Perhaps the worst kept secret till now — outside of Walt Mossberg’s embargo slipups — was that T-Mobile and the latest BlackBerry flagship device were set for a November marriage . Hell, there were even invitations to the party . So, whether you call it the Bold 2 , the 9700 , or the Onyx , come next month you’ll be able to lovingly place its 480 x 360 display, WiFi antennae and all that other hotness in a Curve -sized space inside your pocket. We can expect this first official confirmation to be followed by similar appearances in the US and across Europe as the 9700 begins its ascension to the throne of the BlackBerry kingdom.

We’re not expecting the BlackBerry Onyx to hit before November , but at least a few units have hit the wild , and these are the first in-depth photos we’ve seen. These shots don’t reveal much about the new-look Bold with the optical trackball, but it sure is pretty, ain’t it? Now if it only had a useful browser and IMAP support, we’d actually care. [Thanks, Zero] Filed under: Cellphones BlackBerry Onyx poses for the camera originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser. The leaked-to-all-hell BlackBerry Onyx may have undergone one last change before heading to manufacture: judging by this shot nabbed by BlackBerry Underground , it’ll have a Curve 8520-esque optical trackpad —not a trackball. This feature has been a persistent rumor since the original Onyx shots hit the web , though the fact that it contradicted the actual photos of the device didn’t bode well for its credibility. In the context of early reactions to the Onyx leak, this apparent late change makes a lot of sense: the handset was characterized as a best-of-all-worlds device, keeping all the best features of non-touch BlackBerrys without sacrificing compactness. Grabbing the optical trackpad from the 8520, then, is an obvious move. [ BlackBerry Underground via BGR ]

It looks like the incredibly cool new Blackberry Messenger app will be making its way to all devices running OS 5.0 . Up until now the new BBM had only been seen on the BlackBerry Onyx , but BGR has been playing around with OS 5.0 on a Curve 8900, and says it came packing all the great new features. New to the app are GPS location integration and proximity sensor so you know when you are near friends, avatar support, home screen contacts and threaded SMS. But best of all, given the slick new interface, you won’t feel like you are sending a message from 2004 every time you open it. [ BGR via CrackBerry ]

Here’s why you should be excited about the BlackBerry Onyx : It’s the first BlackBerry with 3G, Wi-Fi, a 3MP camera, the Bold’s awesome keyboard and giant battery in a package the size of the tiny Curve . CrackBerry’s actually got one, and they love all over it: [ CrackBerry ]

The first handset to fulfill last month’s BlackBerry codename prophesy is here , and we’re pretty sure it’s the Onyx. That means Curve-8900-like proportions, but with Bold genes (read: 3G). Here’s the alleged spec list: * GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS device * GPS * Camera * Wi-Fi (no UMA support) * QWERTY keyboard * 480×360 resolution screen BGR is going with the codename Driftwood (another, similarly-spec’d handset in the aforementioned leak), thinks the handset is the first of the 96xx series, and claims knowledge that it’ll ship with an optical trackpad, a la the Curve 8520. But trackpad and name hypotheses aside, we’ve got something exciting here: a handset with the compact profile of a later Curve, but the hardware capabilities and fantastic keyboard of the Bold. Mildly convincing speculation pegs release at September on T-Mo, but don’t get too hopey until a little more evidence mounts up. [ Crackberry , BGR ]