BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official

We've seen it photographed, videotaped, and even, briefly, up on RIM's own website. Now it's up there to stay, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (aka the Bold Touch) have been made official as RIM kicks off BlackBerry World in Orlando. As expected, the phone packs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor that has only a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen with a 287dpi pixel density to worry about. On the back is a five megapixel camera and inside is 8GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion) and NFC circuitry. At 10.5mm it's RIM's thinnest handset yet, featuring a stainless steel circumference and a fiberglass back, while up front of course it makes room for a full QWERTY keyboard. The 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity to get its 4G on, while the 9930 is the world variant, adding dual-band CDMA and quad-band GSM to the mix, and both do 802.11a/b/g/n along with Bluetooth 2.1. Both, quite naturally, include the new BlackBerry 7 OS, including a faster browser and voice-activated search. Another picture and full specs are listed after the break, which will have to do you until this handset releases sometime in the summer, meaning this could be your next great beach accessory for those working vacations.

Update: Full press release and more images after the break.

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Scientist cooks up adjustable strength metals

As you may know, crafting a katana is a delicate process that involves carefully constructing a razor-sharp high-carbon edge around a soft shock-absorbent core. One day though, smiths and forging fires could be replaced by electrode-wielding mad-scientists, with the technology to selectively harden and soften metal at will. At least that's what we envisioned when we read about Jörg Weißmüller's breakthrough research in the field of nanomaterials. The German scientist discovered that by placing precious metals in acid he could create tiny ducts through corrosion. Once those channels are flooded with a conductive liquid, electrical currents can be used to harden the material and, if you change your mind about the brittle results, the effect can easily be reversed to make it soft again. The tech could eventually lead to self-healing vehicle armor or scratch-resistant cellphones -- but, really, we just want to zap our way to a high-quality samurai sword. Physorg

Compal's 'Ultra Mobile' Ultrabook eyes-on

Intel's already teased Compal's "Ultra Mobile" Ultrabook from afar, but when this Ivy Bridge laptop popped up on the show floor after the Computex keynote, we decided to give it a closer look. While this prototype isn't quite in the same league as ASUS' gorgeous UX21, do bear in mind that we're still looking at a relatively slim package for a 14- to 15-inch Core i7 rig. Also visible around the machine are a couple of USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI-out port, a LAN socket, and an SD card reader. Until we hear more about this Ultra Mobile, enjoy our eyes-on photos below. Compal's 'Ultra Mobile' Ultrabook eyes-on omment

TDK starts mass production of transparent OLEDs, makes texting and walking safer

TDK is taking those transparent OLED screens we saw back in October and putting them into mass production. The 2.4-inch, QVGA (240 x 320) UEL476 display has a transmittance of 40 percent, but obscures light passing through the front so others won't be able to read your text messages from behind. Obviously, these aren't going to find their way into high-end Android handsets, but they may have a home in fashion phones like Lenovo's S800. And, you know, they seem perfect for SMS addicts who can't stop their thumbs from flying even while walking.

NYC

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