I upgraded from the Bold to the Bold2 as of yesterday, and here is my first impression:
-Bold had a great screensize which I got to love quite a bit since upgrading from the 8800/8820 world. The screen size of the Bold2 is definitely smaller and one would feel it if they upgrade from the 9000. I hope I can get use to it, but my web pages definitely become a bigger effort to read
-Speed - The Bold2 is definitely speedier, and a much better joy to use. I assume this is OS driven rather hardware, so I guess one can hope that the origional Bold will become as speedy as the Bold2 once the OS 5 will be released. The speed at this moment really covers all areas of the Bold2, from looking at pictures to accessing Docs to go files, there is simply no lack time to do things.
-I haven't tried the camera yet, but yes, a better camera would make sense, considering doing silly snap shots are the best pictures these days
-Battery life, I am getting a gauge on how much bettery life would be, so far very good, I feel the difference. Ultimately though I would think it is all OS driven, maybe the origional bold will become a power saver like the current Bold2. I would say that the battery life issue is critical, because a few times, like so many other readers pointed out on making choices to take a call or not to conserve power....
-Applications - third party. I didn't have any critical programs, so I was ready to lose some if I had to. To my surprise with some tweaking and some battery pulls, I was able to get all my third party applications to work, and it appears that many will work under 5.0 per the board. I would say though be cautious if you migrate from an older OS/Unit..the difference is substantial..hence, some applications may not work unless the vendor made sure it would work on your desired phone...
-New Accessories - that's a very annoying discovery which I didn't know about...the sync cable of the 9000 won't work, so if you need a spare or extra one..this means another expense either by buying an adapter or a new cable..I am not the adapter type of a guy..same thing with the car charger..it won't work. If you are upgrading from a complete different phone family, I guess..one wouldn't expect compatibility..but from a 9000 to a 9700?..grrr..well, hopefully, the micro usb is going to be better and less vunerable than the regular mini USB?
In summary, as many have pointed out, the upgrade from Bold to Bold2 is subtle, however, given the choice of chosing one or the other? I would go straight to Bold2...unless you are getting the Bold for free. Bold2 is literally being given away with so many specials available when doing a 2 year or so contract...
Good Luck...I am happy so far with my Bold2.