I've only recently been introduced and settling into the Blackberry way of things (had my 8700g for about 3 months now at least and loving it so far!) and yes this does seem like a departure or evolution even for RIM...

I'm going to reserve my judgement on this until i see a UK release (regardless on what network, so i can have a play about with it in store) so for now, looks alright, sounds alright but then again as with any phone it's all down to the software and how it can execute its full potential and functionality...