So maybe those Sprint commercials with Dan Hesse have you jonesing for a jump to the nation’s third-largest carrier. If so, then the announcement of Research in Motion’s (RIM) newest BlackBerry, the Bold 9650, might be just that it takes to bring you on board.
The new Bold replaces the aging BlackBerry Tour on CDMA networks. That’s Sprint and Verizon, and while Verizon will presumably be picking up the device in the near future, Sprint is offering it for $200 on a new two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate. The new Bold will be available starting May 23.
The biggest update to the 9650 is the removal of the trackball for RIM’s new optical trackpad, essentially a tiny square that tracks finger movement. The swap improves navigation on the BlackBerry OS (version 5.0 will be shipping on the device) and avoids the gunk build-up all too common with trackball BlackBerrys. Specs include a 480 x 360 resolution display, 3.2 megapixel camera and wireless Internet radios.
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