According to an article posted over at TheStreet.com, RIM is set to release two rumored BlackBerry devices this Spring. The two devices are the touchscreen/QWERTY combination Magnum/Dakota and the Pearl/Striker/Stratus 9100.

RIM has been fairly criticized for losing a step or two in the mobile phone race as touchscreen models from Apple(AAPL Quote) and Google(GOOG Quote) snapped up the design lead and ran off with the smartphone crowd.

But recent rumors suggest that two new BlackBerries are on the way this spring, and one of the phones may feature a long-awaited, touch-enabled Web-friendly operating system.

Apparently, RIM staffers are very pleased with the new operating system, says one analyst who was privy to a description of the new user interface and RIM’s reaction.

The Street doesn’t mention that the “web-friendly” device will have a WebKit browser (although it’s mentioned separately later in the article), but it’s safe to assume that this is the case since the current BlackBerry browser isn’t all that web friendly.

One thing I don’t agree with here is that Apple and Google “ran off with the smartphone crowd”. I think BlackBerry smartphones have a very strong and loyal following that hasn’t really faltered. If I’m wrong I’m sure RIM has a few tricks up their sleeves to get them back to the top and stay there .

Check out the Magnum Archives or the 9100 Archives for more about these devices.

via TheStreet.com