Launched yesterday on AT&T, the Blackberry Bold 9700 is RIM’s replacement for the wildly popular Bold 9000. New changes include the inclusion of an optical touchpad and removal of the traditional trackball, a smaller screen, and a smaller form factor overall. I went over to my local AT&T store yesterday and decided to upgrade my aging flip phone to the new Blackberry. Does it live up to its expectations? Continue reading to find out.

Basic Info

The Blackberry Bold 9700 is the successor to the year-old Bold 9000. Codenamed the “Onyx” and “Bold 2,” it is currently available on T-Mobile and AT&T in the United States. It is similar in many ways to its older brother, but there are some notable changes.

Besides the differences above, the two are pretty much one in the same. The most notable improvements in the new Bold are the smaller form factor, optical trackpad, and increased RAM.

The only real downside to the new Bold over the old one is the 9700 only has 256 MB of onboard storage compared to 1 GB on the 9000. This is easily fixed with an SD card, however.

Design / Form Factor

The Bold 9700 is the one of the smallest Blackberries ever produced. While the screen size was reduced from 2.8” to 2.44”, the resolution remains unchanged and it is just as bright and vibrant as its predecessor. RIM also reduced the weight of the new Bold by half an ounce. The difference shows. When I first picked it up, I was surprised at how light the 9700 really is. RIM should be applauded for packing so many features into such a small package.

To keep the phone small, however, RIM had to reduce the size of the QWERTY keyboard. To make up for this, it raised each key slightly so that running your finger across the device is like driving over a bunch of speedbumps. This makes typing on the smaller keys much easier and even with my large fingers, I had no problems entering text. If you can type accurately on other Blackberries, the Bold 9700 shouldn’t present much of a problem.

Touchpad

The most substantial improvement on the new Bold is the removal of the trackball Blackberry phones are famous for. It is great for fast navigation, but easily worn down over time.

Crackberry addicts won’t miss the trackball on the Bold 9700. The optical touchpad works wonderfully and is a pleasure to use. Navigating with it is just as easy as using the ball—you glide your finger across it to move through menus and press down to make a selection. Because the touchpad is fixed to the device, it should be much more durable than the trackball.

Camera

The camera on the new Blackberry Bold is similar to the old one, except RIM upped the megapixel count to 3.2 and added autofocus. Both Bolds feature an LED flash. For a cell phone camera, the picture quality is good, but don’t expect gallery-quality photos.

GPS

My Bold 9700 came with AT&T Navigator, a turn-by-turn navigation system for smartphones on the carrier that costs $9.99 per month. You don’t have to pay this fee to use the GPS in free applications such as Google Maps or to geotag photos, though.

On Google Maps, the GPS is accurate within 3 meters. When I took the 9700 on a drive through town, it only lagged a very seconds behind my car—good enough for navigation purposes. Indoors, it had trouble picking up a signal, but after a few minutes worked normally.

Battery Life

The new Bold has a battery life that is nearly 25% longer than its predecessor. For an on-the-go user constantly checking email, browsing the web, and using the GPS, this is great news. I got more than a day of heavy use out of the 9700 before needing to charge it.

Conclusion

The original Blackberry Bold 9000 is still a great phone, but there’s no doubt about it, the new Bold 9700 is a significant step up.The improved battery life, smaller size, optical trackpad and better camera make it well worth the upgrade. Right now at AT&T, it is available for only $149.99 after mail-in-rebate and 2-year contract.