OStatic

Although Research in Motion (RIM) has more than held its own in the smartphone market, it's been plagued by the fact that both the iPhone and Android phones have better browsing experiences. In what looks to be a move to become more competitive in mobile browsing, RIM has acquired Torch Mobile, which has the Iris mobile browser, for an undisclosed sum. As CNet notes, Torch Mobile relies on the open source WebKit engine for mobile browsing, and this acquisition looks to be a smart move from RIM. Microsoft may also want to pay attention.

Both Google's Chrome browser and the iPhone browser rely on WebKit, among many other browsers that do, including the Palm Pre's. WebKit has, in fact, become one of the most influential of all open source platforms because of its ubiquity in browsers, and its flexibility. In addition to WebKit, some reports are coming in saying that RIM intends to include full Flash and Silverlight support in a new browser slated for 2010. These moves could make a big difference for the company in the mobile browser competition.?

Are you interested in taking the job of Director of Open Source Desktop Strategy at Microsoft? If so, here's the LinkedIn job description. Matt Aslett at The 451 Group notes that Microsoft is looking for a strong team member to lead Microsoft?s global desktop competitive strategy as it relates to open source competitors.? The language used in the job description stays vague about whether the successful candidate's job will be to stave off open source competitors or grow an open source strategy internally, but this is yet another sign that Microsoft has open source directly on its radar.