BlackBerry Bold 9700 owners around the world can rejoice; BlackBerry OS 6 has finally been leaked for the model. This might be an unofficial release, but BB OS 6 has been on the 9800 Torch since August and while being promised for the 9700, has been noticeably absent. The leaked build available online is version 6.0.0.344 and comes from Driphter.

I have not tested out the leaked version of BB OS 6 yet on the Bold 9700 so I cannot say how well it is running yet. Besides carriers wanting to get everyone to upgrade to devices shipping with the new operating system, there have been technical problems getting OS 6 onto older BlackBerry smartphones. The Bold 9780 refresh of the 9700 will be shipping with BB OS 6 and has a double the RAM (512 MB) of the 9700, presumably for this purpose. The BlackBerry Storm 2 had its OS update canceled because of the RAM issue.

This brings the number of leaked BB OS 6 device builds to three. The Curve 3G 9330 and the Bold 9650 both have had Research In Motion’s (RIM) newest operating system leaked last month. However, both of these models have 512 MB of RAM. This leads to even more speculation on how well the leaked BB OS 6 for the 9700 will perform. The more RAM consumed by the operating system, the less available for apps. One good thing the 9700 has going for it is that it has the same processor as the Torch 9800…and the Bold 9560…and the Style 9670…and the Bold 9780. See a pattern here?

BlackBerry OS 6 version 6.0.0.344 for the Bold 9700 is available all over the internet so just do a quick search to find it if you have the phone and are feeling adventurous.  The new system brings a Webkit-based browser with HTML5 support, user interface improvements and faster load times. Social Feeds help integrate your social networks and messaging apps. Even though this might be the last version of BlackBerry OS as we know it, it is the best version released to date.

As always with leaked operating systems, make sure to backup your device first. Since the release is unofficial, realize that your carrier isn’t going to help you out if you mess up your phone somehow during the process. Have fun and keep your fingers crossed for an official release of this in the very near future!