Amazon looked at buying RIM (though that was back in the summer)

By Trevor Mogg December 20, 2011

Online retail giant Amazon looked at the viability of buying BlackBerry maker Research In Motion over the summer, though the company did not make a formal offer.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that “people with knowledge of the situation” said that Amazon took on the services of an investment bank to look at the possibility of a merger with the Ontario-based company, though there was no information as to whether executives from the two companies ever went as far as taking seats around the same table to talk details.

The two companies declined to make any official comment about Amazon’s interest in RIM, though sources told Reuters that the RIM board currently wishes for co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to concentrate on sorting out their troubled business by themselves “through the launch of new phones, better use of assets such as BlackBerry Messaging and restructuring.”

It was suggested by the sources that a complete takeover of the company by another was currently not a possibility, though technology licensing deals and commercial partnerships beneficial to RIM was something that could happen in the future.

Indeed, according to the Reuters report, the two companies are currently talking about how they might expand commercial ties. Also, there has been talk recently of Amazon introducing a smartphone. RIM could certainly lend its knowledge to Amazon for such a device as part of a deal between the two companies.

Many may be perplexed as to why Amazon was interested in buying RIM. Thanks to a series of problems, RIM’s market value has plummeted over the last year by some 77 percent. Weak quarterly reports, poor sales of its PlayBook tablet, a lengthy service outage affecting millions of BlackBerry users in October, and delays to the launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system (which it’s hoped will reverse the fortunes of the company) have all taken their toll on RIM’s image.

But remember that apparently the talks took place over the summer, before RIM’s problems really began to snowball. However, that snowball is now as large as the company’s stockpile of unsold PlayBooks, so even if RIM did turn around now and say “OK, let’s merge,” Amazon might well emit a nervous cough before quietly leaving the room.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Amazon

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

If you’ve ever wanted the Google Pixel Watch, this deal is your excuse

The Pixel Watch on a person's wrist.

With the arrival of its successor, those who have been interested in the Google Pixel Watch should be on the lookout for its appearance in smartwatch deals. Crutchfield is an excellent source for such offers, and it currently has the wearable device on sale for a very affordable $180 following a $100 discount on its original price of $280. We don't expect this bargain to last long though, so if you've been waiting for an excuse to buy this Google smartwatch, take advantage of the savings by making your purchase immediately.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Watch
The Google Pixel Watch may have been overshadowed by the Google Pixel Watch 2, but it's still a worthwhile purchase because of everything that it provides at a relatively affordable price. Its colorful always-in display offer brightness of up to 1,000 nuts, and it's protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The Google Pixel Watch also comes with a comprehensive suite of health-focused features, including workout tracking, heart rate monitoring, ECG measurements, sleep tracking, fall detection, and much more. The smartwatch is water-resistant up to 50 meters so you can wear it while swimming, and its battery can last up to 24 hours on a single charge.

Mobile

Here’s how iOS 18 could change the way you use your iPhone

The lock screen on the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

It seems the long-overdue Siri overhaul will finally arrive at WWDC in just over a week from now, and the digital assistant will embrace AI trickery in all its forms. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s planned upgrades for Siri will deeply integrate with on-device functions at the OS level and with the installed apps, too.

“The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time,” the report says. The most notable capability is that Siri will only require voice prompts to interact with apps, thanks to a major change in the AI architecture powering it and putting large language models in command, just the way Gemini or ChatGPT draw their own skills from such models.

Mobile

The Apple Watch Series 9 has a nice price cut today

The Apple Watch Series 9's camera app, showing the viewfinder and the zoom feature.

Apple Watch Series 9 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Apple Watch Series 9 is one of the most confusing watches out there. It was banned due to a sort of IP issue with its blood Oxygen sensing tech. Then, the ban was lifted in late 2023. And, finally, the ban got reinstated (sorta) earlier this year. So, can you get the watch? Surprisingly, not only is the answer "yes" but also "yes, and on sale!" Right now you can get a 41mm version of the somewhat controversial watch that rests at the top of our list of the best smartwatches for just $429. That's $70 down from the usual $499. Tap the button below to find your watch or keep reading to see all the details about what it can do.