[1] http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/14/7549547/samsung-no-plans-t...
[2] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-14/blackberry-climbs-o...
They're only worth that much if they're a viable contender in the phone/mobile wars - without continued products they're worth about as much as their patent portfolio, which is substantial but not that much.
Having reluctantly been convinced to try the BlackBerry passport recently I have to say I'm very impressed with the work BB is doing right now. The new OS is fast and snappy in a way only iOS can match, and even the most recent Androids can't dream of. They are innovating in both UX and typing in interesting (and IMO mostly successful) ways - I'm convinced that if it weren't for the stigma of sitting on their asses doing nothing for years about the smartphone revolution that these phones would be selling better than they are.
At this point the associative value of BlackBerry to quality - in the eyes of consumers anyways - may in fact be negative.
Q3 2010: 40% revenue growth to $5.5B Their share declined from #1 (20% marketshare) to #2 (15% behind apple at 17%)
Fast forward a bit: http://www.infoworld.com/article/2626010/smartphones/rim-pos...
Q2 2011: 12 million units sold, more than apple (8.4m) and nearly as many as all android units combined (14.7m)
Blackberry didn't die the moment the iphone was announced. They were in the fight for several years, and it wasn't entirely clear they would lose.
At the end of 2010, they still had a $30B market cap: http://ycharts.com/companies/BBRY/market_cap
Who would SS go after with this trove, and if they did, do the others hit back with theirs?
