Research in Motion’s plans for the future might include getting rid of that famous keyboard on the BlackBerry… iPhone, watch out, “Thunder” and storm coming your way! Rumors have it that before the end of the year, RIM will introduce a full touchscreen BlackBerry, with only four physical keys, which might divide BlackBerry fans in two, but since the touchscreen is one of the features people are craving for, RIM might actually go for it.

According to Boy Genius Report, the BlackBerry device will be launched in Q3 this year, and will be available exclusively on Verizon and Vodafone carriers. BlackBerry Thunder or BlackBerry 9500 is said to support CDMA EV-DO Rev. C and GSM HSPA, which will make it work pretty much anywhere in the world, and possibly a 4G service, speculated to be the LTE (Long Term Evolution) format.

Following the launch of BlackBerry Bold earlier this week, Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion, explained in an interview with PC Magazine their option to use a physical keyboard instead of a touch screen: “People tell us, don’t futz around with your keyboard. They say, whatever you do, don’t get rid of that keyboard. But I don’t think anyone could accuse us of not reinventing ourselves all the time, and you’re going to see different devices from us.”

Could these “different devices” include a touchscreen rival of the iPhone? Probably. What makes it even more believable is the exclusive deal with Verizon. As the 3G iPhone expected to come out early this summer on AT&T, it’s only natural that Verizon doesn’t want to be left behind, and a deal with RIM could do the trick in terms of sales. Verizon reportedly promised to sell millions of BlackBerry Thunders if they get an exclusive deal.