Research In Motion (RIM) still sees software licensing as an important part of its turnaround plan. Though Samsung has denied that it might pay to use the BlackBerry maker's technology or even buy the company.
RIM has held talks with several handset makers about using its new QNX platform, said a prominent RIM shareholder, who said he was briefed by the company. The operating system, already used in the less popular PlayBook tablet, will power RIM's next-generation smartphones due out later this year.
The shareholder, who declined to be identified because he was unauthorized to speak on the record, said he also believes Samsung is interested in a licensing deal despite its statements to the contrary.
"I'm sure they're talking about licensing stuff," the shareholder said, referring to the South Korean smartphone maker. "I don't know if they're looking to buy the company and I don't care."
RIM's existing product lineup has struggled to compete with Apple's iPhone and iPad and powerful devices from Samsung and other manufacturers using Google's Android operating system.
It also faces a resurgent Microsoft, which has built mobile software that powers Nokia's newest Lumia series devices, among others.
RIM's shares have jumped nearly 40 percent since a Reuters report in December cited sources saying RIM had rebuffed takeover overtures from Amazon.com and others because it prefers to fix its problems on its own.
Two of those sources said at the time that RIM could strike technology licensing deals to boost revenue.
During RIM's earnings conference call five days earlier, founder and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis and his salesman cohort Jim Balsillie promised that RIM would look at all strategic alternatives as it seeks a turnaround.
"We are leaving no stone unturned," Balsillie said. "We ask for your patience and confidence," Lazaridis added.
The prospect of RIM shopping its QNX-based BlackBerry 10 software to rivals or even opening up its unique network for their use has excited some investors and analysts more than the less likely scenario of an outright sale.
"If Samsung or any other Android partner were to integrate RIM's enterprise services like Blackberry Messenger into their offering, they would achieve instant differentiation in the increasingly monochrome Android space," Frost and Sullivan analyst Craig Cartier said.
The Playbook, RIM's first experiment with the QNX software, was panned when launched last spring because important features were missing from the tablet. Since then sales have been poor. RIM recently delayed its first QNX-equipped BlackBerry phones until late 2012.
Even so, Taiwan's HTC and others might consider licensing QNX because of the cost associated with using Google's free software, after Microsoft unleashed a storm of litigation and worked out royalty agreements on many of those using Android.
RIM could offer QNX at a lower price or even for free and then charge via network operators once these new customers sign up for the popular BlackBerry Messaging service or RIM's famous enterprise-grade security and compression.
The turn around anyway, looks like a distant dream with Samsung and other majors riding high with the Android platform.