BlackBerry Bold 9700 pre-order now live

BlackBerry's follow-up to the successful Bold 9000, the Bold 9700, is available now to pre-order on contract.

The Bold 9700 has been a while in the making, but with an expected launch date of the 28th October, the wait is nearly over.

The 9700 takes the traditional BlackBerry form-factor, meaning a landscape full-Qwerty nestles below the 2.4-inch display.

One area that does differ from the original is in the introduction of a touch sensitive trackpad in place of the Bold 9000's bothersome trackball - a move that will likely be appreciated and applauded in equal measure.

Needless to say there's a host of other smartphone features on board including Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA connectivity and a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus.

The 9700 is available from free on Vodafone on 18 and 24-month contracts, with commitments of £40 and £35 per month respectively.

For more information check out the official BlackBerry Bold pre-order page over at the official Vodafone shop now.

• More BlackBerry Bold 9700 on our BlackBerry minisite