It really shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone who has followed the slow, painful decline of the company that pioneered the smartphone. After a long, hard battle to build sales, regain market share and achieve financial stability, it appears that BlackBerry is ready to put itself on the market. The Waterloo, Ontario, company reports that its board has created a special committee and retained J.P. Morgan Chase to evaluate its options, including sale, joint ventures or strategic partnerships. Thorsten Heins, CEO of RIM, BlackBerry’s parent company, said that there are still “compelling long term opportunities” for BlackBerry’s new operating system. Early this year, BlackBerry rolled out its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which offered promise, but has failed to deliver the results the company expected and needed. Stay tuned for updates on BlackBerry’s future. Read more.