RIM, the Canadian technology firm behind the BlackBerry, will today unveil its latest attempt to get the mobile email device much-loved by corporate executives into the hands of the average punter with a new mass-market version of the phone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 – previously codenamed Gemini – is expected to hit the UK next month with Vodafone understood to have signed up as one of the first networks to offer the handset.

While it lacks 3G mobile broadband coverage the new phone is more rugged than previous BlackBerry devices as it has rubber edges, and anyone wanting fast connectivity can use the phone's Wi-Fi mobile broadband capability.

The biggest change compared with previous BlackBerry devices, however, is the phone's touch-sensitive trackpad, which replaces RIM's traditional trackball, so that users can navigate the phone's on-screen menus.