Recent rumors circulating around the Web indicate Research In Motion has a new BlackBerry Wireless Handheld up its sleeve, the 8700 (code named Electron). Details about the new smartphone have been sketchy, however.

Here's what's come through so far:

Due in the next couple of months, the 8700 series should make the carrier rounds by shipping from Cingular Wireless, Sprint PCS/Nextel and Verizon Wireless in the United States. The unit should include built-in Instant messaging, GPS, and attachemnt viewing, a feature often provided by other companies besides RIM.


Positively Electron?

Electron should be a 3G-enabled handset for broadband cellular networking performance. For Cingular that would mean EDGE, Verizon EVDO, and Sprint PCS/Nextel BB support.

It should also include 64 MB of RAM. The 8700 series probably won't offer Wi-Fi and VoIP out of the box, however. And there may not be a camera, either.

We'll report more on the BlackBerry 8700 series as information becomes available.