BlackBerry 8800 officially revealed

RIM today at last unveiled the BlackBerry 8800, the full-sized counterpart to last year's Pearl. The Canadian smartphone shares the same trackball of its slimmer predecessor but has a full keyboard (as with the 8700 series) for quicker typing. Its features are consciously business-friendly, RIM notes: while no camera is in place for the sake of security, a GPS receiver is built in for live maps and other geography-based software.

Contrary to expectations, no Wi-Fi is part of the initial shipping design. However, quad-band GSM with EDGE Internet is standard, as is Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD slot. RIM has also made a concession to general use with a media player for music and songs. Specific launch details weren't given in the official announcement, but the phone is set to launch on Cingular this month for $299 with a two-year plan. Canadian customers can also expect the phone through Rogers Wireless in the near future. Click through for profile shots.