RIM phone would likely be vertical touch slider

RIM is developing an unusual BlackBerry that would aim to give the best of both worlds, a source linked to the company maintained on Friday. The smartphone would have a portrait-style sliding QWERTY keyboard, much like the Palm Pre or Samsung Propel Pro, but would also center on a 480x360 touchscreen. BGR heard it would similarly be a haven for technologies new to RIM, such as 802.11n Wi-Fi or the as yet mysterious BlackBerry OS 6.0.

Little else is known, but unlike the Storm and Storm2, it wouldn't be a Verizon exclusive and would have a version with GSM and HSPA-based 3G. RIM has long signaled that it doesn't plan to keep touchscreen phones exclusive to individual carriers but has never officially taken action on that strategy.

It's implied the unnamed device would be the effective replacement for the Dakota, a much more conventional design that would have merged the Bold's design with a touchscreen.

Although one of the few companies to gain smartphone share in the past year, RIM has had little success spurring adoption of its touchscreen phones where Apple has been much more popular. It enjoyed an early run of sales with the Storm in late 2008 but lost that momentum within a few months and eventually downplayed the release of the Storm2 entirely to push the Motorola Droid.

By Electronista Staff