Yes it seems that RIM is keeping up with their handset model with a touchscreen version dubbed the 9000. Just do a Google search for “blackberry 9000” and you will get more information that you need on the device. Looks like it may be worth checking out mid next year if the rumors are accurate. Will it have a keyboard? Will it have as good of a screen as the iPhone? No one knows at this point. Since it is a Blackberry, it will have the ability to wirelessly sync your Outlook account.
So what is my take? We’ll Blackberry’s are great business tools, but their weakness lies with their operating system and usability. They work great and reliably for the core functions (email, contacts, calendar), but are fairly utilitarian, at best, for the overall “feel” of the device. Definitely a step forward, but it will be a while before someone comes out with a iPhone like device that matches all of the good things about the iPhone with the corporate needs of syncing with Exchange (and a keyboard for me).
Once I get my hands on a demo unit, I’ll do an update to see how it really works.
