Will BlackBerry maker RIM sell off part of the company? According to Bloomberg sources, the RIM enterprise-services unit has "attracted the interests" of no other than IBM. 

The enterprise-services unit operates the server network running the BlackBerry support and messaging network, and is valued at around $1.5-2.5 billion. 

However RIM appears to be "inclined to wait" at least until the BlackBerry 10 launch before it decides to sell of parts of the company, especially since "no talks are currently under way." 

Earlier this week rumours emerged of another potential RIM buyer-- Samsung. Influential Jeffries analyst Peter Misek said RIM was trying to "revive talks" with Samsung to license the BlackBerry 10 OS.  

And RIM CEO Torsten Heins did tell The Telegraph the company is looking into licensing BB10 to 3rd parties... 

However the hearsay was dismissed by Samsung, with a statement saying the S. Korean company has no interest in either licensing BB10 or buying the company. 

Either way, RIM remains in trouble-- and will end up struggling even more should the much-awaited (and delayed) Q1 2013 BB10 launch proves to be a bust. 

Go RIM Said to Draw Interest from IBM on Enterprise Services (Bloomberg)

Go Samsung Says Not Considering Buying RIM

The legal battle between Apple and Samsung hits the San Jose courts, marking the beginning of the patent jury of the year, if not the century-- one forcing the two companies to reveal a few interesting secrets.

As we all know, this US-based legal battle is just one of many spread all over the globe. Recent Apple vs Samsung decisions already took place in British and German courts.

Will Apple convince the jury it can claim monopoly on a design amounting to a rectangular screen with rounded corners? Samsung hopes not, accusing Apple of stifling "legitimate competition" in order to "maintain its historically exorbitant profits."

Apple claims Samsung infringes 4 design patents and 3 utility patents, and demands $2.5 billion in damages. Meanwhile Samsung demands a 2.4% royalty rate on iOS device prices for the infringement of 5 communications patents.

Will Nokia reveal Windows 8-powered Lumia smartphones at September's Nokia World? That might be the case, at least according to anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg.

The Bloomberg report echoes earlier rumours from Chinese news site WPDang-- on September 5 Microsoft will officially release Windows Phone 8, with two new Lumia models (910 and 920) being the first handsets to carry the upgraded OS.

Nokia World 2012 takes place at Helsinki on September 5-6. Unlike previous years, it will be a "more intimate" invite-only event aimed at operators and retail partners.

If the Windows 8-powered Lumia announcement date is actually correct, it might beat another announcement date rumour-- that for the next- generation iPhone, whose unveiling will supposedly happen on September 12 2012.

Nokia World might also reveal whether Nokia will announce partnerships with European operators, like it already has in the US with AT&T. The company is pushing harder for presence in the US market, with initiatives including an awareness-boosting "Nokia Army." Since even European customers prefer Androids and iPhones to Nokias, maybe the company will bring something similar to our shores...

Will an OS upgrade and new handsets help the ex-mobile giant? We should learn more once Nokia World 2012 happens on September.

Go Nokia's Fight for AT&T Shelf Space Shows Hurdle for Lumia (Bloomberg)

Go Nokia Windows Phone 8 Rumours (WPDang)

With BlackBerry 10 delayed until Q1 2013 and plenty of financial troubles, RIM considers desperate measures-- CEO Thorsten Heins tells The Telegraph the company is looking into licensing BB10 to 3rd party vendors.

"You could think about us building a reference system, and then basically licensing that reference design, have others build the hardware around it – either it’s a BlackBerry or it’s something else being built on the BlackBerry platform,” Heins says in an interview.

The reasoning behind the thoughts of BlackBerry licensing mainly involves economies of scale-- RIM admits it cannot compete against "the guys who crank out 60 handsets a year" even if it is in need of differentiation within the BlackBerry platform.

Licensing BB10 might also help RIM make lower-cost handsets aiming at growing emerging markets outside W. Europe and the US.

Either way, BB10 is make-or-break for RIM-- We will know either of which will happen once BB10 launches (on 2 flagship devices) sometime around Q1 2013.

Go "BlackBerry is Not in a Through"-- RIM CEO Thorsten Heins Interview (The Telegraph)