Research in Motion's iPhone killer, the Blackberry 9000, has finally been spotted in the wild. (AAPL) (RIMM) Engadget has pics, one of which is on right (9000 on right, Blackberry Brick on left). Some observations:

RIM ripped off the iPhone! Look at those picks and tell us RIM CEO Jim Balsillie didn't slap an iPhone down in front of his designers and say "Give me something exactly like this."

RIM is betting that corporate users will trade an inferior Internet browsing experience for a superior typing experience (keys vs. screen tap). They are probably right, at least for a while. We do love that keyboard.

Fortune says that RIM won't be using that sexy multi-touch screen, so even with more screen real-estate, the RIM browsing experience would be weak relative to the iPhone's. The more corporate apps move to the web, the more critical the browsing experience will become, so we suspect the iPhone's multi-touch advantage will grow over time.

We're glad to see RIM respond to the iPhone, even if it means we may actually have a choice to make when we finally trade in our battered Curve. (Until we saw the 9000 pics, we were just nursing the Curve along until the 3G iPhone came out. Now, we'll at least take the 9000 for a test-drive. Who knows--we may even stick with the keyboard.) Given the rate at which business folks are setting aside keyboard concerns and snapping up iPhones, however, the days in which RIM had the corporate market to itself are gone.

See Also:

RIM Guidance Mystery: Raises Unit Forecast, But Not Revenue Forecast--What Gives?

Research in Motion Quarter Preview: Huge Stock Upside