Analyst Confirms the Touchscreen/QWERTY Keyboard BlackBerry

Back in September we heard a rumor that RIM was working on their first ever touchscreen/QWERTY keyboard hybrid which was codenamed “Mr. T”.   We knew the source was a good one so we were already getting excited about this new BlackBerry.  Yesterday it was revealed that analysts from Kaufman Bros. had some inside info which confirmed that RIM was indeed working on this new model.  The BlackBerry 9900, which some speculate will be the device number, will have a screen like the BlackBerry Storm 2 along with a classic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard.

From the article in Street Insider:

“from our understanding, this new BlackBerry would have a full touchscreen plus a pull-out physical keyboard. It would be similar to others from HTC, Palm, Motorola and others but of course sport a distinctive signature BlackBerry industrial design.”

The analysts also reported that RIM has more in store for its BlackBerry browser than just Adobe Flash support.  We don’t know for sure yet but they indicate that the new browser will allow BlackBerry users to install Google Chrome or even Internet Explorer.  It would be a huge step up from the current browser and might push it ahead of all the others.  It is nice to see RIM address some of its weaknesses and this should make for an interesting 2010.