Touchscreen BlackBerry takes shape in the form of Thunder

Storm clouds are brewing

We've been hearing rumours of a touchscreen BlackBerry for a while now, and according to boygeniusreport.com, this here Photoshop mock-up, is how it might look:

Though the image itself isn't real, reports suggest that the touchscreen handset, model number 9500, will be called the BlackBerry Thunder when it reaches retail in Q3.

It'll be the first ever BlackBerry device to feature a touchscreen, and reports claim it'll feature only four physical keys - it'll be an on-screen QWERTY here, folks. Though Thunder plans to rain on Apple's iPhone parade, it seems to be following in Apple's footsteps a little too closely. Rumours suggest that the handset will be forever exclusive to Verizon in the US, and Vodafone elsewhere. This, then, could be the beginning of BlackBerry jail-breaking.

It's all just speculation right now, but there's ever-growing anticipation among the BlackBerry faithful. With Thunder, and the mighty-impressive Bold, looking set to land this year, my next handset could be one of the two.