Early rumors of a BlackBerry-branded watchphone/smartwatch/wrist messenger/Bluetooth bracelet seemed a little far-fetched—RIM is all about business, and watchphones are pure, distilled gadget novelty. Nonetheless, here we stand, gazing upon the the BlackBerry companion watch. Here’s what we know.

According to CrackBerry:

• It was designed “specifically for BlackBerry from the ground up,” by a “new BlackBerry-dedicated accessory company,” and could be branded as the “inPulse.” This sounds suspiciously like BlackBerry wanting a watchphone, and outsourcing the design and manufacturing expertise.

• It’s got a large (but hopefully not too large) OLED screen, with a high enough resolution to display text clearly

• Its primary purpose is to display messages from a paired BlackBerry, meaning it’s strictly an accessory device like Sony Ericsson’s pieces, not a standalone watchphone like the LG GD910.

This is an early glimpse in all senses—Crackberry describes the shots rather wonderfully as "actual renderings of the real deal"—meaning that there's no info on tech specs, nor indication as to how much this thing might cost, whether it'll carry BlackBerry branding, or when we could expect it to actually ship. The announcement, though, is expected "soon," whatever that means. [Crackberry]