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Since the introduction of the iPhone, Apple Inc. has been the product to beat when it comes to meeting consumer connectivity needs with the latest and greatest smartphone. Research in Motion sought to change that Monday when it unveiled the latest version of its popular BlackBerry product, the Bold, in a move that revs up the battle for market share supremacy.

“Our take-away is that this is the first shot of the Research in Motion - Apple war that is starting,” JMP Securities analyst Sam Wilson said in a note to clients. “This summer, Apple will release its 3G iPhone and RIM will release Bold. These two companies are squaring off against one another.”

The Bold, which features an integrated global-positioning-system, Wi-Fi functionality, 128 megabytes of flash memory and 1 gigabyte of storage memory, is already receiving positive reviews from Wall Street analysts. In fact, Wilson even joked the latest smartphone from Research in Motion included “the kitchen sink,” and JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster called the device “very attractive.” Coster also lauded the screen resolution and brightness as setting the device apart from previous Blackberrys, while saying the new “Precision” user interface is easy to use and that the Bold is very fast.

Elsewhere, Citigroup reiterated a buy rating and $140 price target on Research in Motion shares, as the broker estimated the new product could increase the company’s quarterly shipments by 200,000 to 400,000 units.

Canaccord Adams also liked the product, saying: “With the (BlackBerry) 8700 approaching two years of service, we believe the BlackBerry Bold has the opportunity to become a blockbuster. We are hearing that pre-orders from AT&T and Vodafone could materially exceed expectations, which will likely drive upwards earnings revisions in the back half of the year.”

Still, some caution investors not to forget about Apple quite yet, as the computer giant may be biding its time until the much-anticipated launch of its 3G iPhone. After checking 11 U.S. retail stores and finding that only 6 had iPhones in stock, Piper Jaffray said the limited availability of iPhones indicates that the release of a 3G model is “imminent,” and that it expects an announcement in mid-June.

So much for worries about consumers.

Well more than 2 million net new BlackBerry subscriber accounts were added in the three months ended March 1, according to Canada-based Research In Motion. At the end of the last quarter, the company said its total BlackBerry subscriber account base was over 14 million.

Shares in the BlackBerry maker climbed to a four-month high Thursday as analysts cheered the company’s robust growth and upbeat guidance. After Wednesday’s closing bell, Research In Motion posted fourth quarter earnings of 72 cents a share and revenue of $1.88 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected a profit of 70 cents per share on sales of $1.86 billion. The company also said it expects earnings of between 82 cents and 86 cents per share, above the Street consensus estimate of 76 cents. “The prospects for RIM and the industry are more exciting than ever,” Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said.

Goldman Sachs analyst Thomas Lee applauded RIM’s strong profit outlook Thursday, saying it is “a bright spot in this tough macro environment and is a testament to the level of importance consumers/enterprises place on the BlackBerry offering.” Lee said while the company certainly recognizes the possibility of facing potential macro headwinds, its guidance suggests that its business is “much more resilient” than other areas of IT spending, such as enterprise software and networking. The replacement and upgrade market also remains robust, Lee said, as RIM indicated that a number of 8700 subscribers are rolling off two-year contracts, which should help extend the strong momentum in the replacement market.

“BlackBerry is still in early stages and we see a number of drivers that make the story compelling, such as new products and increased stickiness within both the consumer and enterprise segments with offerings such as BB Unite, Facebook apps, and others,” Lee said.

Also worth noting is RIM’s rapid growth into the consumer segment, said JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster. RIM said in a conference call that about 38% of the BlackBerry subscriber base were non-enterprise at the end of the year, and well over half of the net new subscriber account additions in the fourth quarter came from non-enterprise customers. “The long-term secular growth story trumps our concerns regarding near-term consumer spending and seasonality - no hiatus at all,” Coster said in a research note Thursday.

Nothing can stop Research In Motion’s momentum, analysts say, not even the iPhone. In fact, contrary to some investor concerns, iPhone appears to have “helped, not hurt, RIM on strong domestic carrier promotions and retail activity,” said RBC Capital Market analyst Mike Abramsky.

Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron believes BlackBerrys are “living in peace” with Apple’s iPhone. “A 3G iPhone is on its way and will compete for attention,” Kidron wrote to clients. “However, we believe iPhones and BlackBerrys can coexist in the marketplace as smartphone penetration rises and as both are fundamentally different and cater to a different user/price point.”

Here’s an SAT question for you: Hipsters are to iPods as businessmen are to ______ ? If you said Apple’s iPhone you’ll have to guess again, but if you said Research in Motion’s Blackberry, then good for you. Naturally, the answer to this question is something that upsets Apple, which would like to be the answer to every technology question and is working to do so. The technology giant just launched a Microsoft integration program for its popular iPhone gadget that allows users to connect to Microsoft mail servers.

The previous lack of this ability was cited as one of the few flaws in the phone, which has sold well but has hardly had the cultural impact that the iPod has. There was some speculation that with these new features, Apple may be able to usurp the Blackberry as the mobile e-mail phone product of choice for business men and women, who comprise one of the most desirable advertising groups.

But analysts aren’t convinced that this will be the case. RBC Capital Markets said that the iPhone, at least for now, “won’t threaten” Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry. The firm cited the “lack of robust security features (such as stored data encryption), limited integration capabilities, network and device exclusivity, less IT-friendly support, and limited remote IT device management.”

RBC isn’t calling Apple’s product rotten just yet, however. RBC forecast that Apple would ship 11 million iPhones in 2008, thanks to expanded global distribution, enterprise server integration and the pending contribution from the expected “explosion” of innovative third-party applications.

Outside of the iPhone, RBC sees Apple’s computers rising to a 3.8% market share, up from 3.1% in 2007. The firm even called Apple “recession-resistant,” with international upside, product innovation, attractive pricing and what it calls “product stickiness.” It’s good new for Apple, which may be down for the moment, but certainly isn’t out.