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Research In Motion (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has leapt into the retail consumer market with products such as its pink BlackBerry Pearl, a candybar-shaped e-mail phone stuffed with multimedia goodies, exposing itself to shoppers’ fickle tastes and competition from Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPhone.

Its devices now include more “lifestyle” features like television, music players, cameras and Facebook social-networking software for broad appeal.

“I think the whole social networking phenomenon is quite substantial,” RIM’s co-Chief Executive, Jim Balsillie, told Reuters in an interview.

His comment highlights a big shift for the Canadian company, which first made its name supplying blocky handsets that executives, lawyers and politicians used to send secure e-mails to their offices and clients.

The departure from that mainstay has produced strong early results, as RIM added BlackBerry subscribers at a rapid clip and posted profits that consistently beat analysts’ expectations.

More than a third of RIM’s subscribers are now classified as noncorporate or non-government payday loan. The company had a total of 12 million users at the end of the quarter ended December 1.

The Pearl, the main product in the consumer push, looks more like a regular cellphone than the traditional BlackBerry. Launched in 2006 at around $200, some carriers now give it away as part of a long-term service contract, while declining plan prices are making the gadget more affordable.

The retail effort reached a critical milestone on November’s Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving that marks the start of the holiday shopping season. It was, for the first time, RIM’s strongest single day for net subscriber additions. 

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