So if rumors are to be believed, the Blackberry 9000 won’t be an “iPhone killer” after all because it won’t have a touchscreen.

Am I disappointed? Heck, no!

Sure, pinching my way around the web and being able to go to sites on a mobile device that I can’t now looks attractive. If I wanted an iPhone, I would buy an iPhone. I’m relieved that RIM might actually be keeping their eye on the ball and they may not be caving to some real or imagined pressure to make their devices more fruity.

Eventually, I’m sure I’ll own an iPhone. It’s in my nature. I know that. It took me until the 5th generation to own an iPod, but I got there.

My next mobile device may very well be another Blackberry, touchscreen and wifi or not. Why?

• Even with the slightly cramped keys of the BB 8800, typing on it is very easy. I don’t have to think about it. I know the prediction on the iPhone is supposed to be great, but I’m typing medical terms and proper names way too often to rely on a built-in dictionary to correct my typing misfires.
• The backlight automatically adjusts to where it needs to be for maximum visibility, indoors or out.
• The browser is fast. On a tiny screen, I don’t care that I don’t get all the images and layouts. I just want the data, and the Blackberry browser delivers what I want. Quickly. EDGE on a Blackberry is simply not the liability it is on an iPhone. That said, I won’t complain if the next Blackberry has 3G. Not sure I’d pay more for it, though.
• IMAP email just works. No hit & miss…unless it’s a system-wide outage, which doesn’t happen that often. No mysterious connection errors. It just works. Read an email on the Blackberry and it’s marked read in Mail.app on my desktop. Read/file an email in Mail.app and it’s no longer marked as unread on the Blackberry.
• Phone sound quality is excellent. As long as I have 3-4 bars, the phone sounds as good on both ends as if I was using a landline.
• Voice dialing through a Bluetooth headset. It works very well, without having to record prompts for each contact.
• Google Calendar Sync. As far as I know, the iPhone only syncs calendar data with iCal. ‘Nuff said.
• Fantastic battery life. I get about 1.5-2 days between charges on average use. The standard mini USB port means rejuicing is easy whether I’m by an outlet, my computer or in my car. Oh, and if this battery starts dying on me, I can just pop it out and replace it.
• Visual voicemail. You read that right. I just call it by its name: GrandCentral. AT&T goofed and disabled my voicemail. Took me weeks to notice. Most folks who call my cell now do it through my GrandCentral number. I only wish there was a way of directing my AT&T voicemail to the one GrandCentral inbox.
• True GPS that just works. Saved my you-know-what more times than I could count. Big blue circles showing the 10 block radius you might be at is nice. Little blue dot that shows you exactly where you are is even better.

Every complaint I have is entirely about AT&T (fewest dropped calls and more bars in more places, my eye!), not about the Blackberry itself. Hmmm….Maybe I have more in common with iPhone owners than I thought?