BlackBerry 9670 Clamshell Phone Gets FCC Approval

The BlackBerry 9670 will supposedly be RIM's first smartphone with a clamshell design and a QWERTY keyboard. A device matching this description has received approval from the FCC, a necessary step before it can be released -- in this by either Sprint or Verizon.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must sign off on any wireless device before it can be used in the United States. This approval usually comes days or weeks before any phone hits the market.

The documentation that companies are required to file as part of this process often reveals details about upcoming models. In this case, the FCC filing

The pictures of this device that are part of the filing are concealed by a request for confidentiality, which it typical when the FCC approves devices that haven't been announced yet. In this case they aren't really necessary, though, as a diagram (shown here) is enough to identify this as the BlackBerry 9670, and a number of images of this upcoming smartphone have already leaked out.

The filing has revealed for the first time that this model will have Wi-Fi b/g/n.

Preliminary Overview of the BlackBerry 9670
RIM's first BlackBerry with a clamshell design was the Pearl Flip, but this model has a SureType keyboard. The 9670 will allegedly have a full QWERTY keyboard.

It will also supposedly have 360 × 480 pixel internal display as well as a relatively large, color, external screen. It will include a trackpad, as neither of its displays will be a touchscreen.

Images of the device to leak out show it running BlackBerry OS 6.0, the latest version of RIM's operating system. This has been noticeably enhanced with a redesigned home screen and a more advanced web browser, among other changes.

In addition to support for Sprint and Verizon's CDMA networks, the 9670 will supposedly offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Other items on the leaked feature list include a 5 megapixel camera as well as a microSD memory card slot.

Other details on this model remain unknown, however.

Coming Soon?
According to unconfirmed reports, both Verizon and Sprint are going to release the BlackBerry 9670.

Exactly when this is going to happen is not yet known, but FCC approval could be a sign that the debut is getting close.

The price for this smartphone has not yet leaked out.

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