Touchscreen BlackBerry 'Thunder' to storm to market in Q3?

Stormclouds could be forming over Research in Motion's headquarters - and for once we're not referring to the 3G iPhone. It has been claimed that the company will unveil a touchscreen BlackBerry in Q3.

Although website BGR hasn’t shared the source of this information, the website claims the device is codenamed 'Thunder' and is likely to be sold as the BlackBerry 9500.

Thunder, of which only Photoshop mock-ups are currently available, looks rather similar to the iPhone. But the RIM phone has four physical buttons just below the touchscreen: call make and break keys, another for jumping into the phone’s main menu, and a step-back button.

The touchscreen looks about the same size as the iPhone’s display – around 3.5in – but RIM’s device also has more prominent curves around the sides, top and bottom.

Few tech specs about the rumoured handset are available yet, but Thunder will almost certainly support high-speed Internet connections and be sold with regional connection capabilities, such as HSDPA in the UK. However, it has also been alleged the BlackBerry will support 4G connectivity too.

Nothing official has been released about Thunder yet, but it's rumoured the handset will be introduced on Vodafone and Verizon.