Microsoft Looking To Buy Blackberry Maker?

Ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, which will take place on February 15th, various rumors surrounding software giant Microsoft are doing the rounds in the smartphone industry, the latest one being that the Redmond based company is contemplating the acquisition of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM), which is currently the leader in the smartphone market.

According to the All Things Digital tech blog, its Microsoft sources have confirmed that the company’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, who is holding a Windows Mobile press conference in the MWC in Barcelona, is open to idea of a possible acquisition of the Canada-based RIM.

If these rumors are to be believed, then it means that Microsoft is quite serious about establishing its name in the mobile phone segment as the company’s Windows Mobile OS for smartphones is falling behind other competitors, such as Google and Apple, whose smartphone offerings are slowly eating up the market share of Windows Mobile, which still commands a respectable 18 percent share in the smartphone market.

Most analysts believe that buying Research in Motion would give Microsoft a much required boost in the smartphone market, which is dominated by RIM’s ever popular BlackBerry smartphone device.