There have been rumours been floating about the internet about a soon to be released device in the Blackberry line of mobile phones... and according to those rumours, it will be a full-on, full-touchscreen Blackberry phone, combining the sheer power of that line with the sleek looks of, dare I say it, the iPhone. It's not unreasonable to say, that the new Blackberry Thunder is the phone that Apple should be most scared of!



Blackberry - from business to pleasure

The name 'Blackberry' has only really come to the fore in the world of mobile phones in the last few years, brought about by something weird happening. To those who can remember the original Blackberry mobile phones, think back to what they were like. Blocky devices with QWERTY keyboards, not particularly brilliant menus and screens, but fabulous for email. It's just that they weren't particularly good for anything other than emails. But the fact was, they didn't need to be, because for their target market (people who had to have emails on the move, or, to put it another way, business people), there was absolutely no device that could do what the Blackberry could do. It made it big in the business market in a massive way, evolving into the premier (and for ages, the only) email phone in that arena.

It was about that time that something unprecedented occurred. Blackberry mobile phones became cool. It ceased to be just a business device, and it started to be bought by the general public, by groovy people out in the real world. There are probably a good few factors why that happened, but there are two factors, that to my mind had the most noticeable effect. With the first one, I just need to use one word: Pearl. The Blackberry Pearl range of mobile phones has taken what were boring email devices and made them into truly desirable, high-spec smartphones. They look beautiful, they're packed with features, and, perhaps crucially, they come in a range of colours, including BRIGHT pink. And why's that matter?

That would be because of the OTHER reason why Blackberry mobile phones have become the amazing consumer devices they have. And it's a TV show, Sex And The City, the show where they ALL had Blackberrys. You could almost hear the cogs turning inside people's heads; if it's cool enough for Carrie, then it's cool enough for me, ooh, look, I can get it in hot pink, as well, that's PRETTY...

A Sound Of Thunder - the Blackberry goes all touchscreen-y

So, what does the future have in store for the Blackberry? Well, on current evidence, their big push into the consumer world has only just started!

There are a couple of mobile phones due in the near future, that will further bang home the idea of being ace devices for normal people, not just business people. On display first is the Blackberry Bold 9000, which seems to be a new evolution of the 8xxx Curve range of devices, only with a MUCH sleeker body, a whole new interface, and with the cool factor turned up to 11. But, as nice as it is, it's not the BIG one. That honour lies with the upcoming Blackberry Thunder, a full touchscreen phone built around the patented Blackberry awesomeness, but clearly aimed at one target. There can be no doubt; with that massive touchscreen, and these fruitily-named becoming the ultimate in cool devices, it's out to take on and beat the iPhone. Based on what I've seen and heard up to now about the Thunder... this is the one Apple are going to have beat!