BlackBerry users will be pleased to hear that the next version of the mobile OS is nearing completion. Mobile leaks blog Boy Genius Report has managed to get a hold of the new version, with screenshots and the full details of exactly what's changing.

There's a whole stack of UI upgrades - kinetic scrolling, where the page keeps going under its own momentum if you scroll it fast, is present throughout, and multitouch has been implemented across the whole system, complete with pinch-to-zoom. Context menus are being turned into a 9-icon radial display when you hold down on the screen, and there's a visual refresh that makes the whole system appear a little cleaner than before.

The homescreen is now customizable. While there doesn't appear to be any widget support - or at least it hasn't yet been seen in action - it seems that RIM's been taking lessons from Android. You can slide left or right to more homescreens with different apps on, and there's an Android-style slide-up menu from the bottom that contains every app in one list. There's also universal search across the whole system.

There's a new browser, with tab switching, favourites, and the aforementioned multi-touch. There's a reworked media player, with a cover-flow-esque system to switch between different albums and tracks. There's also a revamped inbox with larger thumbnails  to determine the type of message, and built-in RSS feeds.

While there's no official word on a release date, rumours have the the update pegged as arriving around June or July, probably to be announced at the company's WES conference. Are you excited? Does this do enough to bring BlackBerry up to the standards of other handset manufacturers? Tell us in the comments below.