It’s not out quite yet but there’s some pictures that are! RIM’s been taking on increasingly sharp competition as of late (*cough* iPhone *cough cough*) even in its traditional corporate strongholds. While it’s not as revolutionary (which is what you’d expect someone facing stiff competition to try) as a complete touch screen, it’s a lot more radical than it’s current cousins: the 8300’s, 8700’s, and 8800’s. It’s got a gorgeous shape to it and some really good looking curves. The real improvement, however, is the beautiful user interface, which has been totally revamped from the ground up. The old blocky and cartoony icons are gone and have been replaced with a more modern, warm theme with wireframe icons and some pretty sweet animations. The 9000 also features both WiFi and HSDPA, confirmed by this particular example’s info display. Is it too late? Have they lost too much ground to newer smartphones? Doubtful. Pictures below.

Cool little video showing off the UI: