RIM has a longstanding track record of refining its hardware with near-surgical precision — from one generation of BlackBerry to the next, you almost always see a very careful, deliberate evolution, from the Storm2′s revamped SurePress tech to the Bold 9700′s optical pad and countless examples in between. “Evolution” is exactly how we’d describe the CDMA- and GSM-equipped Bold 9650, the Tour’s spiritual successor that ditches the old name to join forces with the remainder of the Bold line. Dimensionally, the Bold 9650 is a dead ringer for the Tour — it’s still 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.56 inches — but it packs on two-tenths of an ounce worth of weight in exchange for oft-requested WiFi support and an extra 256MB of internal storage (it’s now up to 512MB total). The other big difference, of course, is the replacement of the dodgy trackball with an optical pad, continuing a trend that has now permeated throughout virtually all of RIM’s lineup. Look for the Bold 9650 to hit American carriers — presumably both Verizon and Sprint — in May.

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