Slashdot Mirror


Microsoft, Nokia, and Amazon Contemplated RIM Takeover

CSHARP123 writes "WSJ's anonymous sources indicates that MS and Nokia casually considered bidding on Research in Motion Ltd. The outcome of the talks are not clear. The Journal suggests that this wasn't anything more than a simple idea that came up at one of the regular meetings between senior executives from all three companies — perhaps it could have even been just a casual talk — but one wonders how Microsoft and Nokia executives think there is profit to be made by this take over. Maybe RIM provides a good backdoor entry for MS into the enterprise space for its Windows Phone 7? Recently, Amazon was also considering bidding on RIM. It is interesting to see who will gobble up RIM."

6 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. MS with more patents - Yikes! by Qwavel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A brief read of the news recently makes it clear that the patent situation is completely out of control.

    The hope was that Google buying Motorola would create enough balance between the portfolio's of Google, MS, and Apple that it would be in all of their interests to return to some form of truce.

    RIM has an enormous stockpile of patents - if MS gets them, all bets are off.

    1. Re:MS with more patents - Yikes! by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The hope was that Google buying Motorola would create enough balance between the portfolio's of Google, MS, and Apple that it would be in all of their interests to return to some form of truce.

      The defensive patents argument was only a "hope" on pro-Google Slashdot; everyone else in the world knew that Google was just after patents like everyone else, and that was proven correct when Google-owned Motorola won a preliminary injunction to block sales of iPhones and iPads in Germany.

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    2. Re:MS with more patents - Yikes! by JazzLad · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Revisionist much?

      First iPhone 2007
      First Android, 2008
      And in case you meant smartphones or touchscreen phones in general, here's a couple more for you.

      If that was too subtle for you, there were no Android phones before the iPhone, but the smartphones we have today are a natural evolution of smartphones that existed before the iPhone. You, sir, FAIL.

      --
      "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
  2. Re:Less choice for us by pionzypher · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While I agree with your point that more choice is better, I have to disagree with your thoughts on the negative press. There have been nothing but negative articles because there's been nothing but negative news coming from RIM. They really are driving themselves into the ground between that nasty outage and lack of response to IOS and Android.

    --
    I'll believe in corporations having personhood when Texas executes one... - advocate_one
  3. Re:Healthy business decision by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    With the exception of Amazon, it seems like big players of the early 00's who are now considered the old phogies of the tech market is trying to buy off the other old phogie.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  4. Re:Less choice for us by Lehk228 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Mostly the issue is the idiotic capitalist stock market

    RIM made over a billion in profit this year and 5 billion in revenue but the market is bitchy because they didn't "grow enough" (read, burn themselves out then die from over leveraging themselves)

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.