Well, this is a nice surprise. Seems the folks over at TechnoBuffalo have gotten their hands on a prerelease, prototype BlackBerry Curve 9300 and have given it a little bit of a run through for us all to enjoy. Yes, it may be not that exciting of a device for some out there but for others, this may be just what they have been waiting for. The interesting thing here is that it is currently T-Mobile branded and when things are branded that typically means they are close to production. Hit the jump, check out the video and feel free to comment.

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* Update: 12 Hours later... I did up a BlackBerry Slider Rumors Roundup and Update post. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT! *

* Update 2 - For those in the comments and voting on the poll who are not fans of this vertical slider design concept, according to the emails we're receiving it's sounding more and more like the hardware in the photos is actually pretty final form and this is what RIM's first BlackBerry Slider will look like. *

* Update - Rejigged the title on this post and clarified the text below a bit (writing in too much of a rush first time around). I don't think it's a scrapped design - there is most-definitely going to be a vertical slider and this could be it.. just making the point this also could be an earlier revision of the hardware so don't judge it as a final product just yet since RIM hasn't announced anything on this yet. These pictures are a bit butch but the BlackBerry Slider should be quite sexy when it comes time for you to actually hold one in your hands :)  *

Let the fun and games begin. BBleaks have posted what appears to be the first real photos of a BlackBerry Smartphone with a vertical slider form factor similar to the Palm Pre. And it sounds like more photos and maybe a video of the device in action are on the way, so we know this isn't a photoshop.

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We've previously seen the pics of the BlackBerry "Magnum" prototype. But, just in case anyone out there needed more proof the device was at one point or another, on the BlackBerry roadmap Cellguru has done up a quick walkthrough video for everyone. Since there is no OS or anything loaded it's more of a hands on look at what could have been for the "Magnum" but RIM has since moved on. Rather interesting to see the SurePress implementation here. Sound off in the comments.

* Update from Kevin: This is DEFINITELY one of the older pre-dakota prototypes (ie. magnum). Don't expect to be buying this exact device anytime soon (errr.. never). But something nicer and updated is in the works! *

We've been hearing the codename "Dakota" for a while now. The Bold 9000 sized, 3G, Touchscreen device with a full QWERTY keyboard that is also rumored to be using a "Liquid Lens" designed for high quality images. And now the above pic appears on Twitter followed by a second, clearer shot. showing off it's trackball / trackpad-less form factor.

Is it a Dakota? Or is it more likely that this is a Magnum prototype? Or some other prototype that got left in the trash can? Magnum was the predecessor to the Dakota, whose design was scrapped and then transitioned into Dakota. No OS details were mentioned from @cellguru, so it remains unknown if there is even an OS loaded onto it, which makes it a little difficult to say with 100% certainty what device it actually is. We were under the impression that Magnum didn't have a trackpad while Dakota did, plus the actual look and styling of this device seems a tad bit older than that of the latest generation of BlackBerry Smartphones. If it is Magnum, then hopefully we'll see some Dakota soon and that'll clarify the situation. That's all we have for now. Feel free to speculate in the comments. Hopefully some more details will turn up soon. In the meantime, what do you all think of the concept? Liking the notion of a BlackBerry that's half touchscreen, half physical keyboard?