Research In Motion's (RIMM) consumer-focused BlackBerry Pearl is about to get some help, as RIM tries to gobble up more of the mobile market: RIM's new "KickStart" flip-phone is expected to launch early next month on T-Mobile's network, priced as low as $50-$99, RBC analyst Mike Abramsky notes today.

While smartphones -- like RIM's bulkier, more expensive handsets -- are growing in popularity, Abramsky says 50% of phones sold in the U.S. are still flip-style phones, like Motorola's (MOT) RAZR. As a result, he says, "Kickstart is well positioned to become a 'must-have' consumer handset, in our view." Some 13% of participants in RBC's latest tech survey said they'd buy a BlackBerry flip phone, and more than 85% of those were new to RIM, he adds.

Assuming RIM eventually distributes the phone more broadly, and assuming carriers price the phone's data subscription affordably -- from $10 -- Abramsky estimates RIM could ship 5 million to 7 million KickStarts in the first year, and 8 million to 12 million in fiscal 2010. Even the low end of those estimates -- 12 million units -- could drive huge subscriber growth for RIM, which had 16 million subscribers at the end of May.

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