Reports suggest that BlackBerry is looking at spinning off its BlackBerry Messenger service as a standalone business, positioned to compete with such consumer stalwarts as WhatsApp and Viber.
While BlackBerry has so far refused to comment on the rumours, which the Wall Street Journal claims to have knowledge of, the reports chime with long-standing industry speculation about BlackBerry's future plans.
Suggestions that the company may split its hardware and software divisions have been rife since mid-June 2012.
Now its CEO has effectively placed BlackBerry up for sale, there are only a limited number of options the company can pursue in a highly competitive mobile market.
BBM, which lets users send each other messages without using limited telco-provided text message allowances - is certainly still considered the jewel in BlackBerry's crown, but as the likes of WhatsApp offer effectively the same thing, it's conceivable that BlackBerry may be looking to move quicker in order to, as WSJ states, "position BBM as a valuable asset ahead of a potential sale".
Several BlackBerry executives have already been moved to the BBM team, and the company sent out invitations earlier in August for selected users to trial BBM for Android.
The WSJ even states that those close to BlackBerry operations have suggested a desktop version of BBM may be on the way - but what is the future for a service that will have to compete against so many apps that have already become household names? It's not just WhatsApp and its ilk, either; Microsoft's Skype, Google's Hangouts and even Facebook are all taking their place in the mobile messaging landscape.
Has BlackBerry left it too late to trade on BBM's charms? Let us know your thoughts.
