Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion seems set to deliver as many sequels as possible during the ongoing year. We've already seen the BlackBerry Bold2 9700 being launched, as well as the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 hitting the shelves in Verizon's stores, and now we learn that the second BlackBerry Tour (codenamed Essex) is already in pre-release development, and that it might arrive on the market before the end of the ongoing year.

According to the guys over at CrackBerry, the upcoming BlackBerry Tour2 should include Wi-Fi capabilities and an optical trackpad, something that the original Tour was also expected to sport. Other than that, the sequel reportedly features the same hardware specs as the first Tour, except maybe for a slightly different keyboard layout (the bottom row of keys is less tall, while the green call key is now flipped).

Below you can take a look at a video with BlackBerry Essex's hardware tour. The mobile phone in the video is reportedly a Sprint version, which doesn't exclude the existence of a Verizon-bound model, expected to have a design a little different. One way or the other, the improvements the upcoming BlackBerry Tour2 is set to deliver are not very impressive when compared to the original model, and they are somehow expected, considering that RIM already announced that all of its future smartphones would come to the market with Wi-Fi connectivity.

Additional details on the phone seem to lack at the moment, yet CrackBerry says that we should expect for the Tour2 to reach the market in time for the holiday season, although it has been originally said to come sometime in the January-February 2010 time frame. Verizon Wireless is also expected to include the new phone in its BOGO promotion, just as it did with the just launched Storm2. Hopefully, the rumor will pan out, and users will be able to enjoy an upgraded Tour for Christmas. Until more details emerge on this, take a look at the BlackBerry Tour2 video to make an idea on the device.