RIM

Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry Tour – a powerful new 3G BlackBerry smartphone for CDMA customers in North America. The new BlackBerry Tour smartphone offers state-of-the-art communications and multimedia capabilities with outstanding mobile performance and consummate styling. It is a feature-packed and highly refined world phone that keeps you connected and lets you tour the world in style.

"BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio,” said Mike Lazaridis,

Expansys, a UK based Internet retailer of smartphones and handheld devices has put RIM's Blackberry 8220 flip phone up on its site for pre-order before RIM has even announced the phone. Apparently it is just a Blackberry with a clamshell design.

The 8220 features both an internal and external display. The external is 160 x 128 pixels and allows you to quickly preview messages while the internal is 2.6" 240 x 320 pixels. It features a Sure Type keyboard like the Pearl. It has a 2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, 5x digital zoom and an LED flash,

The Wall Street Journal has confirmed rumors that Research in Motion (RIM) will be launching a new Blackberry that will directly compete with Apple's new 3G iPhone that will debut next month. Dubbed the Blackberry "Thunder", RIM's new phone will be sold exclusively by Verizon Wireless and UK mobile giant Vodafone.

A mock up of what the Thunder might look like:

Few details about the Thunder have been verified. The model number is currently BlackBerry 9500, though that will probably change. It will have a full touch screen like the iPhone and only four actual buttons - send, end, Blackberry menu, and go back. The Thunder will be a 3G phone, able to access