RIM’s newest release brings us BlackBerry OS v5. It has all of the standard features you’ve come to know and love, email, SMS, IM, web browsing, etc. The Bold takes all of that and serves it too you on a 624MHz processor. i would say the only weak spot is the web browser.

The Bold is 4.29″ x 2.36″ x 0.56″ and weighs in at 4.3 ounces. Size wise, it feels about the same as any other BlackBerry, but it was much lighter than I expected. The back has this interesting faux-leather cover for those of you who want to feel like you really got your money’s worth.

The control surface proved a nice improvement. RIM replaced the traditional trackball with an optical trackpad. Personally, I like this interface much better. It feel much smoother and more precise than a ball. The trackpad sits flush with the body of the phone, so it won’t get damaged or worn out nearly as often. The keyboard proved to be easy to type on as well. The keys themselves are a little small, but the sculpted edges prevent you from slipping. Other dedicated buttons include a keypad lock key and a mute key on the top, voice dialing on the left side, and a volume rocker and programmable button on the right (default to opening the camera).

The display is something to behold. Not only can you watch streaming video with the new and improved JavaScript and streaming protocol support, but it all looks absolutely beautiful. The quality of pictures and video playback is pretty damn good. The camera itself isn’t too shabby either. 3.2 Megapixels with image stabilization, a 2x digital zoom, and flash. The onboard mic for video recording isn’t the greatest, but that’s to be expected.

In terms of connecting to the outside world, the Bold has not only 3G and Wi-Fi capability, but UMA support. Meaning you can make calls over a wireless network, without using your plan minutes.

T-Mobile hasn’t given us a firm release date. But you can expect it in time for the holidays for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Technical Specs

• Memory: 256MB of internal flash memory, with a microSD card slot
• Battery Life: Talktime – 6 hours     Standby Time – 19 days
• Display: 480 x 360 color display, TFT LCD
• Camera: 3.2 MP camera with 2X zoom, flash, and video
• Optical Trackpad
• Keyboard: Full QWERTY keyboard, backlit
• Bluetooth: v2.1
• Headset Jack: 3.5mm stereo headset
• Media Player Supported Audio: 3GP, MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
• Supported Video: DivX 4, DivX 5/6 partially supported, XviD partially supported, H.263, H.264, WMV3, MPEG4, Sorenson Spark and On2 VP6 (Flash support)
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g (w/ UMA support)
• GPS: photo geotagging capability
• BlackBerry OS: v5.0

Writing about tech is so peculiar. On one hand we’re expected to be enthusiastic about the things we cover; no one wants to see us being negative and dismissive about every little thing. That’s no fun. On the other hand, you don’t want a bunch of ninnies bleating on about how great this year’s piece of plastic is compared to last year’s. How is that useful to anyone? A bit of skepticism is necessary so we don’t come across as cheerleaders for this or that company, or for this or that device. You can’t be objective if you worship the ground that the two Steves—Jobs and Ballmer—walk on.

I bring this up not as a condemnation, but rather a recognition: much of this is quite silly. The Motorola Droid comes out today, and my first reaction was, “Eh, so what?” That’s not a popular opinion, of course, and a quick trip to Techmeme will confirm that for you. (Techmeme is a king-making Web site that’s really, really influential for some reason. You can’t fight city hall.) I just can’t get excited over the launch of a device that should have come out years ago. I can recognize its importance to Verizon Wireless (the Droid being the first non-BlackBerry smartphone worth its salt that’s available on VZW), and its place within the wireless industry, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and be all, “Woo, a phone is available! Hooray for the corporations behind it~!”

Look at the unemployment numbers that the Department of Labor released today. A full 10.2 percent of Americans are out of work right now. That’s a big deal, and will most certainly affect consumer electronics’ companies bottom line this holiday season. How many of these people (or people in similar, dire economic circumstances) are looking forward to a new smartphone? Or a new HDTV? Or a $150 video game?

I’m actually surprised that I haven’t seen more made of these unemployment numbers. The holiday shopping season starts pretty soon (if it hasn’t already!), and I really do wonder how many of the companies we write about will fare. Not to pick on the Droid again (it’s just in the news today, so it’s in my head), but how many people are prepared to buy the phone for themselves or a family member, and then commit to paying a minimum of $70 per month just to use the thing? How many copies of DJ Hero will be under so many Christmas trees when mommy and daddy are having a tough enough time paying the bills as it is? I’m not saying these things won’t sell at all, but I haven’t noticed too many stories in the tech press that so much as hinted at the tough times these companies might have. Not everyone can swing $200 + $70 per month (for one line!) on a basic communication device. I mean, does a $200 smartphone sound any better than a freebie phone you can grab with a $40 per month contract? As impressive as Android 2.0 is, I don’t know if I’d say it’s any more important than putting food on the table for your kids.

(Incidentally, a comment over at TechCrunch made a similar point, that, you know, providing for one’s family is more important than having the latest version of Android in your pocket.)

I write about this stuff with a few things in mind, one of which is that this is all largely for funsies. It’s fun to see that latest super-thin netbook, or to see what new developments that are in the e-book front. It’s fun to tease the Apple TV for being a useless hunk of junk, and it’s fun to predict to what degree that Apple tablet will destroy its competition. But don’t think I assume that all of you have tons of disposable income to throw around to buy the latest widget, one that’ll be obsolete within six months.

I completely lost track of this some time ago, yes. I just sometimes feel that the whole tech world gets caught up in the hype of THIS THING or THAT THING without considering what’s happening in the real world. A tech bubble, if you will. Just know that I recognize it (as do the rest of the CG guys), and try not to get caught up in it. That’s all.

Image swiped from Drudge. Can’t beat bold, red font.

Alright, BlackBerry owners, don’t rush all at once. I know you probably wanna get in on the Redfly mobile companion game but we need to remember to act civilized. It’s understandable that you’re excited that Redfly can now kick it with BlackBerrys along with Winmo phones, but don’t flood the servers all at one time.

The latest Redfly update isn’t really a surprise. The company announced BlackBerry support was coming, but we just didn’t know when. But with the update, the Redfly C8N and C7 can now extend the desktop of the BlackBerry Bold 9000, Curve 8900, and Tour 9630 to the Redfly’s 800×480 resolution display. Oh, and the update is free. Just don’t push and shove to get it.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 has finally been announced. Details have been leaking in about the “Onyx” for months and most of the seem to be true in hindsight. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 successor rocks a Tour-like keyboard but ditches the trackball in favor of a little trackpad like in the Curve 8520. The camera has been upped to 3.2MP and the screen is now a 480 x 320 display. Just like the Storm 2, the 9700 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0 and all the goodies are included like threaded messaging, updated BB Messenger, and BlackBerry Maps.

Best of all RIM is launching the phone to nearly every GSM carrier in North America and Europe in November although International carrier-specific pricing is hard to come by right now. That will probably change in a day or two though.

AT&T has announced that it will sell the phone for $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and T-Mobile is expected to follow suit although it’s press release doesn’t mention a price. What it does mention however is that the phone will be able to make unlimited calls off of WiFi for $10 per month, which is something AT&T is slowly accepting too although it seems that AT&T’s flavor will lack that ability.

Rumor has it that the Pixi is dropping on October 20, just in time for pre-holidays sales. Not much more on pricing or availability but expect it on Sprint.

BGR notes that Best Buy will also be carrying the phone and brings up an interesting point:

The question is, with the original Palm Pre, iPhone 3GS already out and the Motorola CLIQ, BlackBerry Storm 2 and Bold 9700 coming soon, does anyone care?

That being said, every other AT&T phone at Amazon is going for a penny today (and today only). That’s with a new, two-year contract. There’s no activation fee, either, which is nice, and you get free two-day shipping on everything.

Some nice handsets in there, too: BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve, Nokia E71x, HTC FUZE – even a couple 3G internet adapters.

Today Only — All AT&T Phones for a Penny with New 2-Year Service Plan [Amazon]

The company also expects to support upcoming RIM devices as they are released. But where is the love for the Blackberry Storm? The phone might not be the greatest, but it sold well. Maybe Redfly didn’t that that people that were suckered into buying the phone is its target customer base. But some support is better than none at all. The Redfly seems like a solid companion to a smartphone but so is a netbook and teathering…

Celio Announces BlackBerry Support for the REDFLY Mobile Companion

Mid-Q4, RIM customers will be able to use their BlackBerrys with a larger screen and keyboard; boosting productivity and efficiency

ShowStoppers for the Digital Holidays
SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Celio Corp, maker of the REDFLY Mobile Companion, has announced support for BlackBerry; giving RIM customers the ability to get the most out of their smartphones with a larger screen and keyboard. The BlackBerry solution will be available in mid-Q4 2009. The BlackBerry solution is offered free-of-charge for existing and new REDFLY Mobile Companion C8N and C7 owners.

At launch, the REDFLY will be compatible with the BlackBerry Bold 9000, BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Tour 9630, with plans to support additional phones as they are released by RIM.

“The trend in enterprise right now is for more people to carry their laptop less and their BlackBerry more,” said Andrew Seybold, CEO and Principal Analyst, Andrew Seybold, Inc. “What Celio is doing will give BlackBerry users a significant productivity boost and businesses a solution they can leverage for their employees. With the Celio REDFLY, you don’t have to carry a laptop at all. Given a choice between a netbook or the REDFLY, I would take the REDFLY hands down.”

The REDFLY Mobile Companion comes in two models – the C8N and C7 – and has a large screen, full QWERTY keyboard, touchpad, up to 8-hour battery, and USB, VGA and media ports, enabling people to get the most from their BlackBerry handhelds. The REDFLY is not a computer. It has no OS, storage or processor, but uses the smartphone’s computing power to give users the ability to interact with the smartphone’s familiar user interface on an 800×480 resolution display. The REDFLY is currently compatible with more than 70 Windows Mobile devices. As Celio adds BlackBerry compatibility, it demonstrates that the Celio REDFLY technology will be implemented on multiple platforms to the benefit of smartphone users.

“Adding BlackBerry support for REDFLY is a logical next step due to RIM’s overwhelming acceptance in the enterprise market. BlackBerry compatibility also answers the call from our community and customers to give them the REDFLY experience on RIM devices,” said Kirt Bailey, president and CEO of Celio Corp. “We’re confident BlackBerry users will enjoy having a larger screen and keyboard for typing e-mails and editing documents, and become more productive and efficient.”

Celio Corp will demonstrate its BlackBerry solution at the ShowStoppers for the Digital Holidays event in New York City on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

For more information about the REDFLY Mobile Companion, visit www.celiocorp.com.

Consider this a polite reminder that we have two great giveaways happening right now. We’re giving away 50 Mogo Talks for the BlackBerry Curve and 10 skins for the BlackBerry Curve, Bold, and Storm each. So far you have a damn good chance on nabbing both if you want. The odds are definitely in your favor. Click here for the Mogo Talk giveaway and here for the the iSkin giveaway.

In case you missed it: Zero Punctuation number 100
Donkey Kong shelves for holding all that old-school gaming gear
In a move I’m calling “too little, too late, too proprietary,” major labels are introducing their own file format
Everyone needs a Vespa; even the kiddies
Giveaway: iSkin cases for the BlackBerry Curve, Bold, and Storm

Who has a Blackberry Curve, Bold, or Storm? Wanna iSkin case for it? Of course you do. The company is kind enough to giveaway a bunch of their custom fit skins. These things are nice too. All three skins feature MicroBan antimicrobial protection to keep the germs under control. The Storm skin has a anti-glare and fingerprint screen. The Bold skins has a leather back and the Curve’s skins come in wacky – yes, wacky – colors.

All we ask is that you leave the model number of your BlackBerry along with a little message describing why you need a case for it after the jump. We’ll pick 10 winners per phone model. Aren’t we the coolest?

Official rules:
We’ll pick the winners at random and sorry, you cannot pick your color. The shipping address must be within the United States. A new winner will be choosen if the original person does not respond to our email within three days. The entries must be submitted by August 24, 2009.

If you watched in agony as the very-cool MoGo Talk Bluetooth iPhone headset was announced and given away here on CrunchGear while your BlackBerry sat idly on your desk, take heart. The BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Javelin versions are coming and we’re giving 50 of the Curve models away.

Newton Peripherals has developed a flat-folding Bluetooth headset that’s just five millimeters thick and rests in a tiny charging slot integrated into an included replacement BlackBerry battery cover. So your headset’s with you at all times and you can split off your phone’s charging cord to power the micro-USB port that charges the headset.

The MoGo Talk will also be available for the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Tour in the future, and Newton is toying around with the idea of integrating the actual headset charging directly into the handsets so that your phone itself could recharge the headset while it’s docked.

According to Stuart Nixdorff, President of Newton Peripherals:

“We designed these MoGo Talk models specifically for BlackBerry users who value the integration of phone, email and a Bluetooth headset on a single device. Our ultimate goal is to integrate MoGo Talk units with all mobile phones; in the case of RIM, these new MoGO Talk models charge and store on the back of BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Javelin models, with Bold and Tour models to follow. We are exploring further integrations with RIM devices that would enable MoGo Talk to charge directly with a BlackBerry unit from a single power cord.”

Giveaway: To register to win the one of 50 MoGo Talk headsets for the BlackBerry Curve just hit this link, enter your name and e-mail address, and 50 winners will be selected at random on Friday, August 14th at 4:00 Eastern.

Both the $99 Curve and $129 Javelin models cost $129 and are available for pre-order and should begin shipping in about a month or so. And lucky you! CrunchGear readers get 30% off of anything in the MoGo Store over $24.99 by using promo code crunchgear at checkout. Enjoy!

Links: MoGo Talk for BlackBerry Curve | MoGo Talk for BlackBerry Javelin

Smartphone sales are growing in Japan and customers like the 8 and 16GB 3G models and Apple has sold 1 million iPhones through Softbank, a major Japanese carrier.

The BlackBerry Bold came in third and the rest of the list were phones by HTC.

So you want a BlackBerry on AT&T, but not the Bold. We get it; the Bold is a bit expensive, a bit chunky, and seriously – who really needs three Gs? You’d be perfectly fine with one or two Gs, but no one seems to offer that. If that sounds like you, you should be set come Friday. On May 22nd, AT&T will be releasing the slightly less portly, slightly less expensive, and significantly less 3G’d BlackBerry Curve 8900.
Read the rest of this post >>

Oh my God, call the president! Howard Stern, who was given a private, sneak peak of the Palm Pre, has instead decided to go with the BlackBerry Bold. (As if the man can only afford one phone, or won’t decide to buy a Pre when it comes out, whenever that is.) He broke the news today.

Yup, apparently Mr. Stern, who’s a Palm fan, was impressed with the Pre, save for one feature, or lack thereof: compatibility with Lotus Notes. Seems like Stern needs his Notes, and without it he’ll have to skip the Pre for now. Instead, he’s chosen to go with the BlackBerry Bold, which isn’t a bad device in its own right.

Please keep in mind that Stern does not hate the Pre, does not wish ill upon Palm, but, for now, it’s BlackBerry Bold time.

Presumably Stern won’t be buying any phones from Ted’s Cellphone Emporium.

The keyboard is great and compared to a mix of the Bold and Curve. The OS bring some of the Storm’s design magic while pairing it with trackball movement. Hopefully we’ll see this BB on Verizon’s shelves soon, but we haven’t heard anything since the sometime in May timetable. No word on price yet, either.

Looks like the deal’s good for new AT&T customers today only.

FREE BlackBerry Bold(TM) Refurb Package [AT&T via BGR]

Design wise, the 8350i is exactly what you’d expect from an 8300 series phone from RIM. It’s roughly the same as a Curve, with some differences. The handset is a little larger, most likely due to the electronics for the push-to-talk features that Nextel users are so familiar with. It’s also got a bit more bulk to it, but it doesn’t feel that much different unless you’re holding an actual Curve in the other hand. Nextel needed a couple of changes to make it fit with their product line, there’s the push to talk button located on the left side, and outlined in yellow just to make sure you don’t miss it. The edges are covered in rubber, I assume intended to add that ‘ruggedizing’ that we all want on our Nextel phone.

The good news is, the screen in the same as the Curve, namely easy to read and very bright. Sound quality is excellent, regardless of if you are making a standard voice call or using push to talk. The speakerphone works well, the keyboard is ‘clicky’ and has good tactile feedback. There are a couple of things that are a quirky however, the Curve’s standard 3.5mm headphone jack has been replaced by a 2.5mm port. Since the earbuds that come with the phone are frankly not the best, that makes upgrading a bit of a pain. Also, since the Nextel network is not necessarily the fastest when it comes to data transfers, you’ll want to use the built in wifi radio whenever possible. This will also save you on the data plan charges.

The best news is, the 8350i runs the latest version of the Blackberry OS, which uses the same menu system as the Bold. Now I’ve been using Blackberry devices for years, and I have to say that the latest version of the OS is the most intuitive I’ve ever experienced. It also means that the 8350i is preloaded with AIM, GoogleTalk, Yahoo messenger, and Handmark’s Pocket Express aggregator.

If you are a Nextel user, and you’re looking for a smartphone, you can do much worse then the 8350i. Personally, I really like the phone and I’m glad to see that Sprint is trying to get some better equipment available to the Nextel masses. All we can do is hope they stop trying to sell that awful 7100i.

The 9630/ seems to fill the space between the small Curve and the large Bold. CB liked the keyboard and form factor. In fact, they like most of what the early build had to offer. There isn’t a working OS, so the extensive post is all about the hardware. We agree that it’s great the CDMA carries here in the States will finally get a great BB before GSM carries. That doesn’t happen often and the craptastic Storm doesn’t count.