Google in talks to potentially acquire bits (or the entirety) of BlackBerry

Reuters reports that Google is one of several companies currently considering a bid on part or all of Blackberry. The handset manufacturer has had a rough six years as they fell behind in the smartphone market to competitors like Apple and devices running Google’s Android operating system.

A Blackberry acquisition would be an interesting move for Google. While Blackberry was the phone of choice for enterprise customers for many years, Google now provides much of the email and cloud infrastructure for many of those same customers through Google Apps.

A combination of Blackberry’s hardware expertise and Google’s software could seem appealing to many corporate buyers. Blackberry’s messaging platform is going cross-platform in the coming weeks, and could make an interesting addition to the Google’s Talk and Hangout services.

Also, we know Google is sadly in need of patents to continue to fend off the Nokia/Microsofts and Apples of the world.  While the Motorola purchase was largely about patents, many of the better ones are considered FRAND patents and have been largely invalidated as defense weapons.

Given that both Google and Blackberry have a strong presence in existing enterprise setups and complementary hardware and software experience, it’s not difficult to imagine why Google would be considering such a bid.