Motorola got snapped up by Lenovo, and Microsoft bought Nokia's handset business. The industry's new up-and-comers are all either gigantic conglomerates (ZTE, TCL, Lenovo) or value-focused local players (Xiaomi, Meizu, Micromax, Spice.)
Part of what makes it hard to be a mid-sized player is that some of the big guys get amazing deals on components. Samsung and LG make a lot of their own components, and Apple is big enough to buy the entire output of factories. Joining with Samsung gives BlackBerry preferred access to one of the highest-quality component suppliers in the world.
It means that BlackBerry can offer true end-to-end enterprise solutions, coming into businesses with laptops, desktops, mobile devices and tablets that would all be supported by the same team.
BlackBerry also hasn't quite shaken off its near-collapse in 2013, and Samsung's massive marketing budget means a massive sales force. If Samsung's weight is put behind BlackBerry's enterprise solutions, those solutions start looking like an inevitable conclusion rather than a risky bet.
BlackBerry CEO Chen has said several times that he wants to keep the company independent. But this Samsung deal might be an offer he can't refuse.
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