realist). I hope they can turn it around, I really do; I personally love the new bold and am considering selling my iPhone 4 to get one.
And as a Canadian your a Black Hawks fan .. shame shame ..:D
RIM's approach to smartphones has always been dramatically different than the competition. Android allows fragmentation and indirectly encourages it. Of course, with Google Sync, a memory card, and a knowledgeable user, even a factory data reset isn't THAT jarring, but still... I'd be hard pressed to find an issue that required that kind of work on a BlackBerry smartphone. Apple is, first and foremost, an entertainment / multimedia company. RIM is the opposite. Thus, neither of those two players could create something ala the BlackBerry. Thus, the only reason they would purchase RIM would be for intellectual property to merge into their products. Thus, the BlackBerry faithful would likely scavenge up Blackberry 7 devices and PlayBooks like none other, not unlike what webOS people did.
That being said, RIM is a growing company, and one in an increasingly good position. I work for a nationwide wireless carrier in the United States, and demand for the BlackBerry 7 devices is only secondary to that of Android handsets. That being said, Android and BlackBerry aren't even targeting the same customers. Thus, I don't see RIM going anywhere. They are the only "original" player that is still in the game for a reason. For a large demographic, the smartphone is a phone FIRST. Those people continue to be served well by BlackBerry and moreso over time.