There is a storm coming. BlackBerry is rumored to release their first ever all touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder smartphone. The BlackBerry thunder may be branded under the model number 9500 with Verizon holding exclusivity. The all touchscreen Thunder LACKS a physical keyboard and will only have four keys: SEND, END, MENU and BACK.
It is still unclear if the touchscreen on the BlackBerry Thunder is a capacitive or a resistive technology. According to the rumor reported by BG, the device will be a life long exclusive for Verizon Wireless and Vodafone. What’s more, the two networks will have the exact same model. Meaning this things has EV-DO, HSPA, GSM, CDMA, and according to the rumor, UMB. I am interested in seeing how this plays out with Verizon finally getting an exclusive smartphone. It seems there might be a clause where Verizon will have a sales quota for the BlackBerry Thunder, and if they don’t meet those numbers, then the exclusivity ends.
What does this mean for non-Verizon customers?
The device will likely be tri OR dual-band GSM to keep it exclusive, which will render the device useless on GSM networks here in the U.S. Well tri band T-Mobile could use it, but to keep it exclusive, it could very well be dual band GSM, dual band CDMA. As crazy as it sounds, to get in on the action here, you might just have to switch to Verizon.
As for the BG’s news on the BlackBerry Thunder, here’s the scoop:
The BlackBerry Thunder, as it is codenamed now, (all you “reporting” on it as the Storm are incorrect) will launch in Q3 of this year. It is a full touchscreen BlackBerry - no slide out keyboard - with only 4 physical keys. Those are the send / end phone keys, the BlackBerry menu key, and the back key. Here is the most interesting part, though: it will launch as a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone! We’ve heard the unit will be a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE), and GSM HSPA for traveling internationally. Verizon and Vodafone will have the same unit. Currently, the model number is the BlackBerry 9500, though it’s very early and that’s likely to change. This is HUGE for the Verizon lovers. For once they’ll get an exclusive device, but Verizon will have a sales quota for the device and if they don’t meet those numbers, we’ve heard the exclusivity will then dissolve and it’s over.
Keep up with the BlackBerry Thunder buzz on Phone Magazine.