Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion, Ltd. (TSE:RIM) circa 2006-2007 appeared unstoppable.  The company was beloved by businesses worldwide and was growing fast in market share and sales.  Even Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Barrack Obama was deeply attached to his BlackBerry smartphone.

I. Should RIM Sell Itself?

Fast-forward five years and that vibrant company is an increasingly distant memory.  In its place is a company with a slow pace of releases, dated hardware (the Blackberry 9860, to launch in October, will be BlackBerry's first and only smartphone this fall to compete with Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone and Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android hardware-wise).  Unsurprisingly sales growth has slumped both in the U.S. and abroad.  Correspondingly, the company's stock has taken a beating at the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Investors, desperate to see a turnaround, have implored RIM to explore a pair of options.

The latest effort suggests that RIM sell its rich catalog of intellectual property -- or perhaps sell its entire business to the highest bidder.  Investors salivated at Google's recent purchase of Motorola Mobility, which brought a handsome return for shareholders.  A RIM sale would help investors recoup their losses and perhaps even profit.

Google and others are thought to be potential buyers.

The proposal is being spearheaded by Jaguar Financial Corp. (TSE:JFC).  JFC refuses to reveal the size of its stake in RIM, but it says it represents a coalition of various shareholders who together hold a bit under 5 percent of the company's stock (RIM has a market cap of $16.45B USD at present, so this works out to roughly $822M USD in stock).

II. Second Proposal Suggests Shakeup in Top Executive Positions

JFC CEO Vic Alboini also expressed dismay at the company's lackluster response to a second independent proposal.  

The Northwest & Ethical Investments LP in June said that RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis's decision to split Chairman and CEO duties was adversely affecting the company.  They suggested the company assign one executive to each post.

RIM agreed to examine the proposal, but said they probably wouldn't get around to announcing their thoughts until January 2012.  Mr. Alboini called that slow response "woefully inadequate" and "an extreme example that management has not let go."

III. If QNX Bid Fails Will RIM Become Nortel 2.0?

Mr. Alboini is also pessimistic about RIM's last-ditch turnaround effort with its new QNX operating system.  The new operating system, which debuted on the company's PlayBook tablet, is scheduled to roll out to the company's smartphones next year, replacing the veteran BlackBerry operating system.

Thus far, however, QNX has drawn mixed reviews, with many saying the best thing about it is the ability to play (some) Android apps on it.  However, many fear that Google may close that route as more RIM devices adopt QNX.

While Mr. Alboini admits that it could have a positive impact, he says the cost of failure is to great to gamble by counting on such a success.  He remarks in a Bloomberg interview, "The board should be saying, 'What if these products don’t pan out?' You don’t want RIM to turn into another Nortel."

Nortel Networks, like RIM, used to be a highly prized Canadian mobile services firm.  But stagnation bred an eventual bankruptcy and fire sale of the company's intellectual property in a bid by shareholders to recoup part of their losses.

Mr. Alboini fears RIM could eventually meet a similar fate and says the time to act is now.  And he's not alone.  In a highly publicized letter, a departing executive lashed out at the company's leadership for failing to respond to the changing market.  He remarked, "I have lost confidence. While I hide it at work, my passion has been sapped. I know I am not alone..."

RIM categorically rejected the criticism, insisting it was doing just fine.