T-Mobile today began sales of the BlackBerry 7100t. The device was announced earlier this month and is a diversion from Research In Motion’s convential design–the 7100t looks like a phone. Features of the device include:

• Innovative 20-character keyboard (includes predictive text engine called SureType)
• Bluetooth
• speakerphone
• Yahoo! IM, AOL IM and ICQ
• Java
• 240ื260 pixel display with 65,000 colors

The BlackBerry 7100t is selling for $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate. A new service activation is required for the price. A similar device is shipping from Vodafone in Europe, it’s called the BlackBerry 7100v.

More specs and photos are available after the jump (click to zoom thumbnail at right).

Size: 4.69 x 2.29 x 0.75 inches
Weight: 4.24 ounces
Included battery: Lithium cell
Talk time: Up to 4 hours
Standby time: Up to 8 days
International phone: Quad-band (1900, 1800, 900, 850 MHz)