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Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry handhelds are hot sellers in the world of business. In the consumer market, sleeker smartphones, such as palmOne's Treo 600 and Danger's hiptop grab all the headlines.

That may change with RIM's new BlackBerry 7100t, a consumer orientated smartphone that nixes BlackBerry's signature keyboard and boxy design for something decidedly sleeker. As with other BlackBerries, the 7100t delivers e-mail, instant messaging, HTML Web browsing and organizer capabilities. It does this, however, in form factor that is more like a traditional mobile handset.

To slim the 7100t down to 4.7 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches and 4.2 ounces, RIM replaced the BlackBerry thumb-keyboard with one that uniquely merges a keypad and a keyboard. For text entry, each key supports two letters, while predictive text software called SureType helps you accuartely input text—so when you press a key the 7100t knows which of the two supported letters you mean to use.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis enthused "The BlackBerry 7100t with SureType is the outcome of many years of research and innovation. We've learned a lot about mobile user needs over the years and took great care in designing a product that can satisfy people who want the look and feel of a traditional mobile phone together with advanced email, messaging and browsing capabilities."

Since the 7100t is a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS mobile handset, you can use the smartphone when traveling anywhere in the United States, Europe and Asia, as well as many other parts of the world.

Other features include Bluetooth for use with wireless headsets and other peripherals, a bright color screen, and 32MB of RAM with no way to add more memory because the 7100t does not integrate a memory card slot like most other smartphones. Of course, the 7100t can connect to RIM's renowned enterprise software, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, for access to corporate e-mail and data.

The 7100t should be available from T-Mobile in October for about $200 after mail in rebates. That's a more consumer-friendly price than other higher powered smartphones, such as the Treo 600 and Nokia's 6620, which often go for over $400. T-Mobile plans to offer bundled (voice and data) rate plans starting at $60.