Clamshell BlackBerry will battle Motorola

Research In Motion Ltd. plans to start selling a BlackBerry mobile phone that flips open to reveal a keyboard.

The "clamshell" BlackBerry could become a "Motorola Killer," RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said.

The device will probably go on sale in the U.S. near the end of the year for $149 or less with subsidies from wireless carriers, Abramsky wrote in a note Thursday. The phone has two screens and a camera, he wrote.

Research In Motion wants to draw customers looking for so-called clamshell-shaped phones like Motorola Inc.'s Razr, a style that accounts for half of the U.S. market, according to Abramsky. The company is accelerating its push beyond business users after introducing devices for individual buyers, such as the Curve, last year.

"RIM is targeting share gains against-mass market phone vendors, especially Motorola," wrote Toronto-based Abramsky, who recommends buying Research In Motion shares. The company is seeking " significantly larger market opportunities beyond its traditional base."

Calls to Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion's press office weren't immediately returned.

The clamshell phone may be a prelude to other new BlackBerrys, including a touch-screen "MediaBerry," which would compete with Apple Inc.'s iPhone, Abramsky wrote. Research In Motion may start selling that phone in October or November, he said.

The company is seeking to exploit recent stumbles by Motorola. Sales of mobile phones at the Schaumburg-based company, the biggest U.S. phone maker, have declined for five straight quarters as its latest devices failed to match the success of the Razr, introduced in 2004.

Phone-service providers may be prepared to spur demand for the new BlackBerry by offering cheaper e-mail and Web rates of about $20 to $30 a month, Abramsky wrote. A BlackBerry data plan typically costs about $40.

Research In Motion already has snatched users from Motorola with the Pearl, which was introduced in 2006 and, unlike other BlackBerry e-mail phones, lacks a full keyboard. The Curve is its smallest device with a full keyboard. The company has also added music and video players to its products.

Sales doubled to $6 billion at Research In Motion last year, helped by the Pearl and the Curve. Motorola's total revenue slid 15 percent to $36.6 billion.

Research In Motion's shares have almost tripled in the past 12 months, helping it overtake Motorola in market value. Motorola's have lost 42 percent over that span.