Here’s a quicky I figured deserved its own post considering the amount of interest and curiosity it generated. Last week I mentioned AT&T had started putting mysterious black boxes in their stores throughout the country. At the time it was unclear what was inside these boxes but as of today its contents have been revealed!

If you guessed that the BlackBerry Torch 9800 was underneath give yourself a pat on the back because you were right! The box concealed a nice-sized display/podium for the recently announced Torch 9800.

SEE THE DISPLAY/PODIUM!

The day many BlackBerry users have waited for is here, RIM and AT&T together announced the BlackBerry Torch 9800! In case you missed it, be sure to check out my liveblog of the event here.

BlackBerry Torch Smartphone First to Feature New BlackBerry 6 Combines New Touch Screen Experience with Easy-To-Use Keyboard and Rich WebKit Browser First Smartphone to Support AT&T’s Next Generation Messaging Experience, and First to Offer Locations Feature New BlackBerry App World Pre-installed with Carrier Billing Support

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone will be available only for AT&T customers on August 12 in AT&T company owned retail stores and online at www.att.com/blackberrytorch, as well as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and RadioShack stores.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be available for $199.99 with 2-year service agreement on a qualifying rate plan and smartphone data plan required.  New smartphone customers may choose from two AT&T monthly data plan options, $15 for 200 MB of wireless data or $25 for 2 GB.  Enterprise and small business customers should contact their account representative for pricing details.

PRESS RELEASE & MORE INFO!

BlackBerryRocks.com is live at the RIM and AT&T BlackBerry event in New York City! Many are expecting RIM and AT&T to jointly announced the BlackBerry Bold/Torch 9800 slider along with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Stay tuned and feel free to submit questions through the liveblog above or leave them in the comments. The event is supposed to promptly begin at 11AM EST. Here are some useful links:

• Click Here to see the liveblog in a separate, pop-up window.
• Click Here for this liveblog’s RSS feed.
• Follow @BlackBerryRocks on Twitter and join our Facebook page.

The RIM and AT&T BlackBerry event hasn’t even begun and it looks like RIM is already advertising the their BlackBerry slider. According to a Google Ad spotted by searching “9800 blackberry” the official name of the slider is Torch 9800. While we still have to wait for RIM themselves to announce it, it’s pretty much 99% that Torch is going to be the release name.

Stay tuned for live coverage from today’s BlackBerry event where the Torch 9800 and BlackBerry 6 are expected to launch!

via MiBlackBerry

Just in time for today’s RIM and AT&T event, the BlackBerry Bold/Torch 9800 slider has been approved by the FCC! The FCC documents call this device the “BlackBerry smartphone model RCY71UW” but if you take a look at the images and compare them to leaked images, you’ll see that it is definitely RIM’s new 9800. As a reminder, the 9800 is going to run the new BlackBerry 6 operating system touchscreen/keyboard combo.

Keep on eye on BBRocks! as I’ll be live at today’s event to bring you coverage around 11AM EST!

via Engadget

We have another round of official BlackBerry 6 theme icons and images for both theme developers and anyone who wants a preview. Earlier today I posted about the leaked and extracted BlackBerry 9670 icons and images, now we have over 1600 more from the BlackBerry Bold/Torch 9800 slider!

• Download via MultiUpload: Extracted BlackBerry 6 Theme Icons & Images (9800)
  

DISCLAIMER: Download and use at own risk! *

Alessio let me know that there is a difference with the two icon sets so be sure to check them both out. If you’re a theme developer and decide to put together some themes with these extracted icons and images, be sure to let us know!

via Mobistack

While the majority of BlackBerry users won’t be able to use this, considering the event RIM and AT&T will be hosting this Tuesday, many of you may soon be able to. If this is the OS the 9800 ships with then this might be a pointless leak, unless you’re a hybrid builder. I guess we’ll find out soon!

• Download OS 6.0.0.135 for the BlackBerry Bold/Torch 9800 via:
  • RapidShare
  • MegaUpload
  • DepositFiles
  • HotFile
  • MultiUpload
• How To:
  • Backup And Restore Your BlackBerry
  • Upgrade your BlackBerry Operating System (OS)

Please report any feedback/findings in the comments.

DISCLAIMER: Install at your own risk. This is Leaked/Beta software that is not guaranteed to be stable, and therefore will not be supported by RIM or your wireless carrier should you run into some problems. As a precaution, if you decide to upgrade, it is highly recommended that you make a backup before using this software. If you are not comfortable using Leaked/Beta software you should probably wait for the next official release. *

via BBLeaks

Since the first image of the BlackBerry Bold 9780 appeared others have joined in with more photos and even a video. Today we have another round of photos and a 7-minute long video showing off the Bold 9700 replacement and the new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Here are some of BBLeaks’ observations:

• 624Mhz Processor
• 512MB Flash RAM
• OS 6.0.0.125 (possible launch build)
• 480×360 Resolution Screen TFT, 65K colors
• 5.0 MP Camera with LED Flash
• Trackpad
• GSM / UMA / HSPA+?
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Wi-Fi b/g (possibly N?)
• Gun Metal Bezel

Just by looking at the Bold 9780 you can’t tell there is much difference between it and the Bold 9700, but as you can see from the specs mentioned above, there is significant difference. Would you get the Bold 9780 or the Bold 9800 slider?

VIDEO & PICTURES!