Mar 8, 2011 17:37 GMT  ·  By

Blackberry 9900 has been surrounded by mystery ever since rumors about pre-release devices tagged with this codename have surfaced over the Internet

The 9900 number has been spotted in previous references to various RIM devices that proved to be eventually launched under different names or never reached the shelves at all.

Recently, the Blackberry 9900 has been allegedly tied with the Blackberry Bold Touch, also known as Dakota (GSM version) or Montana (CDMA version).

According to a UAProf document, an unknown Blackberry 9900 device is in the works and will probably be announced some time this year. RIM's UAProf Doc is dated February 23rd, which places it about two weeks after Blackberry's roadmap for 2011 leaked.

Information about BlackBerry 9900's specs is scarce at the moment, but it appears that it will feature a 480 x 640 display, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1.2 GHz processor, 8 GB of internal memory, microSD card slot for memory expansion, Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity with mobile hotspot, GPS, 3G, NFC, as well augmented reality support.

Along with the Blackberry 9900, two other model names have been spotted in the aforementioned document: Blackberry 9850 and 9860.

Blackberry 9850 might be a reference to the Blackberry Storm 3, which also appeared in the manufacturer's 2011 roadmap, while the 9860 model is a reference to its European counterpart, also known as Blackberry Monaco.

It seems that both Blackberry 9850 and 9860 will share the same specifications sheet with features such as: 3.7-inch touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution, 1.2GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and HD video recording (720p) capabilities, 4GB of internal memory, 768 MB RAM and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).

All three smartphones will run on the Blackberry 6.1 mobile platform. RIM is expected to launch Blackberry 7.0, which will be based on QNX software, some time in Q4 2011.