RIM shares surge on talk of flip-phone BlackBerry

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(Reuters)

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Research In Motion shot higher on Thursday after rumors swirled that the company will launch a flip-phone version of its ubiquitous BlackBerry wireless e-mail device.

Pictures of the purported smartphone, code-named BlackBerry Kickstart, appeared on the technology enthusiast website www.boygeniusreport.com late Wednesday night.

The device looks similar to a slim, antenna-free flip cellphone such as Motorola's Razr. It has a trackball for navigation and a smaller, modified keyboard layout like the one used by RIM's BlackBerry Pearl, which has been a hit with retail users.

RIM shares surged C$8.05 to finish at C$130.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. On Nasdaq, they rose $6.37, or 5.2 percent, to $128.

"In our opinion, this new device expands the market opportunity for Research In Motion, particularly into the consumer market," Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek wrote in a note to clients.

"The Pearl was a huge hit within the consumer market and we believe that new (third-generation) device launches will further drive demand along with the upcoming upgrade cycle."

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM has focused on loading up its devices with more multimedia capabilities in a bid to appeal to the broader retail market.

This lets it diversify its user base outside the executives, lawyers, politicians and other professionals who already rely on the BlackBerry for secure wireless e-mail service.

A RIM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment, but the company routinely declines to confirm or deny rumors related to its product lineup.

($1=$1.02 Canadian)

(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway)