What happens to RIM's customers if it tanks? (MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Mobile device vendor Research in Motion (RIMM) announced that it would see an operating loss for the first quarter. The chips that were stacked against the BlackBerry maker seem to have been doubled down, and management has hired two investment banks -- J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital -- to "evaluate the relative merits and feasibility of various financial strategies." Typically, such banks are brought in explore a potential sale of assets or an entire company. That RIM might pursue a sale isn't surprising. The company has ineffectively dealt with competition and new product innovation for years, largely while upper management and the board insisted that they knew best what to do. But pressure from major investors in the face of extended financial disaster has apparently taken its toll, both in a continuing management turnover and the real prospect that RIM could soon no longer exist as a separate company. That just leaves three big questions to be answered: Who would actually buy the company, what would happen to the shareholders, and what would happen to BlackBerry users. Time to start the RIM death watch? RIM co-founders step down, not far enough away RIM faces a problem similar to the one Palm experienced in the period between its major financial problems and the point at which HP (HPQ) finally bought it. The very condition that makes a sale an imperative also discourages potential buyers from expressing interest. Sales are down. New product releases are still far off, given the speed at which the mobile market moves. RIM's PlayBook tablet, a product that the company once hailed as a savior, flopped. There are tens of millions of customers that use data services RIM provides, but while an asset, that is hardly reason enough to acquire the company. Given the vehemence with which patent wars are raging in the mobile industry, a Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Samsung, or other wealthy powerhouse could purchase RIM solely for its patents. Some group of them might chip in to ensure that none of them could be encumbered, much as happened with Nortel's patent portfolio. Although RIM has been largely ineffective in the market over the last few years, it does have good technology, including the QNX operating system that it bought in 2010 and that forms the basis of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. That could have interest to some companies. Samsung has discussed its interest in having its own operating system to distinguish itself from competitors rather than having all compete while running Google's Android. And don't forget that Facebook (FB) is apparently interested in building its own smartphone to improve its chances on the mobile front. But any interest in acquiring RIM will be limited at best, and that's bad news for shareholders because the company essentially is running a fire sale. Conditions put it at a disadvantage in negotiations and the money it receives will hardly be what it might have brought under more auspicious circumstances. Investors will not get the full value of their shares. As for customers, things are tricky. Even if RIM was moved from the face of the Earth, BlackBerry handsets will continue to work. It is the data services, however, that many appreciate, and they could face darker times. Unless some company takes over the sophisticated email and messaging services, it could be that some of the biggest draws that customers have experienced might cease to be.