Research in Motion Limited (RIMM) Stock Rises on Renewed Samsung Speculation

Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM), maker of the once-ubiquitous BlackBerry, has seen its stock surge more than 6 percent Wednesday (it was up 13 percent earlier in the day) to more than $7.75 a share upon renewed talk of an arrangement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., which recently surfaced from a report by Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek that suggested that the struggling telecommunications firm is talking with the giant of the smartphone market.

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)

Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM), which has seen its BlackBerry share of the smartphone market shrink to less than 5 percent in the last quarter – the iOS from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the Android from Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) make up 85 percent of the market, according to the International Data Corporation – is getting ready to launch is BlackBerry 10 operating system, and it’s possible that Samsung – which is already a prominent handset for Android phones – may be interested in developing its own OS or perhaps using BB10.

Misek wrote in his note, “Samsung is considering ramping up its internal development efforts, licensing BB10 or buying RIM. Samsung is undecided.”

With Samsung getting so much market share and sales from Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating systems, could it be possible that Samsung would actually consider a different operating system for its phones? Or would it just keep its options open as it tries to generate a bigger piece of the market-share pie, and doesn’t want to attach itself sink-or-swim to one OS?

Whatever the case, just the fact that this talk, which not new surrounding Samsung’s apparent interest in the BlackBerry OS itself or the entire Research in Motion Limited ()NASDAQ:RIMM) organization, would appear in an analyst’s note at least suggests the possibility of some legitimacy in the talk.

How Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) handles this in regards to its Android OS may be a question for a new day. For now, though, association with Samsung Electonics Co., Ltd., is a boon for stockholders of Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM). They’ll enjoy the ride for as long as the talk remains on the street.