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Samsung yesterday sternly rejected a recent report claiming it was in talks with Research In Motion to possibly buy all or part of the handset maker.

Speaking to Reuters, Samsung spokesman James Chung said that his company has not "considered acquiring" RIM and is "not interested" in buying the BlackBerry maker. He added that neither company approached the other to try to create an acquisition deal.

Mobile blog Boy Genius Report cited sources yesterday, claiming that Samsung and RIM were in talks and that the companies were nearing an acquisition deal. One of the blog's … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Every January, CES sets the tone for the year with a bonanza of new, thrilling smartphones touting the best and brightest technology. This year proved no different, with more than 21 new smartphones to behold.

More than a few were instant hits, like the Motorola Droid 4, a 4G LTE handset with Verizon, which has a sleek body and a keyboard that's reminiscent of a MacBook in miniature. There's also the Sony Xperia S, which won our admiration for its slick, cutting-edge design and its reality display; and the HTC Titan II, an LTE Windows Phone sequel … Read more

Talk of Research In Motion being acquired just won't go away. But this time, it might be RIM's fault.

The BlackBerry maker has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to help it field potential buyout offers, according to the rumor mill on the Wall Street trading floor. According to Reuters, one unidentified trader said yesterday that RIM is "up on Goldman," but cautioned that it doesn't mean a sale is coming anytime soon.

Even so, all that speculation was enough to see RIM's shares jump over 5 percent yesterday to settle at $16.44. It … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Pretty soon, pointing out 4G LTE on a Verizon smartphone will become an exercise in redundancy.

From now on, nearly every smartphone, wireless hot spot, tablet, and Netbook that Verizon offers will come with LTE guns a-blazing. Yes, Virginia, that includes Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices, too.

There will be the occasional exception, however. For instance, phones on Verizon's push-to-talk network are 3G-only for now, and will remain that way until further notice.

Verizon's clear, unyielding stance on 4G--"a hard requirement," according to Verizon--may partially explain why it has picked up only one Windows Phone so far.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Verizon isn't holding a press conference at CES, but that hasn't stopped the carrier from spilling a ton of announcements on the show's official Press Day.

Just before it showed off the Motorola Droid 4, a Droid Razr in purple, and the new Droid Razr Maxx this morning, Big Red also unveiled a new BlackBerry world phone with the Curve 9370.

Part of the new 9350/9360/9370 Curve series that RIM debuted last summer, Verizon's handset has the same design, 2.44-inch display, and BlackBerry 7 OS. You'll also find an entry-level feature … Read more

Just when we were all convinced it would be a quiet CES for RIM, the BlackBerry-maker springs this, an invitation to an event showcasing the PlayBook and smartphone operating systems.

Positioned more as an educational session rather than a product launch event, RIM's CES presence is clearly all about the BlackBerry App World catalog.

RIM's activity this year stands in sharp contrast to last year's show, which featured a gigantic booth overflowing with conference-goers eager for a glimpse of the yet-unreleased BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and its celebrity spokesperson, actress Olivia Wilde.

I'm glad that RIM is … Read more

commentary OK, so I've been as hard as anyone on Research In Motion. But it's not all bad.

Sure, the company is burdened with a bloated management structure, leaders who in recent months just can't do anything right, and a trajectory that only seems to be headed further south. It's in the doghouse with investors after losing more than three quarters of its market value last year. More importantly, RIM's share in its home market of North America is slowly being ceded to Apple and Android.

But with all of the RIM bashing in recent … Read more

Research In Motion may be gearing up for an overhaul in its leadership.

Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are preparing to relinquish their titles as co-chairmen, possibly giving way to independent director Barbara Stymiest, according to a report by the Financial Post. Stymiest is the leading candidate to replace the two, the Post said, citing anonymous sources.

RIM said in a statement that a committee of independent directors was reviewing the company's governance structure, and would report its findings by January 31. It added the committee is on track to meet this target, and that the board would … Read more

Samsung is still the biggest maker of mobile phones, but Apple is gaining ground, according to data released today by market researcher ComScore.

Samsung accounted for 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers for the three months ending November 11, a slight increase of 0.3 percent over the previous three months. While Apple came in fourth with 11.2 percent, its 1.4 percent increase was the greatest market share increase for the previous three months.

Samsung and Apple were the only mobile phone makers in the top 5 to boost their share of the market during that … Read more