BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider smartphone details leaked

Details of BlackBerry's imminent new smartphone, the Bold 9800 are doing the rounds on the web after supposed images of the device were leaked last Friday.

The images of the BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider smartphone posted up on The BerryFix certainly look like the real deal and suggest they managed to get their hands on either a late prototype or an early production model.

Rumour has it this forthcoming device will be kitted up with BlackBerry OS 6, giving it loads more scope for a touch interface as well as a full QWERTY keyboard. It's also been suggested the Bold 9800 will also bring improvements to surfing with the smartphone's hotly anticipated WebKit browser.

Of course, the prospect of a slider means the screen will be a lot larger than existing BlackBerry handsets. And, if the leaked images are anything to go by, we could be looking at a screen measuring approximately 3-inches along with the potential for touchscreen control.

Although detailed specifications of the device are yet to be revealed the BlackBerry Bold 9800 is expected to launch in the US in June on AT&T. And, taking into account previous releases, this should mean it's available in the UK around July.