May 12 - RIM announced an exciting new full-sized smartphone last night, the BlackBerry Bold. The Bold will be a full-sized 3G capable smartphone, styled after their previous full-sized smartphone offerings.

While the aesthetics may not have changed much, RIM added a host of new features for the Bold to really bolster its level of performance.

While many of the previous BlackBerry models forced the user to choose between WiFi and GPS, the BlackBerry Bold includes both features as standard.

Some of the biggest changes in the new Bold model come with both the screen and internet capabilities. RIM decided to upgrade the screen resolution to 480 x 320, placing it in an elite group of smartphones, Apple’s iPhone included, that can boast such a high screen resolution.

On the internet side, the Bold will be completely 3G capable, using GSM networks with HSDPA access. They also included updates to their browser so they can now support streaming video, as well as CSS and Javascript support for more taxing sites.

In the last section of the litany of major changes made by RIM, the new BlackBerry Bolds are also getting a memory storage overhaul. While the traditional microSD card reader is still there, the Bold is also getting  1GB of permanent flash memory built into the phone.

There is no firm price or release date for this phone yet, but it is expected to launch sometime this summer for between $300 and $500.

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