RIM Launches First Flip-phone BlackBerry

TORONTO (Reuters)- Research In Motion Ltd is launching a flip version of its popularBlackBerry Pearl smartphone, a move that reasserts its push into theretail consumer market.

Like RIM’s original Pearl model, the first-ever flip BlackBerrycomes loaded with multimedia features such as a video and music playerand a 2-megapixel camera with flash, as well as a Web browser and anabridged keyboard.

"Seventy percent of the mobile phone users in the United States usea flip," RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in an interview. "There’s neverbeen a smartphone or a BlackBerry option for that."

He added the new device is "extremely important" to capturing more retail users.

The new clamshell flip BlackBerry will be available around the worldstarting this autumn. In the United States, T-Mobile will be theexclusive launch carrier. No pricing details were immediately available.

The first, candy-bar-shaped version of the Pearl was launched inSeptember 2006 to rave reviews and strong sales. Its success was a keyfactor behind the Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s ability to deliverbanner results throughout the rest of that year and in 2007.

The Pearl also allowed RIM to broaden its market beyond its mainstayof executives, lawyers, politicians and other professionals who use theBlackBerry to send work e-mail securely.

RIM has more than 16 million subscribers. It says that"non-enterprise" customers — the company’s term for small and mediumbusinesses and consumers — now represent more than 40 percent of thattotal.

The drive for retail consumers has put the company in more directcompetition with hardware makers such as Apple and its iPhone, as wellas Motorola and Nokia. Balsillie has repeatedly dismissed competitiveconcerns and they have yet to translate into lower sales.

Despite that, RIM’s shares have lost a third of their value sincesetting a year high of $148.13 on the Nasdaq in June. On Tuesday, theyclosed at $99.30 amid macroeconomic concerns and broad stock marketdeclines.

Most analysts continue to recommend RIM’s shares to investors,according to Reuters Knowledge. Some cite a strong slate of upcomingproduct launches including the recently unveiled BlackBerry Bold, aswell as continuing strong demand for smartphones.

Asked whether the market should expect RIM to launch additionalBlackBerry models before the end of the calendar year, Balsilliereplied: "We’re far from done."

(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway)