Boy Genius Report gets exclusive pictures and information. Verizon Exclusive due in Q3 of this year The BlackBerry Thunder, as it is codenamed now, (all you "reporting" on it as the Storm are incorrect) will launch in Q3 of this year. It is a full touchscreen BlackBerry - no slide out keyboard - with only 4 physical keys. Those are the send / end phone keys, the BlackBerry menu key, and the back key. Here is the most interesting part, though: it will launch as a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone! We've heard the unit will be a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE), and GSM HSPA for traveling internationally.

Verizon and Vodafone will have the same unit. Currently, the model number is the BlackBerry 9500, though it's very early and that?s likely to change. This is HUGE for the Verizon lovers. For once they?ll get an exclusive device, but Verizon will have a sales quota for the device and if they don?t meet those numbers, we?ve heard the exclusivity will then dissolve and it?s over. This will be extremely interesting to see play out.