BlackBerry 10 delayed again, RIM pressured to split company

It's more dismal news for BlackBerry-maker RIM, with its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system pushed back once more.

CEO Thorsten Heins said the launch of the first BlackBerry 10 devices is now anticipated to "occur in the first quarter of calendar 2013", the BBC reports.

Unfortunately for RIM, it gets worse. The company, which has struggled to compete with Apple and Android smart phones, has lost $518m (about £332m) in the last three months up to 2 June, and has said it will be cutting 5,000 jobs.

The BlackBerry 10 delay means any new phones will be launching in the wake of both iOS 6 and Android Jelly Bean, as well as Microsoft's Windows Phone 8. With poor results, and little to look forward to, reports suggest RIM's board members are now under pressure to dismantle the company.

Citing three sources 'familiar with the situation', Reuters says RIM is being forced to consider last-resort options, including breaking off and selling its networking business, or joining forces with Microsoft.

The report reckons Steve Ballmer has approached RIM about a partnership, which would see the company producing Windows Phone 8 devices, in the same way Microsoft currently does with Nokia.

That scenario could see Microsoft buying up a stake in RIM to help out financially, but those anonymous sources say RIM's board members would rather forge ahead with BlackBerry 10.

Earlier this week, other reports tipped RIM to break its business into two separate companies, one handling handsets and the other taking charge of the company's messaging network, which could make a tasty acquisition for Google or Apple.

RIM's patent portfolio could be another of its desirable assets should the worst come to the worst.

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