Have a look at that picture. That, folks, is the BlackBerry Colt.

Now, we know what you're thinking: it looks a lot like any other BlackBerry, notably the new Bold 9900. But it's actually very different, for one cricial reason: the software.

You see, the software in BlackBerry devices sold nowadays is an evolved version of the software that's powered BlackBerries since day one. That's from pre-iPhone, pre-Android origins, and it shows: even the new version, BlackBerry OS 7, is a bit clunky and its touch support is limited.

But the Colt is set to run QNX, the brand-new operating system which debuted on the Playbook tablet earlier this year. QNX is generally considered to be faster, touch-y-er, and more powerful than BlackBerry OS, and much is riding on the transition of BlackBerry phones to QNX to ensure the future of BlackBerry as a strong player in the smartphone market.

It's a shame, then, that the Colt looks set to be a bit underwhelming. It's expected to pack just a single-core processor, at a time when dual-core is becoming standard on high-end phones, and like the Playbook, it might not work properly with BlackBerry's email services, rendering it pretty bloody pointless.

Hopefully the specs that are being reported are just an internal model for testing, and the Colt will have better specs when it makes its debut (probably with a different name) in early 2012.