Rumor: Microsoft looking to buy RIM

Not sure who started this one but it's starting to pick up some steam: the talk of the town in analyst circles today is a rumored buyout of BlackBerry maker RIM by none other than Microsoft. It goes a little something like this: Microsoft gets spooked by Google's recent moves in the mobile space and in response, decides to buy a highly successful mobile platform and device manufacturer. Granted, this wouldn't be totally out of character for Microsoft, as we've seen the company do this sort of thing plenty of times before. Still, you really have to wonder if RIM is a good acquisition target for a company like Microsoft. The BlackBerry has really made its name on the BlackBerry OS, so a buyout of RIM probably wouldn't help spread the Windows Mobile gospel--at least, not in the short term. What's more, RIM's stock has been on the up-and-up for a while now, completely independent of market fluctuations, so it would certainly be a pricey buyout for the folks in Redmond. RIM's stock has gone up more than $3 during the last two days as a result of the rumors but I would be weary--this one just doesn't seem to fit.

For more on the rumored buyout:
- see this article from Blogging Buyouts