BlackBerry 9670 Flip Phone Spied

Research In Motion's first foray into the clamshell phone market didn't exactly impress. The Pearl Flip, as it was branded, was never a hot seller. It's curious that RIM would try again. Based on the spy images of the 9670, its second attempt at a flip phone is a step in the right direction when it comes to function, but two steps backward when it comes to form.The BlackBerry 9670 is a CDMA (read: for Sprint or Verizon) clamshell-style device. Rather than its thinner predecessor, the 9670 is a wide device. This allows it to have a full QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard looks similar to what's available on the current generation 9700 Bold. A full keyboard is definitely an improvement over the SureType keyboard on the Pearl Flip, but the expense comes with the device's odd shape.

The wider shape of the phone also allows the 9670 to have a somewhat larger screen than that of the Pearl Flip. According to The Boy Genius, who dug up the information, the device has a 360 x 480 display on the inside and a large, external, color display as well.

One of the more interesting aspects of the 9670 is that it appears to be running BlackBerry OS 6.0, which was leaked earlier this week. There's a slim possibility it will be the first BlackBerry with OS 6.0 to hit the market later this summer.

Other tidbits about the device include a hefty 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and support for microSD cards. It has an optical mouse for on-screen navigation.

RIM has not announced this device, nor have Sprint or Verizon Wireless. It's possible this device will see the light of day next week at RIM's Wireless Enterprise Symposium.