This might just be the perfect Blackberry. Since 2008 RIM has been trying to build the “iPhone killer”, first with the Blackberry Storm and Storm 2, and recently the Torch. While the Storm was not universally liked, the Torch did a lot better because it held on to the one thing that makes a Blackberry a Blackberry – the keyboard. The new 9900 models bring together the great form factor of the Bold series with a new touch enabled Blackberry OS 7 operating system. And now Vodacom has made it available in SA….

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet at only 10.5mm, and the first to offer a high performance keyboard and touch display integrated within the iconic BlackBerry Bold design. The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 is also the first BlackBerry smartphone to include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that is enabling many new and exciting capabilities, including the ability to pair with NFC-enabled accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

Distinguished by its thin design, amazingly effective keyboard and brilliant touch display, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is crafted with premium materials including a brushed stainless steel frame that puts the finishing touch on the smartphone.

Vodacom’s Managing Executive – Sales, Zunaid Dinath, said: : “We are excited to bring the first BlackBerry 7-based smartphone to our customers in South Africa in the form of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 which will provide our customers a rich and integrated communications experience”.

BlackBerry 7, the operating system for the new BlackBerry Bold 9900, introduces a next generation BlackBerry browser with a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. Combining the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with the powerful hardware enhancements in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 delivers browsing results that are up to 40% faster than older BlackBerry 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry5 based smartphones.  Additional enhancements to this next generation BlackBerry browser have also optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 also features Liquid Graphics technology, combining a dedicated high-performance graphics processor with a fast CPU and stunning high resolution display to deliver a highly responsive touch interface with incredibly fast and smooth graphics.

Expect Bandwidth Blog’s review soon…