BlackBerry Storm 3 Not Dead After All? Three Models Tipped; PlayBook 2 In 2H 2011?

Talk of the BlackBerry Storm 3's cancellation may have been premature, according to analysts Jefferies & Co., who blame multiple SKUs of the third-generation touchscreen smartphone for the confusion.  They claim RIM was working on three BlackBerry Storm 3 devices, a haptic touch model that has indeed been cancelled, a non-haptic version "with similar thickness, more memory, and [BlackBerry 6]" which is still on course for a release by the end of November, and then a Storm 3 with a "new iPhone-like form factor, but slimmer," that could run QNX.

QNX is the same OS as is set to run on the RIM PlayBook tablet.  Jefferies & Co. suggest the iPhone-like Storm 3 will drop sometime in the first half of 2011, while they also tip a second-gen PlayBook 2 – with two screen sizes and in 3G and 4G forms – due for release in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the analysts also believe that RIM intend to bolster the BlackBerry App World with QNX titles, with the plan "to port a large portion of the Android App Market onto QNX or to virtualize it."  A RIM spokesperson declined to comment.

[via IntoMobile]