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The long wait appears to be finally almost over for Research In Motion's (RIM) first BlackBerry with 3G and a QWERTY thumb-keyboard. Word has leaked about the BlackBerry 8707v, a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ) version of the BlackBerry 8700 series for Vodafone in the U.K.

UMTS is a cellular-broadband technology for GSM networks. It achieves average data transfer speeds of 300 to 400 kbps. Previous versions of the BlackBerry 8700 topped out at EDGE's 70 to 135 kbps.

The only other 3G BlackBerry is the more phone than PDA-like BlackBerry 7130e, which uses a hybrid keypad/keyboard with predictive text technology instead of a traditional QWERTY thumb-keyboard. It is available on EV-DO broadband/CDMA networks like those of Verizon Wireless, TELUS Wireless, and - announced just yesterday - Alltel's in North America.

Other than the addition of 3G, the BlackBerry 8707v, which will no doubt quickly find its way to other markets after it officially ships in the U.K, appears almost exactly the same - at least internally - as the BlackBerry 8700.

The handheld measures 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches (110 x 69.5 x 19.5 millimeters) and weighs 4.9 ounces. It runs on a 64 MB of flash memory, 16 MB of RAM and a 312 MHz XScale processor.

Additional hardware includes RIM's signature 35-key QWERTY thumb-keyboard, of course, plus a QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution display that supports over 65,000 colors. The BlackBerry 8700 series incorporates intelligent light sensing technology that automatically adjusts both the LCD and keyboard lighting to provide an optimized view in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.

Call management features for the quad-band GSM/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) series include "send," "end" and "mute" keys plus a speakerphone, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding. There's Bluetooth, for connecting to wireless headsets and using the BlackBerry as a wireless modem for laptops, as well as MiniUSB.

We'll report more information on the BlackBerry 8707v as it becomes available. RIM and Vodafone have not officially announced the wireless handheld yet.