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RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 (photos)

CNET takes a hands-on look at Sprint's latest BlackBerry, the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650. See the photo gallery here.

Bonnie Cha
Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.
Bonnie Cha
1 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650

The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650 picks up where the BlackBerry Tour left off and adds Wi-Fi and doubles the amount of onboard memory. It's not the flashiest smartphone on the block, but a solid messaging device, particularly for Sprint's globetrotting customers. The Bold 9650 is available for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.
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2 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Design

The BlackBerry Bold's design is largely the same as the Tour. It measures the same in height, width, and thickness but is slightly heavier. The Bold also features the same 2.4-inch, 480x360-pixel resolution display and QWERTY keyboard.
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3 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Optical trackpad

One design difference between the Tour and the Bold is that the Bold now has an optical track pad instead of a trackball navigator.
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4 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Right side

On the right side, you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, a customizable shortcut key, and a Micro-USB port.
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5 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Top view

Meanwhile, the top of the device features a lock key and a mute button.
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6 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Backside

The Bold 9650 features a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash. Behind the battery door, you will also find the microSD and SIM card slots.
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7 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Picture quality

The Bold's camera took great photos outdoors, but indoor shots had a bit of a hazy look to them.

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