[Thunderbuck]

How exactly will it help RIM to put a product out into the marketplace and allow
someone else to rebrand it and represent it as their own?

This to my mind would actually be detrimental as it would garner recognition for
someone other than RIM, give the appearance (right or wrong) that RIM is incapable
of producing a next generation product without help or gimmicks and worst of all
it will show RIM to be in full desperation mode. None of that can be seen as helpful.

And just one other point, RIM cannot afford to do anything quietly any more. Their
reticence has been one of the most maddening aspects of their culture and that
seriously needs to change.

I agree with the objections (and I believe I listed something similar under "cons" in my own analysis). And the point is that these would not be sold as RIM branded handsets in any shape or form anyway. In fact, forget about getting an OS on them, even. Ship them off to a second-tier manufacturer and let THEM sort out the issue of getting Jelly Bean to work on them.

I also agree that this doesn't exactly satisfy the OP's suggestion that RIM have some kind of new product available before the BB10 launch, since it wouldn't be a RIM product as far as the consumer is concerned.

It doesn't necessarily show them as being in "desperation mode", though, and that's where the BB10 delay actually works in their favor. RIM can say it is dumping the phones so they can launch with fresher technology.

[amazinglygraceless]

I think we are close to agreeing here except to one point and that is the "fresher
technology" point.

As it stands the only device that RIM could conceivably do this with is whatever
they have for the BB10 rollout as everything else is in the marketplace and there
is no time to develop a new stopgap device.

If that is the road to be traveled then they will need to develop a NEW BB10
device to replace the one that has been "white-labeled" This will only serve to
putting them back at square one from a development standpoint and further push
back a release date on the next generation BlackBerry. I just don't see how the
release of anything but what they are currently working on, and has promised, will
serve RIM well in the end.

[BoldPreza]

The OP made a point of saying they could drop Android onto the currently blank stash of BB 10 phones. Technically no one knows if those phones even exist yet.

Additionally they are likely not full production units but pre-production builds used for testing.

Even if they do exist as full production units they are needed for the initial launch as you would use those units in your ramp up. So no part of shipping them off right now makes sense.