It’s always a lot of fun for us — and hopefully for you, the readers — any time we can run wild with pictures, news, and even reviews of an unannounced handset. Today, however, RIM spoiled our fun and formally announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Things like carriers, release dates and pricing have been withheld for the time being, but RIM has made a statement saying that we should all expect to see the BlackBerry 9700 go on sale “around the world beginning in November.” Spec wise, nothing has changed since our pre-release review, but just in case some of you forgot or weren’t paying a whole lot of attention, here’s a quick refresher on the critical specs:

• BlackBerry OS 5.0
• 624MHz CPU
• 256MB flash memory and support for microSD cards up to 32GB
• Quad-band UMTS/HSDPA (800/850/1900/2100 MHz) or tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (900/1700/2100 MHz)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with UMA support (carrier dependent)
• A-GPS
• 2.44″ HVGA+ display
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
• Optical trackpad
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP/AVCRP
• 1500 mAh battery
• 6 hours of talk time and 17 days of standby (3G)
• 109mm x 60mm x 14.1mm, 122g

In short, this is the BlackBerry device of your dreams. We’re expecting pretty much every single major GSM carrier on the planet to pick up the 9700 sooner or later, so we’ll be sure to keep the updates coming. As always, high res pics and a few other odds and ends are available after the jump.

UPDATE: AT&T, Rogers and T-Mobile have announced they will be carrying the Bold 9700 in the weeks ahead. AT&T and T-Mobile’s 9700 will go for $199.99 after a $100 MIR on 2-year deals while Rogers will be asking for $299.99 on a 3-year contract with a monthly minimum voice and data plan of $45. Bell and TELUS have yet to come forward with pricing but have confirmed they will be carrying the device.

A family that texts together, stays together. Or at least it stays in touch better.

Today’s families with minor children are much more likely than any other household types to have cellphones and use the Internet, a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project reports today.

The phone survey of 2,252 adults, between Dec. 13, 2007, and Jan. 13, 2008, also shows that families use those technologies to stay in touch with each other throughout the day.

“It used to be in the old Dick and Jane days, husbands went off to work, wives went off to a different job or else stayed home … and the kids went off to school,” says study co-author Barry Wellman, professor at the University of Toronto. “And not until 5:30, 6 o’clock did they ever connect.”

But now husbands e-mail wives. Daughters call moms. Sons e-mail parents.

“There’s a new kind of connectedness being built inside of families with these technologies,” says Lee Rainey, director of the project.

When Jim Daly, an editor for a Web company who lives in Alameda, Calif., wanted to call his teenage daughter down to dinner, he called her on her cellphone.

He knew she’d answer because “text message and cellphone messages are much more important” to her, says Daly, 48.

Daly is in constant contact with his wife, a freelance editor who works from home, during the day via e-mail and cellphone.

So are millions of other Americans. According to the survey:

• About 89% of married (or partnered) parents with children own multiple cellphones.

• 66% have high-speed broadband Internet connections in their homes (compared with a national average of 52%).

• 70% of couples in which both partners have cellphones contact each other daily just to say hello, 64% contact each other to coordinate schedules, and 42% of parents contact their children daily using a cellphone.

When the Internet arose, some worried that it would pull families apart, Rainie said. But for perhaps the first time, this study indicates fairly definitely that technology is bringing them together by allowing them to have constant contact, Rainie says.

Most families say technology has either helped their communication with other family members or made no difference. Very few say it has made communication worse.

For some kids, that might become a double-edged sword, but Emily Wilson, 15, of New York City loves it. “For me, it’s really easy and it’s been a big benefit. I can always get in contact with (her parents) no matter what. I’m never out of touch with them.”

For instance, when Emily was shopping for sunglasses in Manhattan, she became concerned what her mother, who was in the Hamptons, would think of them. So Emily sent a picture — via BlackBerry — of her modeling the new shades. Within seconds, her mom sent a message back: Approval granted.

Now she says she knows “I can go shopping without my mom and have her approve what I’m buying.”

Her mom, a longtime techie, loves it, too. Her husband, Fred, likes to Twitter. Her whole family stays in touch electronically.

“We’re a very close-knit family,” says Joanne Wilson. “But it takes the connection to a whole other level. There’s a constant connection.”

June 9 is not far away. So what is so special about it? Well, as Gizmodo reported, “someone very, very close to the 3G iPhone launch” has confirmed that Apple will announce their new model at the WWDC Keynote on June 9th. It is the date the ‘second generation’ iPhone will be making its way in the market straight after its launch.

The first time when the 3G iPhone’s launch date rumours were creating more buzz was when the iPhones in UK and US markets went out of stock which implied that Steve Jobs was clearing the way for the advanced phone.

It seems, again according to Gizmodo, that the launch of the new phone will also come along with some new sales policies. With everything new about it, looks like Apple’s people really want to make the launch grander as in Spain, the phone will be launched on June 18th with the ‘grand opening of Telefonica’s megastore’, an Apple store-like retail outlet (yes, that’s yet another news leak by Gizmodo). And then the launch of iPhone in other markets will follow. Perhaps a new launch strategy!

So for some more ‘new-new’ new updates on the 3G iPhone, watch this space till June 9.

Apple is in talks some of the major music labels over a deal that would allow next-generation iPhone owners to purchase music tracks directly from the handset over cellular wireless networks, according to the New York Times.

Owners of the company’s first-generation iPhone can already accomplish this via a mobile version of the iTunes Store that resides on the handset, but they must be connected to the Internet via a high-speed WiFi connection to do so.

The arrival of faster 3G cellular network access alongside the next iPhone, widely expected for an announcement during the second week of June at Apple’s developers conference, would make it more “technically feasible” for Apple to offer the over-the-air route, the Times notes.

However, the paper reports that the music labels are holding their hand out, demanding that in return they be paid more than the 70 cent wholesale price of songs sold over traditional Internet lines.

Apple’s hoping for “a big launch in June,” according to one label executive familiar with the matter, and as such is also looking to expand its inventory of songs that are available for conversion to ringtones at 99 cents.

“The company is also hoping to add answer tones, also known as ringback tones—songs that a caller hears instead of the ‘ring ring’ sound while waiting for someone to answer,” the report says. “In some cases, these command an even higher wholesale price than ringtones.”

Given that the negotiations are only a few weeks young, it’s reported that any deal may not be announced until after June 9th, the most likely day for the introduction of the much-anticipated 3G iPhone.

With its sleek design, flashy menus, haptic feedback, and full-on 3G access, this touchscreen delight for Sprint users looks to be one of the strongest iPhone competitors to date. Read on for my hands-on impressions.

Announced Tuesday here at CTIA, the Instinct (set for release in mid-June) looks like a virtual clone of the iPhone, but it delivers many of the features missing from Apple’s red-hot handset, including 3G access for speedy browsing and downloads, a replaceable battery, expandable memory, and haptic feedback for the touchscreen - that is, a slight vibration each time you tap the screen. This key feature is sorely missing on the iPhone.

I got an early, hands-on look at the Instinct a couple of weeks ago in New York, and I have to say, it’s the most impressive iPhone contender I’ve seen yet-or at least until I try out LG’s touchscreen Vu, which is also set to debut here at CTIA. The Instinct certainly scores in the looks department, with its smooth, jet-black face (à la the iPhone) and 3-inch display, along with three keys-Back, Home, and Call-just beneath.