The Blackberry was a huge success as soon as Research in Motion released years ago. A no nonsense handset, it quickly became known for its emailing abilities and smartphone innovations. Now, RIM has unveiled the Blackberry Bold, a smartphone that has built upon the already successful platforms of past Blackberry models and modernized the line.

Quite possible the biggest improvement (and certainly the most eye catching) over previous Blackberries is the Bold?s vibrant screen. It is a 2.6-inch diagonal screen, a tenth of an inch improvement over the Curve. The more noticeable difference is that the Bold bumps up the width of the screen from the Curve?s 1.5 inches to a robust 2.25 inches. Older Blackberries also seem rather dull next to the Bold, as the resolution on this phone has been ramped up to 480 x 320p. Taking advantage of the larger screen, the Blackberry Bold offers an updated user interface with larger icons that are easier to see and manipulate.

The UI in question is the Blackberry OS 4.6. Precision Zen is the default theme this time around and wallpaper can of course be applied to the home screen. Precision Zen?s display arranges six icons dock-style along the bottom of the screen. Dimension Zen is also available, adding color only to the icon selected. Larger icons lead to fewer rows, as the Bold offers only three rows instead of four. This leads to a bit more scrolling around. If you have a hankering for some fun, the Games folder contains Sudoku and solitaire. There are also two online games that let you try your skill against multiple Bold users.

Everyone knows that the Blackberry?s claim to fame is email. RIM certainly knows this and hasn?t changed much with the Bold. Because previous Blackberry handsets already had it right, RIM has simply freshened things up, such as adding the ability to see pictures in message and full HTML. Attachment viewing is also included but outside of that, it is pretty much the same email experience. Of course, the text is easier to read on the improved screen, but the process is the same.

The Blackberry Bold has taken a proven performer and freshened things up a bit. RIM has made some adjustments with the Bold in order to stay relevant, but longtime users as well as those new to Blackberry will appreciate the Bold.