The pics on BBLeaks.com do little to illuminate the spec list but they do show it next to a Curve 8900, revealing the true form of the device.

A sliding Qwerty is expected to add a little bulk to any handset, so it’s no great surprise to see that the 9700a carries a little more bulk than the Curve.

The rear shots do indicate that the camera will come with an LED-flash but there were no markings to give clues to the megapixel count. The online rumour mill has thrown up suggestions of 5-megapixels, which would bring it in line with many of the other Qwerty equipped touchscreens on the market, but there’s no confirmation that this will be the case.
The resolution, which is the new RIM gold standard, is 480×360 and while you wouldn’t expect it to be any better than the Tour’s or Curve 8900’s screens, it is. Pictures appear as if they’re floating on top of the display, blacks are black and colors are crisp and vibrant. There’s a pretty decently-sized black border that goes around the entire display much like how the BlackBerry Tour’s screen looks, and while people have moaned about this ad nauseum, it doesn’t really phase us.
The unit as a phone is fantastic. That will obviously depend on what network you sign your life away to, but even on AT&T, when the network worked, the 9700 made for a great phone. The actual ear speaker seems less recessed than previous BlackBerrys and we could hear callers loud and clear using the ear speaker. Speakerphone also worked well (as it should) with minimal distortion at maximum volume. Quite refreshingly, the device didn’t get too hot during long voice sessions and we really had no problems using the phone as a phone.
The BlackBerry Tour was the king of battery life, and that was odd seeing as how CDMA devices usually are a bit worse than their GSM brothers and sisters, but the 9700 has one-upped the Tour. For some rough statistics, the BlackBerry Bold with normal usage patterns lasted me around 7 hours of usage until the battery was dead. How long do you think the 9700 lasts using the exact same BlackBerry Bold battery? Try around 15 hours. We’re talking more than double with a faster CPU and using the same battery. Really remarkable and will help those on-the-go warriors.
Considering the touchscreen interface, earlier reports that the handset would form a part of the Storm range seemed reasonable but we’ve now heard to the contrary and are expecting it to slot in nicely as part of the Bold line-up.

The Bold 9700a/Storm 3/Mr. T in the photos can’t be switched on, meaning that we’re still in the dark over the internals and OS, but with an unconvincing entry to the touchscreen market so far we’ll be keeping a close eye on RIM’s next outing, whatever it’s called.

“As music fans, the band has always enjoyed all the detail of an album gatefold or CD booklet. They want to make visual material available with their albums and this app is the ideal way to do it,” says U2-manager, Paul McGuinness.

The new U2 Mobile Album is a free, downloadable application for BlackBerry smartphones that brings a rich, visual and interactive dimension to the music. It brings together a range of content for fans with photos, videos, interviews, news, lyrics and samples of the music, plus individual tracks or the complete album can be purchased online from a BlackBerry smartphone. A second phase of the application is also already in the works, which will add social networking elements that engage fans around the world.

“With today’s announcement, we are reinventing the album experience for the digital age. We’re extremely excited by the U2 Mobile Album and the opportunity to enhance the mobile music experience for U2 fans on the BlackBerry platform,” said Jeff McDowell, vice president, Global Alliances, Research In Motion.

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