RIM launches BlackBerry Bold 2

The Bold 9700 uses a touchpad for navigation

Research in Motion (RIM) has announced the addition of a new BlackBerry Bold to its growing line-up of smartphones.

The Bold 9700 is the successor to the 9000 that was launched in 2008. The new handset promises to "appeal to both men and women and for both professional and personal use", according to RIM.

It is thinner and slightly lighter than its predecessor, with a 2.44in screen, which has a slightly improved screen resolution of 480 x 360 pixels compared to the 9000's 480 x 320.

The 'pearl' navigator has been replaced with a touchpad, and much of the lightness comes from the plastic casing, which was formerly metal.

The Bold 9700 also features a "highly tactile, distinctive, fretted keyboard ", a Marvell Tavor processor running at 624MHz with 256MB memory, GPS, Wi-Fi and Blackberry OS 5.0.

Also included are the usual 3.5mm headphone plug, a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, a microSD card reader, 3G connectivity and an estimated talk time of six hours, or two days on standby.

No launch date or network sponsor has been announced, and RIM is keeping quiet as to how much it will cost, either per month or pay-as-you-go.

The Canadian company launched its second touch-screen device, the Storm2 9520, last week as an update to its original Storm device.