It looks like the original BlackBerry Bold 9700 may soon get a model upgrade to be called the BlackBerry Bold 9780 in the future if rumors hold true. The new model brings with it some minor upgrades along with an OS upgrade to BlackBerry 6 with a more modern Webkit-based browser from Research in Motion.

In addition to the big OS jump, the Bold 9780 retains the look and form factor of its predecessor, the Bold 9700, currently available on both AT&T and T-Mobile USA. The 3G-enabled smartphone will get a darker trim on its chrome bezel, giving it a more titanium finish, along [...]

With the portrait-oriented sliding form factor, Motorola and Research in Motion with its Bold 9800 model will be entering into a territory that has proven to be both attractive–in a nostalgic sense with the HTC Blue Angel of yore and uncertainty, as the Palm Pre and Microsoft Kin One have proven to be lackluster with rumored low sales volume. With MOTOBLUR on board and Android’s integration with Exchange, social networking sites, and Google services, the Droid Slider could give webOS a run for its money.

It looks like Google’s assault on Research in Motion, [...]

It is speculated that RIM is now dedicating most of its development of BlackBerry 6 devices and the operating system for GSM compatibility, which may mean that CDMA BlackBerry 6 smartphones may not arrive until 2011. This would probably be a smart business decision for Canadian Research in Motion as much of the world is on GSM technologies, but could present itself as a strain on the manufacturer’s relationship with large CDMA carriers like Verizon Wireless.

RIM’s revenues from Verizon Wireless has dropped from near 40% to around 10-15% according to one report, and [...]

Ideally, a beautiful phone will work beautifully as well, but since we don’t live in a perfect world, are you a substance kind of geek who prefer function over form or a design geek where form triumphs over function? This question seems to be answered differently by Apple, RIM, and Nokia in response to Apple’s iPhone 4‘s reception woes.

Steve Jobs addressed the iPhone 4’s reception problems in yesterday’s press conference, mocking the term “Antennagate” in his remarks. Jobs says that Apple isn’t perfect and phones aren’t [...]

As rumored, starting today, June 3rd, Verizon Wireless customers interested in the BlackBerry Bold 9650 could order the RIM smartphone online. The device should be similar to Sprint’s model that we had previously examined.

Verizon will be pricing its version at $149.99 on contract after a $100 instant rebate online. Customers wanting to purchase it in stores will have to wait until June 10th to do so.

To order yours, you can visit Verizon Wireless’s webpage for additional details.

While Sprint had already gone ahead and launched the BlackBerry Bold 9650 world phone, Verizon Wireless still hasn’t gone on record to announce that the CDMA upgrade to the BlackBerry Tour 9630 will even appear on their network. A leaked screen shot of what appears to be an internal email from within Verizon Wireless should assuage fears from customers who want the CDMA flagship RIM smartphone to appear on Big Red’s network. According to that email, the Bold 9650 should be available via web and telephone orders beginning June 3 and will be in stores on June 10 for those who [...]

Those looking for the white version of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in the US are in luck as T-Mobile now has the device in stock. Available as “Flash White,” the paler edition of the Bold is now available for a mere $99 on contract from T-Mobile on contract and after a $50 mail in rebate.

The latest information about the BlackBerry 9800 has it that the touchscreen slider from Research in Motion will forego the SurePress screen technology found on the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2. The device was spotted with an AT&T splash screen upon booting. Other tidbits include a software keyboard in addition to the hardware sliding keyboard as well as an optical trackpad in addition to the touchscreen. It looks like BlackBerry OS 6 was also spotted on the device.

(via: IntoMobile)

It looks like the white edition of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be coming to T-Mobile towards the end of the month on May 26th for those waiting for the paler color. The white version is more of a color refresh for the Bold 9700 handset and does not pack any additional nor new functionality.

May seems to be a busy time for Research in Motion. In addition for the white refresh for T-Mobile, the manufacturer also partnered with Sprint in the USA to launch and sell the BlackBerry Bold 9650, which is an upgrade from the BlackBerry Tour 9630 and merges the Tour and Bold line into [...]

According to the latest rumors, AT&T may have scored an exclusive to the BlackBerry Bold Slider 9800 as a hybrid touchscreen device that will employ the traditional BlackBerry keyboard beneath a sliding capacitive touchscreen. The Bold Slider 9800 will mark RIM’s third attempt at the touchscreen market and the device will compete against the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2, both touchscreen exclusives to Verizon Wireless in the USA. Rumors have it that the device is pegged for a mid- or late-June release date, though some have been skeptical of such a launch frame as Apple and [...]

The Bold 9650 is a BlackBerry Tour 9630 upgrade that brings the series more aligned with the Bold 9700 on T-Mobile and AT&T. The CDMA/GSM world phone Bold 9650 on Sprint does offer more RAM than its AT&T/T-Mobile 9700 cousin, with 512 MB. Other than that, most of the features are similar to our first look of the Bold 9700.

As an upgrade to the BlackBerry Tour 9630 on Sprint, the Bold 9650 adds WiFi and trades the rolling trackball for an optical trackpad. The overall design is still similar to the Tour 9630.

The Sprint Bold 9650 will have a slightly wider [...]

For those looking for the flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700 in white edition, the Research in Motion handset is now available for shipping from Clove UK. This particular quad-band GSM and tri-band HSPA model will be compatible with AT&T’s 3G but only with T-Mobile USA’s EDGE network. The white model can be had for £386.58, including VAT, for those interested in making the acquisition.

For those awaiting BlackBerry 6-sporting devices, the OS is shown off on some videos that were released onto the Internet for the BlackBerry 9670 flip–which doesn’t support a touchscreen–and the BlackBerry Slider 9800–which bears the BlackBerry Bold 9700 moniker.

Both devices are said to be sporting a HVGA display with the Bold 9800 supporting a touchscreen display that slides over the Bold’s keyboard. The device is said to be headed towards AT&T, which so far hasn’t received any touchscreen devices due to Verizon Wireless’ [...]

The CDMA world phone BlackBerry Bold 9650 just got its approval by the FCC, which means that the device is one step closer to launch. The device was already announced at WES by Research in Motion and so far, Sprint has signed on for the device with an official launch coming on May 23 for $200 on contract and after rebates. The Bold 9650 will replace the BlackBerry Tour in Sprint’s lineup and will feature support for both GSM/HSPA and CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A radios.

RIM had also announced BlackBerry 6, RIM’s next generation BlackBerry operating system, of which the [...]

Sprint finally took the wraps off of the BlackBerry 9650, successor to the BlackBerry Tour on Sprint. The Bold 9650, like the Tour before it, is a world phone that operates on Sprint’s CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A network in the US and on GSM/HSPA overseas for travelers. The device eschews the finicky trackball of the Tour–early Tour owners had noticed that the trackball was not scrolling in the horizontal direction–and adds WiFi. The device can be had for $200 on contract from Sprint on May 23 for those CrackBerry addicts.

The Bold retains the classic BlackBerry form [...]

It was unclear at first whether Research in Motion wanted to keep the Tour branding with the CDMA BlackBerry 9650 or whether the device will shift to the Bold brand, but now recent pictures of the device’s backside confirms that RIM will be going with the Bold brand. The Tour was an interesting departure for RIM, which split the high-end front-facing QWERTY smartphone between Bold, for GSM networks, and Tour, for CDMA networks with the BlackBerry 9630 with trackball. The 9650, which moves to an optical trackpad, like the BlackBerry Bold 9700, and has similar styling to its Bold [...]

It’s official–T-Mobile Netherlands has officially launched the white edition of the flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700. The Bold 9700’s white color offering is similar to the choice offered with the original Bold 9000, which was originally offered in black at launch and was later released in white by Research in Motion. Hopefully carriers in other countries, including T-Mobile and AT&T in the USA–will also offer the white flavor as it may appeal more to the fashion-conscious consumer market; RIM already has a stronghold with corporate and enterprise users in the [...]

After some long delays and rumors that the BlackBerry 9650 with an optical trackpad rather than trcakball would follow the Bold monicker rather than adopt the Tour namesake, the BlackBerry 9650 may be a bit closer to launch for BlackBerry Tour 9630 faithfuls. The updated 9650 has shown up in Sprint’s online database with camera and camera-less models. We’ll have to wait for Research in Motion to decide on final branding–will this be the Tour2 or the Bold 9650–the Bold branding will bring the device closer to its GSM cousin.

(via: The Boy Genius Report)