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All due respect to RIM for coming up with a sleek and full-featured smartphone such as the BlackBerry Bold, but we couldn’t help feel shortchanged just a little as it doesn’t match up with the iPhone’s look and feel. So, it is but only natural to get excited over the latest rumor circulating around the BlackBerry name, the Thunder.

Yes dear readers, the group over at BGR are claiming that the latest smartphone from RIM has been codenamed the BlackBerry Thunder. And yes, this time, we just might be staring at the real iPhone killer. With its full touchscreen display and only four keys visible upfront - send/end keys, the BlackBerry menu key and the back key, the Thunder may well the next generation of what we can expect from RIM. Rumor has it that the BlackBerry Thunder will also be a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone, so current AT&T subscribers still have plenty of time to think about shifting carriers before the Thunder arrives.

Other juicy details of the BlackBerry Thunder are that it is expected to feature hybrid network capabilities with support for CDMA EV-DO Rev. C and GSM HSPA. The Thunder tentatively carries the model number 9500 which might still change as the official launch approaches. And when will the BlackBerry Thunder come out? Rumor has it during Q3 of 2008. Like we said this is still on the rumor stage, so there’s not too much information available yet, however the touchscreen feature and dual network capability are enough to make us yearn for more information. Sadly the image shown is just a mock-up, but if the final release looks even half-as nice this should be a hot seller.

Via [Boy Genius Report]