BlackBerry 9000 Mimics iPhone, Lacks Buttons

What’s this, a BlackBerry that doesn’t even have a SureType keyboard? That appears to be the case, because here is a sneak peek at the BlackBerry 9xxx and there is nary a button in sight. Instead, the handheld seems to boast a full touchscreen display a la the Apple iPhone. I guess Research in Motion wants a piece of that consumer pie too.

But wait, there’s more. In addition to the giant touchscreen, the BlackBerry 9000 (series?) will come with 3G and that includes North American HSDPA for extra speedy wireless data transfers. The Boy Genius says that this is “real speed with simultaneous voice and data.” To keep up with the quickness, we hear that the BlackBerry 9000 will come equipped with a 600MHz processor. I remember when a number like that was impressive for a desktop computer!

The rest of the details are pretty scarce right now, but an early 2008 release sounds likely.