As expected, Research in Motion today unveiled the BlackBerry Bold, also known as BlackBerry 9000, a tri-band HSDPA 3G smartphone with integrated wi-fi and GPS and a 624MHz CPU with 128MB flash memory and 1GB of onboard storage memory.

The Bold features the highest-performing BlackBerry display, a half-VGA (with 480 x 320 resolution), colour LCD screen. Although not a touchscreen like the iPhone, and a lot smaller than the iPhone's 3.5-inch display, the Bold's screen has the same pixel resolution so images look much sharper on it than they do on the iPhone. RIM declined to comment on whether the company was working on a touchscreen BlackBerry.

Another highly visible change is its "desktop-style" browsing experience with an enhanced web browser and a trackball that can mimic a conventional mouse. Users can switch between the full HTML content display or the mobile version. Also new is support for streaming videos with the addition of the real-time streaming protocol.

Plus if you've been craving iTunes as well as email on your BlackBerry, the Bold now delivers. The new BlackBerry Media Sync application lets users sync iTunes music collections with the phone. A USB 2.0 port enables high speed file transfers with a PC.

The device's wi-fi adapter supports 802.11a/b/g connections. RIM is offering what it dubs "Push Button Setup" to make it simpler for users to connect to protected wireless LANs. Integrated GPS can feed location data to applications such as BlackBerry Maps.

The Bold will be available worldwide in the next few months.

Full details of the BlackBerry Bold can be found online at blackberry.com/blackberrybold. RIM says the removable-rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery delivers about 5 hours of talk time and 13 days standby time.
John Cox