For all the Japanese mobile users wondering when RIM is going to release the BlackBerry Bold in their country, NTT DoCoMo has the answer today: the high-end smartphone will be commercially available in the Asian land of teddy bear phones starting the first months of 2009. Of course, the beginning of next year is not exactly a close release date, but it's better later than never.

BlackBerry Bold will run on DoCoMo's high-speed 3G network, offering a wide range of advanced features, including internal GPS, BlackBerry Maps, a 480 x 320 pixels TFT display, Wi-Fi, a full QWERTY keyboard, advanced email and Web capabilities, document reader and editor, Music and Video players, 1GB of internal (and expandable) memory, and so on.

The Bold measures 114 x 66 x 14 millimeters, weighs a bit over 130 grams, and includes a battery (1500 mAh) said to last up to about 5 hours in talk-time mode or up to 310 hours in stand-by mode.

Talking about the upcoming release of the Bold in Japan, President and Chief Executive Officer of NTT DoCoMo, Mr. Ryuji Yamada, declared, "The BlackBerry Bold smartphone empowers the most demanding users with capabilities that help them achieve all that they want – at work and in their personal lives. The elegant design houses a comprehensive suite of new features, as well as the traditional functionality of the BlackBerry platform that users have come to know and love. We're pleased to announce plans for DOCOMO to bring it to Japan."

The President and Co-CEO at RIM, Mr. Mike Lazaridis, added, "The new BlackBerry Bold smartphone exudes confidence and elegance and will enable mobile workers to stay connected effortlessly in their professional and personal lives. We are proud to work with DoCoMo to introduce this powerful smartphone to Japanese customers."

The Japanese price of BlackBerry Bold has not been announced, but it will probably depend on the contract agreements and data plans users want to buy it with.

For those who want to check out the Bold before its market availability, RIM and NTT DoCoMo are showcasing it during CEATEC Japan 2008, between September 30 and October 4.