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.

The Storm 2 is sort-of on VerizonWireless.com right now in fact. The phone doesn’t have a product page yet, but someone found the phone’s 3D demo page. So have it. Click over to VZW.com and give the phone a spin. You really don’t need to see a product page anyway, it’s not like you plan on buying the second incarnation of the worst phone ever made when the totally sick Motorola Droid will be available around the same time. At least I hope not.

[Verizon via BGR]

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?

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.

The BlackBerry Storm may finally have found its pricing sweet spot. The phone definitely was overpriced at $200 last year and even the $100 price cut a few months ago didn’t seem right, but $50?!? Yeah, I wanna throw mine into a wall and piss on the remains daily, but VZW isn’t going to have any trouble at all clearing out the inventory. You know why it’s only $50 right?

Because the BlackBerry Storm 2 is coming out real soon. We’re still hearing sometime in November 2009, but it could be sooner. Verizon probably wants to make sure that they don’t have any of the original phones left when the new hotness launches.

In our continued effort to bring you the best interviews with today’s top talent, I’m happy to present my recent conversion with “East Side” Dave McDonald. He’s an up-and-coming inventor who can be heard on “The Ron and Fez Show” every weekday, 11am to 3pm, on Sirius XM. He also occasionally co-hosts a show, “Special Delivery,” along with “Prime Time” Sam Roberts (yes, that Sam Roberts) on Sirius XM. He’s also quite funny.

CrunchGear: First I wanted to congratulate you on your Star Wars trivia victory from the other day. [Dave beat “Ron and Fez” co-host Fez in an epic trivia challenge earlier this week, avenging his earlier loss in the Batman trivia challenge.]

East Side Dave: Thank you, thank you. I appreciate that.

CG: It was a big day in radio history.

ESD: I know. Well, I’m a champion’s champion. I thought I was going to be victorious, and I proved that I have the heart of a Wookie.

CG: OK, let’s get right into this. Knissors—can you tell me what they are and what was the inspiration behind them?

ESD: Okay. Knissors are two knives—two knives—that can bolt together to act like a pair of scissors. The inspiration came when one day I needed to open several boxes. Some of the boxes I thought, “you know, I need a knife,” but then for some of the packaging I needed strong scissors, and I didn’t want to keep reaching—here’s a knife and here’s a scissor, and here’s another knife and here’s another scissor. And all of sudden there’s 40 knives and scissors, and there’s a pile of knives and scissors, and you can’t even see anymore! So I thought, “no. No, that’s where the shit ends. I will take two knives and bolt them together.” They can act like serious, perfect knives, and then what happens is, if you want to cut some meat you just take ‘em apart.

CG: Now have you made an actual working prototype, or is this still in the design phase?

ESD: I have duct tapped two knives together, but that has not been a successful model. I also nailed two knives together with the wood handles, but that, too, has failed, so I’m going to go a different route with my knissors. I’m going to try and figure out—maybe someone who’s actually good with their hands, as opposed to me, maybe they can help me figure it out? But once I have figured out how it will work—and I don’t think it should be that complicated—then I feel like knissors will take America by storm.

CG: They will. There’s no doubt about knissors being the next big thing in America. They’re gonna be as big as Beanie Babies were. Everyone will have ‘em, it’ll be crazy.

ESD: I agree. I mean, think about the popularity of the Ginsu knife back in, what, the 80s or whatnot. Now imagine if with that same Ginsu knife you could easily make paper dolls, you could easily cut hair. All of that stuff you’ll be able to do with knissors.

CG: That’s good. It’s a recession, nobody has any money, you get one product and it does 1,000 things, you’re all set.

ESD: That’s right. And I’m not going to be selling it for $49.95. I’m not going to be selling it for $29.95. Hell, I’m not going to be selling it for $19.95. You’re going to get one pair of knissors for $9.95, and I might even throw in a second pair for the first 10,000 people who buy knissors.

CG: You’re a gentleman. You’re a gentleman, Dave.

ESD: Thank you very much.

CG: Now besides the knissors, do you have any other inventions that you’re particularly proud of? I know on the show you’ve talked about several.

ESD: My other one that I was very proud of was the Uncle Davey Mac’s Travel Chopper. This, of course, is going to be a gigantic helicopter that will come complete with your own room, your own bed, and your own desk. You can take a nap, you can do what you want. For first class people I’m even going to put televisions in their rooms. It’s just going to make your commute a heck of a lot better. Now the second travel-oriented invention I have is the Davey Mac Walking Boat. I’m going to put a giant boat on one side of the Hudson River, on the New Jersey side. What will happen is you’ll walk from the rear of the boat to the front, and the boat will stretch all the way across the Hudson and the front of the boat will touch Manhattan. So by the time you’ve ended your walking on the boat you’ll be in Manhattan.

CG: Did you receive any formal science or math training in school, or is this just from the heart?

ESD: I received no training. I did get above average grades in science and astrology. I got below average grades in physics and calculus, and I got average grades in spelling and phonics.

CG: And when you were growing up did you have any math or science guys that you looked up to?

ESD: I looked up to—what’s that’s guy’s name, Don whatever—Mr Wizard. I looked up to him, and I looked up to Asa Aarons from NBC. He had a little segment called “Ask Asa,” and I never had a chance to ask him anything. But I wish I had.

CG: Now are you constantly thinking of ways to improve this product or that product? Do you look at something and say, “Well that’s wrong”?

ESD: I am, I am. I always try to evolve. I understand how things work. I mean, look, knissors or the first iPhone—there’s gonna be kinks in the armor, you know? And yeah, I’ll put my shit up against Bill Gates. Any time that [expletive] wants a war he’s got one.

CG: Well Steve Jobs is the iPhone, not Bill Gates.

ESD: Whoever it is. If it’s Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. What does Bill Gates do?

CG: Nothing. He’s a bum.

ESD: Anyway, yes, I’m always thinking of ways to improve products. That’s just how my mind works. It’s how special people like myself, our minds work. What can I do? I can’t help the fact that I’m advanced in the mental department.

CG: Fair enough. I wanted to get your opinion on the TV pitchmen shows. Do you think it’s too circusy, or is that just another part of the business?

ESD: You know what, I’m for the shows because I feel like the shows represent my peers, my colleagues, and represent who we are as inventors and pitch people. Sure, some of the folks are a tad enthusiastic, but you know what? That didn’t hurt anybody. Did that hurt Moses when he was getting shit done? Absolutely not. Enthusiasm is a good thing, so I like those shows.

CG: Ron said the other day that he’s a little concerned that the best and brightest minds in America are so devoted to trivial things like figuring out how to download old Foghat songs. Do you feel that America’s inventive spirit is sort of going to waste?

ESD: I do, I do. I think that not enough people are being introspective, and as a result products such as knissors and Davey Mac’s Travel Chopper are not coming to fruition. If you start looking inward you can see what problems exist in the world, and how you can solve them. Me? I solve problems through knissors.

CG: Do you pay any attention to the gadget world? I would think that as an inventor you’d keep on top of the latest BlackBerry or iPhone or whatever.

ESD: Well, I just bought my first BlackBerry last week, and I joined The Twitter a few months ago. And I also just got a wireless remote control for my television. And I have a Discman, so the answer is yes.

CG: Speaking of Twitter, the other day there was a study that showed that 40 percent of all tweets are just useless babble. What do you think: is Twitter a waste of time, a world saver, or something in between?

ESD: I like The Twitter, and I’ll tell you why: I can post little videos—little vignettes, if you will—and for a split second not only am I the great inventor you see before you, but I’m also a mini Stanley Kubrick. That’s who I also aspire to be: the world’s greatest pitchman and the world’s greatest film maker.

CG: Did you grow up in the 80s? You’re in your early 30s, I think.

ESD: I was born in ‘77, so I guess you can say I’m an 80s child and a 90s teenager

CG: Is there one piece of technology that’s out there today that, if you could go back in time somehow and give it to Young Dave, what would it be?

ESD: I would give Young David my Digital Video Disc player and the four or five discs inside that. Those discs inside it right now are: There Will Be Blood, The Empire Strikes Back, Raging Bull, The Big Lebowski, and Suck My Ass Volume Seven

CG: Oh, Volume Seven, that was your favorite of the series?

ESD: Yes it was. It had a little bit more punch than Six.

CG: My last question Dave is, if you could snap your fingers and invent anything, anything at all, what would it be?

ESD: A really, really, really big shirt that you could wear as a shirt and pants and shoes and hat.

CG: Wow, that needs to happen. I don’t know who you need to contact, but that needs to happen.

ESD: And I want to make that happen. It will happen eventually, but one thing at a time. I need to have the knissors out there first.

CG: OK, thanks a lot, dave. I know you’re busy with the show and everything.

ESD: Take care.

Photo: Some dude’s MySpace (I realized too late, “Oh, I should have just gone down to the studio to take a few professional-looking photos.” Next time.)

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.