RIM ups subscriber forecast but drops financial outlook

The past year also saw the manufacturer step up its consumer push, making it one of the most successful crossover smartphone lines in the market. RIM shipped more than 25 million BlackBerry smartphones in 2009, totaling more than 50 million on the market in total. Noting that it initially took five years to reach the 1 million net subscribers milestone, RIM is forecasting more than 3.5 million net subscribers and more than 7.5 million smartphones shipped in the current quarter.

Co-CEO of RIM Jim Balsillie said the company shipped its 50 millionth BlackBerry smartphone in January as it expands its consumer push. “RIM achieved a very strong start to the holiday buying season, and the momentum carried on stronger than expected during the past seven weeks despite a seasonally slower timeframe and the challenging economic environment,” he said in a prepared statement. In the past 13 years it has been a public company, RIM’s revenue growth has exceed 170,000%, and its annual revenue will exceed $10 billion for the first time in its current fiscal year.

According to IDC’s quarterly mobile phone tracker, RIM also increased its share of the US smartphone market by seven points in the fourth quarter, now claiming 47.5% of the market. The next closest manufacturer is Apple, which lost market share in the fourth quarter, falling to 22.3% from 30.1% in Q3. RIM said it expects net adds in the first quarter to be more normalized without the benefit of the holiday surge.