BlackBerry Bold 9700

The new device will be the next in RIM's BlackBerry Bold product line, succeeding the popular Bold 9000 smartphone, currently an AT&T exclusive device in the United States. Though rumors suggest the new Bold 9700, codenamed "Onyx," will also land in the States on AT&T, the device could very well be released first outside of North America, as was the Bold 9000 in European countries like Germany and Austria in the summer of 2008. AT&T didn't release the Bold in the United States until months later in November 2008 due to technical difficulties with its 3G network. 

Mobile blog BoyGeniusReport.com leaked what it claims are technical specifications on the Bold 9700 "Onyx" late last month, as follows:

* -Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
* -UMTS/HSDPA
* -480×360 resolution display (Bold 9000 has a 480 x 320; 9700 display should be the same or very similar to the screen on the Curve 8900)
* -Wi-Fi a,b,g
* -OS 5.0
* -QWERTY keyboard
* -3.2 megapixel AF camera
* -Bluetooth

A bit of digging through the CrackBerry.com forums this morning also turns up the following rumored specifications and information:

* -BlackBerry Bold 9700 features RIM's new "trackpad," a replacement for its traditional track ball.
* -Bold 9700 ships with 256MB of application memory.
* -AT&T reportedly sent pre-release Bold 9700 units to network "field testers" last week, signifying that the device could be nearing release status.
* -The new Bold reportedly has much improved battery life over the BlackBerry 9000.

CrackBerry addicts and tech-Web-watchers already know that RIM's got a brand new BlackBerry, unofficially dubbed "Onyx," waiting in the wings--related rumors have been swirling around the blogosphere for quite some time now. Heck, images of the unannounced device leaked months ago, so its existence is certain. Less sure are the details on when the device will become available, though some telling information showed up on a BlackBerry forum this past weekend. Keep reading for specifics--as well as two brand new images of the BlackBerry Bold "9700."