Did I miss something? When did Microsoft and RIM become all buddy-buddy? While there were empty rumors that Microsoft was looking to purchase RIM back in September of ’07, I don’t think we’ve seen the two companies in a headline together since.

Putting aside the whole matter of being competitors and all, the two have announced that they are collaborating to bring Windows Live services to the Blackberry platform. Support for both Hotmail and Messenger should go live sometime this summer.

Amongst the standard stuff, Hotmail for Blackberry will feature Push e-mail support, and integrated support for links and contact photos. Messenger for Blackberry will feature IM and group chats, conversation saving, and file/picture transfers.