Following up on a flurry of BlackBerry leaks last week, a short video clip of the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 (code-named Montana) snuck out onto YouTube over the weekend. It doesn’t show much, but the touchscreen seems to be responding nicely to input. The options menu also shows a dedicated section for BlackBerry ID, backing up rumours that you’ll need to have an account before being able to use the phone. The Montana is the CDMA variant of the touchscreen Bold device, while the Dakota is going to GSM carriers. They both look an awful lot like the original Bold, the 9000, but with a few rearrangements of lock and mute keys.
We’ve seen the detailed spec sheet, but here’s a quick rundown. The BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 will be cranking up the horsepower significantly from the 9780 with a 1.2 GHz processor, 786 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal storage (plus microSD). Though it’s keeping the 5 megapixel camera, it should be able to take 720p HD video recording now. The screen resolution is also getting a bump to 480 x 600, but the real new additions are near-field communications and a magnetic compass. That will enable a whole new breed of contactless payment and augmented reality apps, on top of whatever else developers cook up using the new hardware.
The Bold Touch is expected to be announced at BlackBerry World next month, potentially along with a similar Curve device with a touchscreen, a Torch 2, and a new touchscreen slate device, code-named Monaco. It would be surprising to see all of them, especially considering if RIM does announce something at their show, it’s rarely more than one device, but who knows, maybe they’re picking up the pace. Given the selection of BlackBerry smartphones coming down the pipe, which would you like to see go public first?
[via N4BB]