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It really was a stellar year for Research In Motion in 2007. We saw the release of the 8800, the 8830, and the Curve, plus the Pearl 8130. We saw the company’s stock go through the roof, and we saw them atop various customer satisfaction surveys. Oh yeah, and then we had all the hoopla pitting the BlackBerry and the iPhone. So what can we expect from RIM in 2008?

1. What is the deal with the 9000?
We started hearing back in November about the impending 9000 series. It started as a rumor of an iPhone-esque touchscreen, though many called shenanigans on that rumor early on. Why, they asked, would RIM abandon the mechanical keyboard that brought them so much fame and fortune in the first place? Well, we saw new leaks showing that the 9000 won’t have a touch screen. In fact, it looks like a logical evolution from the 8800.

Along with it, though, we heard rumors that the 9100 is the rumored touch screen. So what is it, RIM? Are we getting a consumer-based touch screen device and a business-style one with a mechanical keyboard? Or are you leaving the touch screens to the hipsters at Apple? All we know is that we’ve had plenty of friends who won’t change to BlackBerry from their Palm Treo solely because of the touch screen. Implementing it on a new line of BBs would be grand, wouldn’t it?

2. Are we going to see a CDMA Curve?
RIM has been particularly mum on this subject. Guys like me who have CDMA service don’t have access to perhaps the best BlackBerry on the market right now. If they had a CDMA Curve, I’d be all over that. The WiFi alone makes it 100 percent worth it.

The worst part is that I have an upgrade due to me later this month. So unless RIM announces that they’re going to make the CDMA Curve, I’m going to end up settling for the 8830. And then just watch: They’ll announce the CDMA Curve a week after I buy the 8830.

3. What else is up their sleeves?
There were so many device roll-outs in 2007 that it seems tough to top in 2008. But you know how business goes. They have to keep topping the previous year. So how is RIM going to keep up their staggering pace? They released no fewer than four different devices last year, so that has to be the target number, at the very least. The GSM Pearl 8120 will be the first one, set for a February release. But where else are they going to go?

We can assume for the moment that at least one of the 9000 series will be released this year. And we’ve heard rumors, as we said, of a consumer-based phone. The suspense is killing us!

4. Who will be the new big competitors?
We saw a number of devices released in 2007 that are supposed BlackBerry competitors. Foremost is the iPhone, though it’s been pretty established that the two don’t compete in a meaningful way. Then you have devices like the Motorola Q and Samsung Blackjack 2, which are styled in the same way as the BlackBerry.

Actually, maybe the question isn’t how many devices will be competing with the BlackBerry this year. Maybe it’s how many articles will be written about how these devices will take market share from RIM. We seem to find them every day. And yet RIM continues to prosper.

What about you guys? What are your big questions for RIM in 2008?

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