BlackBerry Prepping New OS and Clamshell Phone?

From PC World: If the latest rumors can be believed, the folks at BlackBerry are close to rolling out an entirely new operating system that will offer some welcome features like full multitouch functionality. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is also reportedly working on a new clamshell device, its second after the Blackberry Pearl Flip , that will be capable of running the new OS, version 6.0.

The Blackberry leaks come courtesy of gadget blog Boy Genius Report , which acquired images of the new phone and screenshots of the purported new operating system from an anonymous source inside AT&T.

At first glance the purported OS 6.0 home screen doesn't look all that different from the OS 5.0 interface. The new home screen features a customizable wallpaper, and transparent icons for basic functions like SMS, Mail, Web browser, calendar, and so on. However, BGR says the new home screen will be fully customizable, and the organizational structure sounds like a mix between iPhone and Android devices. Just like the iPhone, you will organize your apps onto separate pages, and then flick or navigate to the next page. This makes it possible to have numerous apps on your device, without the hassle of crowding them all onto one page. But similar to Android, Blackberry OS 6.0 will use a 'drawer' where some applications on the home screen are hidden from view. To access the apps, you slide up the apps section from the bottom of the page.

Blackberry is reportedly getting a new Webkit-based browser that includes tabs similar to the recently released Opera Mini for iPhone . There is also a new Media player that has am iPod Touch-like look to it with Cover Flow-style navigation, and a transparent overlay for touch-based playback controls.

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