First Glimpse of a Clamshell BlackBerry

Although RIM has updated the look of its BlackBerry smartphones over the years, all of them have been tablets. Now there's strong evidence that this company is going to break out of this mold and release a clamshell.

Details on this model are extremely sketchy, just a series of pictures that have been leaked to Boy Genius Report.

These show a clamshell smartphone with a SureType keyboard (in place of a standard numberpad) on one side and a main screen on the other. Above the keyboard is the trackball that has become standard on BlackBerries.

As with most clamshells, on the front of this device is a small external display and a camera.

According to the BGR source, this model is code-named Kickstart, and will be released later this year.

There is no word on any other details, including the price or which wireless carrier(s) will offer it.

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