Just a few months ago, BlackBerry seemed dedicated to going alone. Now, the company is surprisingly blunt.about its willingness to consider a joint venture or selling the company..Why now?.Well, the crucially important “value” model Q5 launched about six weeks ago.in the UK and Africa, markets that used to be BlackBerry’s cornerstones just two years ago. The Q5 gained sudden importance after the high-end Q10 and Z10 phones put in disappointingly weak volume performances during the May quarter, driving BlackBerry’s U.S. market share down to just 1.1% according to one estimate. The problem with the Q5 is that it is priced well above $400. That is.the dead zone of the current smartphone market where the $600-plus niche belongs to Apple and

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