BlackBerry and BlackJack -- would you confuse the two?

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM), the maker of the BlackBerry wireless devices, on Friday filed a suit against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for launching a smart phone named BlackJack. This would confuse customers, RIM claims, as well as "tarnishing, blurring, diluting, and/or disparaging RIM's reputation and goodwill."

The Samsung BlackJack is a smart phone that combines phone mobility with email and Internet access as well as a camera and a media player. It is powered by software from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Cingular Wireless, jointly held by AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:BLS), and a longtime distributor of BlackBerry, started distributing BlackJack last month. This month, Cingular also started distributing a similar device to the BlackJack, RIM's new BlackBerry Pearl.

While taken separately, Pearl and BlackJack certainly sound different. However, I can certainly see how some consumers might confuse BlackBerry Pearl and BlackJack. Seriously, if this wasn't the intent of Samsung in the first place, I doubt the company would name its phone BlackJack. What's more, the phones are similar in looks. See for yourself: BlackBerry Pearl and Samsung's BlackJack.

On a different note, and following up on a previous story regarding RIM needing to restate their financial results, the company announced Friday that it intends to report preliminary operating results for its third quarter on Dec. 21.

The stock is off more than 12% of its 52-week high as concerns mount on Pearl encroaching on BlackBerry sales. RIMM was downgraded by a few firms recently based on valuation mostly.