I was lucky enough to get some hands-on time with the new Bold this morning, and though it's difficult to get a truly accurate feel for a smartphone that's tethered to a table and while hundreds of feisty journalists peer over your shoulder, I can say with little hesitation that the Bold 9900 is one very impressive BlackBerry. Here's why.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is a successor to RIM's original Bold handheld, the BlackBerry 9000. And it looks the part; on first glance, the Bold 9900 looks very much like the Bold 9000. And in many ways the exterior of the device is similar: the keyboard design, shape and size are practically identical to the 9000, and the shiny silver bezel that surrounds the handheld also looks just like the old Bold's bezel.

But the similarities end there.

The Bold 9900 is significantly slimmer and a bit lighter than the 9000. In fact, the Bold 9900 is RIM's thinnest BlackBerry ever. And it feels great in the hand. The Bold 9900 form factor is probably my favorite of any BlackBerry smartphone to date.