Last week, Research In Motion publicly launched the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone, its latest mobile device that will become available next month for AT&T and T-Mobile.

The biggest difference between the 9700 and the current Bold is the overall size of the smartphone.  The current phone is 4.48 inches high by 2.6 inches wide with a 0.59 inch depth, weighing 4.8 ounces — the new phone is 4.29 inches x 2.36 inches by 0.56 inches in depth, weighing 4.3 ounces.  Another feature is the improved scrolling, with the new phone using a touch-sensitive trackpad instead of the traditional trackball.

Furthermore, the 9700 also has a new 624MHz processor and bumped flash memory up to 256MB, with a microSD slot supporting up to 32GB additional storage space.

“The BlackBerry Bold 9700 builds on the success of the original BlackBerry Bold with new, state-of-the-art features and a smaller, lighter and highly optimized design taht looks, feels and performs great,” RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis said in a statement.

The Bold has Wi-Fi, quad-band GSM phone, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G abilities.  After a mail-in-rebate, the Bold will be available through AT&T for $199.99 with a new two-year contract, and will support Wi-Fi calling.

In the future, RIM will continue supporting the current Bold, and doesn’t plan on discontinuing the model available now.

I recently canceled my T-Mobile contract due to bad reception in my area, and have set my sights on signing up with AT&T specifically for the BlackBerry Bold 9700.  The BlackBerry Curve 8520 I had with T-Mobile for 30 days had the touch-sensitive trackpad, and using it proved much easier than my BlackBerry Curve 8820 smartphone.

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, is the BlackBerry Bold 9700 a phone you’d consider purchasing?  Why or why not?

[Source: cdfreaks.com]