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Word leaked in March about Research In Motion's (RIM) first BlackBerry with 3G and a QWERTY thumb-keyboard. The BlackBerry 8707v would also be the first RIM handheld to sport the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) flavor of the broadband technology used by GSM operators worldwide. Expected from carrier-giant Vodafone, all that wasn't known about the 8707 was which market it would ship in first. We now have the answer: Germany.

Due shortly, the new Blackberry will soon have Vodafone customers in Deutschland thumb-typing, receiving e-mail, browsing the Web and accessing other data services at transfer speeds of 300 to 400 kbps, with bursts as high as 2 Mbps.

Previous versions of the BlackBerry 8700 series, such as the 8700g - offered by T-Mobile Germany and more recently by T-Mobile in the U.S. - top out at EDGE's (a 2.5G technology) 70 to 135 kbps.

The 8707v isn't RIM's first 3G BlackBerry. The only other model, however, 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. Sprint just launched the 7130e this week, and it is also supported by Verizon Wireless, TELUS Wireless, and Alltel's in North America.

Other than the addition of UTMS 3G and some different coloring, the 8707v is quite similar to the earlier 8700 models.

"The BlackBerry 8707v elegantly integrates advanced hardware and software technologies in a stylish and lightweight handset that supports UMTS networks and Vodafone Germany already offers UMTS support in 1800 German cities," said Hartmut Kremling, CTO of Vodafone Germany. "The BlackBerry 8707v is the perfect choice for business professionals looking for uncompromised e-mail, browsing and voice performance in an all-in-one device. With the ability to use the handset as a modem for laptops, the BlackBerry 8707v also offers users another great way to stay connected."

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 (140 grams). 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.

The BlackBerry 8707v will likely quickly find its way to other markets through Vodafone. Cingular appears to be the likeliest candidate for a variation on this smartphone in the U.S. for its fledgling HSDPA network: Cingular skipped UMTS and went right to an advanced version of the 3G cellular technology, which promises even faster performance eventually. It is backwards compatible to UMTS, as no HSDPA phones have been made available for it yet.