BlackBerry to get Windows 8?

blackberry-10-leak-screenshot

BlackBerry has had a tough year – the failed PlayBook, a murder at its BBM event, rioters using its service for crime, and now the news that the BlackBerry 10 release is being put back to 2013. Now it's considering ditching BlackBerry 10 altogether and switching its alliegance to Windows 8.

According to Reuters, RIM is considering switching over to Windows 8 – but when Steve Ballmer recently approached the BlackBerry manufacturer with a view to setting up a Nokia-style partnership, he was rebuffed. Now that RIM's clearly struggling to create a new OS, and Windows 8 is looking pretty great, it could be time for a rethink. The only major problem here is that RIM likes to retain full control of its technology to ensure the highest security for its business customers.

But with 5,000 jobs set to be cut at RIM (30 per cent of its work force), and shares dropping by 70 percent in the last 12 months, it looks like BlackBerry has little choice other than to adapt or die.

[Via Electricpig]