After dropping details on their first new handsets for 2010, Research In Motion released this video teaser for BlackBerry OS 6, a new version of the software that runs their smartphones due out later this year. As you can see, it's all about touch and without a new phone to showcase those controls on (hopefully it won't simply be a Storm 3) RIM has brought in the Black Eyed Peas to help out with a little Boom Boom Pow. The dancing, swirling, and hip-popping is all designed to help emphasize the sense of flow the new system delivers, to showcase how easy it is to move from one app or screen to the next. Personally, it's like having someone dance in front of your television while you're trying to watch a program. If you're as confused as I was at first, here's some points on what you can expect when it launches later this year. 

- Multi-touch and universal search. Right across the phone's features, you'll be able to swipe, flick, and use both fingers to pinch and zoom. By quickly accessing the virtual keyboard you can find anything with a bit of typing.

- New animations and transitions. With the Bold RIM shows us how slick they can make their icons look, now they've created a world for them that moves and is more immersive.

- The main apps, the ones that come included with your BlackBerry have been overhauled, most noticeably the Media Player which has a whole new look. New to the collection is an app just for RSS and social networking feeds.

- The Home Screen now stretches across multiple home screens. The idea is to use them to organize your apps by type. 

- A whole new web browser. RIM announced this at the beginning of the year, but it's still one of the better upgrades offering speed efficiency, and tabs.

What the video doesn't answer is how the touch controls themselves will work in practice. Both the Storm and Storm 2 featured screens that were a bit sluggish in how fast they responded to touch commands compared to other handsets on the market. It's also worth noting that there are no third-party apps featured or any references to the App World store. Earlier this year at a conference in Barcelona RIM Chief Co-Executive Mike Lazaridis said he viewed apps and games a "distraction" and that it wouldn't be their focus. Today's video seems to continue with this idea, which it too bad as apps are clearly playing a large role in the future of mobility.