Amazon weighed buying RIM

Research In Motion Ltd apparently has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to a report by Reuters. 


Amazon reportedly hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer. It is not clear whether informal discussions between Amazon and RIM ever led to specific price talk, or who else had approached RIM about a takeover. Amazon weighed buying RIM

That such ideas were considered shows how volatile the mobile space has gotten recently, as content providers, video entertainment companies, many consumer electronics manufacturers, advertising concerns, banks, transaction processors and retailers ponder the growing, and in many cases, strategic role mobility is playing across a broad range of industries. 


For Amazon, the draw likely was a way to get its services and content onto smart phones, as Amazon now is able to leverage tablet screens to support its e-commerce and e-content initiatives. 


Some might speculate that RIM's patents could have been interesting, as well. Patents have become increasingly important in the smart phone business, and any future move by Amazon in that direction might well be on surer footing if Amazon could acquire both a patent portfolio and an existing manufacturing capability, brand awareness and customer base.