According to the Boy Genius website, such a model is on the cards. The site even published an alleged picture of the device, although it didn’t say if this was Photoshopped concept art or a genuine snap.

The website also gave details of the supposed specifications.

"It most certainly will have a 3G radio and we’re not talking about the European bands," Boy Genius said.

"Second, this isn’t your momma’s 3G, this is going to be HSDPA."

The device will also allegedly boast a 600MHz processor and a Backup/Restore function to automatically copy your files to a memory card.

As for the release date? Well that’s more speculation. Boy Genius guesses “we won’t see it this year. Most likely early '08".

So what did BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) have to say about all this?

"The official line from BlackBerry is that 'RIM does not comment on rumour or speculation'," a spokeswoman said, spoiling all our fun. 

BlackBerry 9000 with touchscreen (c) Boy Genius