Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder Coming to Verizon Wireless?

The Wall Street Journal this morning reported that Verizon Wireless and Vodafone could be the sole proprietors of a new BlackBerry Thunder touchscreen device from RIM.

The Boy Genius Report, which the WSJ authors cite, has been reporting speculations on a touchscreen device from RIM since October 2007 and announced the news on May 13th. Since then, BGR learned that the device will have a full touchscreen display on the front with only 4 physical keys including the long-lived Berry Button, Back button, and Send/End buttons.

It’s hard to imagine what a BlackBerry without a keypad would be like, especially considering that most people turn to RIM for their near-perfect full QWERTY keyboards. If RIM managed to get its hands on a touchscreen version of the crystal-clear display found on the BlackBerry Bold, then color me interested. I’m just hoping RIM doesn’t take the same plastic touchscreen haptic feedback approach that LG and Samsung have chosen for their touch devices.

Will the Thunder compare to the iPhone? That question boils down to whether or not the RIM supporters even care. If it has a display that performs just as well, it could be the first device that gives the iPhone a run for its money. RIM provides decent software for multimedia and thousands of apps are already available, but it’s going to have to step up to offer a similar browsing experience.

The Wall Street Journal left out some other intriguing speculations that The Boy Genius Report recently published. For one, the phone may support a version of an upcoming 4G network, and while it speculates UMB based on reports that the phone has a chip with EV-DO Rev. C support, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have both already announced each will be offering an LTE solution; judging by the Thunder’s 2008 projected timeframe, however, that may not be the case. Verizon Wireless has stated that its long-term evolution (LTE) 4G solution may not be ready until 2009 at the earliest. The results of currently ongoing tests have not yet been released.

So what’s it going to be? Would you give up your BlackBerry’s full QWERTY keyboard for a touchscreen BlackBerry? I’m sure I’d love the interface and large display, but I don’t think I ever want to give up a keyboard as perfect as the Curve’s.