BlackBerry OS 6 is looking really slick, but where’s the keyboard?

I mentioned my old BlackBerry obsession in the last TNW Podcast, and spoke at length about the platform with our Mobile Editor, @m4tt.

At the time, as we discussed what it would take to build the perfect mobile OS, a lot of features that we talked about are suddenly appearing in the newest version of BlackBerry OS, slated for release later this year.

Take a look:

The first question that comes to my mind is the social networking aspect. I wonder if it’s application layer based, or if there truly is integrated Twitter functionality to the OS itself.

It’s worthy to note that all of the interaction with the OS in the video is done via touchscreen. Does this mean the end of the BlackBerry track devices and physical keyboard? While some would welcome it, there are many (myself included) who still sing the praises to BlackBerry for having the best physical keyboard in the market. It would almost be a shame to see it go.

Beyond that, however, the new BlackBerry OS is looking really sexy. For a phone that owns a vast majority of the business market, but is coming under heavy fire for being antiquated, it certainly appears to be a step in the right direction.