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.

By giving its customers direct access to Facebook, Research In Motion (RIM) successfully took advantage of the growing demands of social network users for access when away from their desktop. Yesterday, during the spring 2008 CTIA Wireless show, RIM announced that there have been more than one million downloads of the application since it launched the software at the 2007 fall CTIA Wireless show last October. “When we launched Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones, we believed that consumers would recognize the value of marrying social networking with mobility and that vision has now been validated more than a million times,” said RIM VP Mark Guibert. “This innovative mobile application…makes it easier than ever for Facebook users to stay connected with people wherever they choose.”

The BlackBerry Facebook application isn’t browser based, but runs directly on a BlackBerry to better make use of RIM’s BlackBerry architecture. With it, Facebook users can wirelessly send and view messages, photos, pokes and Wall posts. And, as with BlackBerry-based e-mail, Facebook notifications are pushed to the user’s smartphone.

It also allows users to take a picture and upload it to Facebook with captions and tags; send out invitations to friends; as well as manage events, photo albums, and status.

Since its initial launch, RIM’s added language support for French, German and Spanish to Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones.

It is available as a free download here and here on the desktop and at m.facebook.com or mobile.blackberry.com over-the-air via the BlackBerry web browser.