Buoyed by the success of handsets like the BlackBerry Storm, Research In Motion was able to add 3.9 million net new subscribers for the fourth quarter.

Overall, the company shipped 7.8 million devices for the three months ending Feb. 28, and the company now has about 25 million BlackBerry subscribers. These sales led to $3.46 billion in revenue, which represents a 24.5% increase from the previous quarter, and an 84% increase from the same period last year. RIM beat analysts' expectations by posting a $518 million profit, compared with earnings of $412 million for the same period last year.

"RIM experienced an extraordinary year in fiscal 2009, shipping our 50 millionth BlackBerry smartphone and generating $11 billion in revenue," co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in a statement. "Looking ahead into fiscal 2010, we see exceptional opportunities for RIM and its partners to leverage the investments and success of the past year to continue growing market share and profitability."

While the company's bread and butter is still the enterprise customer, more than 40% of its subscribers are now non-corporate users. Because of this, the company is releasing more consumer-friendly devices like the touch-screen Storm and the clamshell Pearl Flip.

Being in the consumer market means RIM increasingly is competing with the likes of Apple and Google's Android. RIM has seen the success Apple had with its App Store for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and it's integrating some aspects of it into the BlackBerry App World. The virtual mobile app store offers BlackBerry users a way to browse, buy, download, and install apps over the air.

By: DocMemory
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