For months now there have been rumors floating around about RIM releasing a touchscreen, front-facing QWERTY phone combination. The video from thecellularguru.com has silenced all doubt that it is in the works and that RIM has been working on a device in this form.  The device in the video was referenced to as the Magnum, which was the original codename for the device. I may be wrong, but I believe they have since moved on from the Magnum and have another touchscreen device under the codename Dakota. I’ve been following the rumors about this device and the combination phone since they started and there really hasn’t been a whole lot of word on it.

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From what I can tell with the prototype in the video, RIM has got a lot of work to do before we will see the device on the market. Since RIM has supposedly been working on the Magnum for some time now, it makes sense that the prototype is made after the original Bold 9000 design. What really baffles me about the whole issue is that they would implement SurePress into a combination device. Rather than the phone being simply touchscreen, they have implemented SurePress on a full QWERTY phone. This is a feature I thought that RIM would have left exclusive to the Storm series. With the Storm and Storm2 being all touchscreen, it makes sense for them to implement a technology that separates their touchscreen devices from the others. When it comes down to a combination phone, I don’t see how SurePress can benefit anyone. There are a lot of people that have never liked the idea of having a screen that clicks, and there are some that absolutely love the idea. I am one of the ones that love the idea of SurePress and the mentality behind it, but I see no need for it on a full QWERTY device.

I imagined that they would have left a second source of navigation input on the device. While touchscreens are very nice and seemingly easy to navigate with, having a trackpad or trackball along with a touchscreen could definitely be useful. Some people may not see the need for a second form navigation and I understand that it isn’t completely necessary, but it would be nice to have.

I believe it is a good design and that if a touchscreen /QWERTY combination phone comes from RIM, it should stay in the 9000’s form, or at least around the same size. Jumping from a 9000 to a 9700, a lot of landscape is lost. The smaller the screen with a touchscreen phone, the less desirable it is. Many people, including myself, love the form factor of the Bold 9000, and would love to see another device of that size.

After seeing that prototype, I am not impressed. If a perfect phone for me were to come from RIM, I would want it to have a basic, capacitive touchscreen, a trackpad, and I would want to see it at the 9000’s size with the newer bezel. It would probably end up looking like a FrankenBerry though. I believe everyone wants to see what RIM can do with this.

Sound off your thoughts in the comments!