You’d think that RIM would be replacing highest-end product with a brand new device, right? Well, previous rumors suggested that the BlackBerry Bold 9700 would get nothing more than a simple refresh, and we’re able to confirm those rumors. We have a leaked internal document detailing all sorts of fun stuff. Market positioning, technical overviews, and a bunch more. The big picture view? The BlackBerry Bold R020 (9020? 9750? 9780? We’re just guessing) will be practically identical to the 9700 visually. Internal changes include a 5 megapixel camera sensor, and 512MB of RAM up from 256MB. It will also launch with BlackBerry 6 — obviously. We’d love to say there is more, but there isn’t, so check out the leaked document and let us know your thoughts, ok?

Click on over to our BlackBerry Bold R020 overview gallery!

We’ve been saying that this would be the case for as long as we can remember, but today a new photograph has emerged which lends irrefutable evidence to our long-standing claim. The BlackBerry 9020, for now known by its codename Onyx, will be shipping out retail-style with an optical trackpad in lieu of the trackball. Based on the photograph above it’s impossible to tell if what we’re looking at is a late prototype or an early production unit, but seeing as the Onyx has already begun its factory journey we certainly can’t rule the later out. Mmmm, optical goodness.

Thanks, Nan!

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