Rumorville: Touchscreen BlackBerry coming this fall?

The bloggers who brought us early word of the now-unveiled BlackBerry Bold and the still-in-the-shadows Kickstart flip phone have a new rumor for us to ponder: a full-on touchscreen BlackBerry, code-named "Thunder." The Boy Genius Report has an impressive track record when it comes to BlackBerry rumors—for example, the site accurately predicted the HSDPA, half-VGA screen-packing Bold, which was announced only Monday. So when the BGR gang says it has the scoop on a touchscreen BlackBerry, it's worth listening.

Anyway, the rumored Thunder may, according to Boy Genius Report, arrive this fall, with dual-mode CDMA/GSM capabilities (good for world travelers), 3G data support (at a minimum), and just four keys: Send, End, Back, and the BlackBerry key.

The BGR editors also report that the Thunder (or whatever RIM ultimately decides to name it) could be a Verizon Wireless exclusive here in the U.S., and a Vodafone exclusive in Europe.

This isn't the first time touchscreen BlackBerry rumors have surfaced—whispers have been circulating since last fall, at least—but these are among the most specific details we've heard so far.

A touchscreen version of the BlackBerry makes a lot of sense strategically for RIM, but I can see plenty of practical hurdles—especially when it comes to navigating the arcane BlackBerry OS, a bare-bones thicket of contextual menus that depends on either the side clickwheel or (in the case of the Pearl, the Curve, and the upcoming Bold) the new clickable trackball. Would you, say, tap and hold the touchscreen to access the BlackBerry submenus? Or will RIM have something new in store?

And then there's the keypad—or in this case, the virtual QWERTY keypad, which would be a huge change for long-time BlackBerry users. While gadget hounds like me get a kick out of anything touchscreen, I can imagine plenty of execs who'd rather stick with a tried-and-true physical keypad.

Of course, RIM itself hasn't said anything official about the rumors—and indeed, I don't even have any spy shots to show you (BGR has a mockup on its site, but that's about it). But given the steady hum of the grapevine, I'd be surprised if we didn't see a touchscreen BlackBerry before the year is out.

So, your thoughts: Would you go for a touchscreen BlackBerry? Or should RIM think twice before fixing what ain't broke?