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Hands-on with T-Mobile's BlackBerry Curve 8900
Without touching, feeling, caressing, and loving the Curve 8900 in one's own hands, it's hard to understand why so many people seem to be stoked about losing the Bold's 3G and going this route instead. Once you pick it up, though... well, it's a different story. For anyone familiar with the Nokia E71's wiles, the 8900 strikes a similar tone with a svelte, sexy body that betrays BlackBerry's down-to-business aspirations (no complaints there). Don't get us wrong, the Bold looks great, but seriously -- if you can put HSDPA aside and work off EDGE and WiFi alone, the Curve's your hookup. Check out a few shots (including a touching Storm side-by-side) in the gallery! %Gallery-40997%
T-Mobile bringing the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in February
Sprint's now officially holding up the tail end of the BlackBerry train in the States (though hopefully not for long) now that T-Mobile has announced that the thoroughly modern Curve 8900 is hitting the lineup. Like the 8320 before it, the 8900 does WiFi for UMA-based HotSpot calling service and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the similarities end there; besides arguably becoming the hottest BlackBerry in RIM's stable, the 8900 features a 3.2-megapixel cam with image stabilization and a glorious 480 x 360 display that'll put anything shy of a Storm to shame. Look for it next month -- T-Mobile hasn't committed to a date, though we have no reason to doubt the 11th rumor at this point.
BlackBerry Curve 8900 caught on the lam in some T-Mobile store
The good news: odds are decent your local T-Mobile store has a Curve 8900 locked away somewhere. The bad news: you can't have it. Word on the street is that T-Mob staff are under strict orders to keep the 8900 out of shopping bags until February 11, the last rumored launch date we'd heard, so keep saving your pennies... to, you know, bribe a store this week.
Chins up, Australia: BlackBerry Curve 8900 gracing Optus and Vodafone
We wouldn't have guessed it a few months back, but it's starting to look like the Curve 8900 might actually be the device in RIM's portfolio with the most momentum going into '09, not the Storm or the Bold. Wild, huh? The latest evidence of that comes from RIM's own site, where they've revealed that both Optus and Vodafone will apparently be picking up the svelte QWERTY beaut at some point, though no mention is made of when or for how much dough. Theoretically, we'd expect it to be less than the Bold -- so for anyone who really doesn't need 3G, consider this your belated holiday gift. Hopefully not too belated.[Thanks, Edward]
T-Mobile's BlackBerry Curve 8900 seemingly pegged for February 11
Product delays are the greasy, disgusting lubricant that keep the wheels of the consumer electronics world turning, so when we hear of something being pushed back a week, a month, or a quarter, we really don't think much of it. Moving a launch up, though -- well, that's a totally different ball game, and it always brings a smile to our faces. Word on the street had been that T-Mobile USA would take delivery of the luscious new Curve 8900 come February 18, but now we're hearing it's actually coming a week earlier on February 11, just in time to stuff RIM's latest hardware in your loved one's box of chocolates, bouquet, or gift basket of sundry sausages, cheeses, and jams. 'Course, WiFi and 3.2-megapixel cam might be enough to get you to dump your life partner flat on his / her / its ass, so don't blame us if this thing wrecks your otherwise happy home.[Via PhoneDog.com]
Curve 8900 Replica theme now available for impatient, theme-obsessed CrackBerry addicts
While you may be in love with the 480 x 360-pixel screen on the latest and greatest 'Berry straight out of Waterloo, we know that the really tantalizing draw of the 8900 is that gorgeous theme. Luckily for all you wannabe addicts out there, CrackBerry Forums member Tom1|21 has worked some magic with Plazmic's Theme Builder and has made the theme available for all 83xx and 88xx devices -- albeit for a price. Of course, the truly classifiable BB elite would've known that this very same theme -- or something remarkably similar -- was available for the incredibly low price of free just days ago. Interestingly, the original forum post has been updated and points to purchase links rather than the free-OTA download links that it was pointing to prior. A little bit of searching might lead you to the free version, and you can start saving up that coinage for the finally-available Sling client -- once it loses the beta label and gets priced, that is. Or, you can just bypass the whole theme situation and hopefully get the real deal sometime around February 18th.Read - CrackBerry Forums threadRead - CrackBerry Blog theme availability
Shadow II, Curve 8900, Samsung Memoir due in coming weeks on T-Mobile?
We're still waiting for even a single American launch of RIM's luscious (or luscious-looking, anyway) Curve 8900, but if the latest blurry screenshot is to be believed, that little indiscretion is finally about to be rectified -- and the curvacious BlackBerry's bringing friends, too. Notables on T-Mobile's alleged list of first quarter launches include the Nokia 7510 Supernova on January 21, the long-rumored Shadow II on January 28, a mysterious Motorola Renew on February 4, and the aforementioned 8900 and 8-megapixel Memoir on February 18. In other words, T-Mob fans, mark your calendars for the third week of February, because that's where the action's going to be. Or so we desperately hope.
BlackBerry Curve 8900 now in T-Mobile stores across the UK
If you're too cool for the Bold (and by "too cool" we mean "don't care about 3G"), you've probably been dreaming of the day the luscious-looking Curve 8900 would grace your hood -- and for Brits, it seems that day has come. T-Mobile UK has handily beat O2's UK network to become the first carrier in the land to offer the spiritual successor to the 8300 series, and we're hearing that most T-Mobile stores have already been shipped units. So get it from the store or get it online, but either way, you'll be able to get it for a big fat nothing on a £31.50 (about $47) plan for 18 months.[Thanks, Kristian R.]
RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 comes to O2 UK in January
Rogers yelled "first!" when it began selling RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 in Canada this week, but O2 won't be too far behind in the UK. Apparently hoping that you'll end up with wads of disposable income post-Christmas, the carrier has just made clear that the handset will be available to customers on January 5, 2009. Those not keen on camping out can pre-register for a unit starting on December 10th (December 22nd online), and if it's pounds you're concerned about, you can get it as low as free (or as high as £234) depending on your choice of contract / plan.
RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 has arrived on Rogers
Right now, the vast majority of RIM talk is centered around its touchscreen offering, but those firmly committed to its more traditional kit haven't forgotten for a second about the next-generation BlackBerry Curve. We knew the 8900 was destined for a life on Rogers, but we had no idea we'd feel this compelled to head north once it launched. The handset boasts a 2.4-inch, light-sensing 480 x 360 resolution display, 512MHz processor, quad-band EDGE / WiFi, 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS, a microSDHC card slot, removable 1,400mAh battery and Bluetooth 2.0; sadly, the omission of any 3G support isn't in error, and we're certain that'll be a deal-breaker for some. For those who don't mind (you know, those who just "live" near WiFi hotspots), it's available now in Canada from $179.99 with a pathetically lengthy 3-year contract (with minimum monthly rate plan of $45).[Via BlackBerry News]
Rogers selling the BlackBerry Curve 8900? UPDATE: Yes indeed
Word on the street is that people have suddenly (and rather unexpectedly) started to be able to buy the Curve 8900 on Rogers for $179.99 on a three-year contract with support for the carrier's Talkspot UMA service. Why this wasn't heavily advertised leading up to the release, we don't know -- folks seem to be red-hot for this release -- but at any rate, you should be able to stroll into your local shop in the next few days and pick this sucker up. That eternal question comes up yet again: Curve, Bold, or Storm?Update: Game on -- according to Boy Genius, the Curve is now listed in Rogers' internal database and retail stores are starting to get stocks. So what's it gonna be?
Bavarian BlackBerry Curve 8900s now shipping
T-Mobile Germany's product page still claims that it's not yet available, but reports are filtering in that RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 has started to ship to customers in the land of Oktoberfest, lederhosen, and over-engineered automobiles. That doesn't do North Americans terribly much good, unfortunately -- Germans use a QWERTZ keyboard layout, so even if you could get the sucker unlocked, you'd accidentally be typing "zes" instead of "yes" for the rest of your life -- so go ahead and give into the envy for a few weeks while you wait for some more launches to go down. We'll keep you updated, we promise.[Via CrackBerry]
BlackBerry Curve 8900 hits FCC, destined for US airwaves early next year
With the 8900 having just launched on T-Mobile Germany, it only stands to reason that T-Mobile's US subsidiary would be a logical next step; after all, it's already brought in the WiFi-equipped 8320, and the 8900 is the next progression in that bloodline. It also makes a ripe competitor for the Bold, which just saw the light of day on T-Mobile's much-larger rival -- and seeing how RIM has now mentioned that the 8900 will be coming stateside in the first quarter of 2009, we're feeling like a T-Mob launch is about as close to a sure thing as you can find these days. The only question is, why wait so long? When you consider that the darned thing just passed the FCC, we're not seeing a compelling reason to hold it until after the crucial holiday season unless they're looking to give the 8220 some breathing room -- and hey, sorry, 8220, but in a battle against the 8900, you're going to go down every time.Read - Coming to the USRead - FCC filing
BlackBerry Curve 8900 gets official for T-Mobile Germany
Beep beep, outta the way, incoming RIM product blitz! Seriously, this is like a high-powered corporate executive's dream -- not one, not two, not three, not four, but five major product launches out of Waterloo in the span of a few months' time. Latest out of the gate is the 8900 Curve, successor to the 8300 series featuring a heavily-upgraded 480 x 360 display, microSD support to 16GB, WiFi, 3.2-megapixel cam with autofocus, and integrated GPS. Sadly, network data tops out at EDGE speeds -- but if you really need more, we s'pose that's where the Bold comes into play. No word on any launches outside of Bavaria just yet, but on T-Mobile Germany, the 8900 is available "mid November" (which is basically now) for €4.95 (yes, that's not a typo, 4.95 euros) on a 24-month contract.[Via IntoMobile]
RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 gets hands-on treatment, looks mighty good
Oh RIM, why must you torture us? Just when we'd moved beyond our nightly dreams of the Javelin and had our sights set on a Bold, here you go reminding us of just how luscious the next-generation Curve looks to be. Sure, the omission of 3G makes us none too happy, but it's hard to kvetch about the design. The Boy Genius managed to get his paws around one of the forthcoming BlackBerry Curve 8900s, and his initial impressions are almost universally positive. He's totally digging the size, the screen, the keyboard and even the bezel. That's right, the bezel. Check the read link to see what the fuss is all about.
BlackBerry Curve 8900 get early video praise, T-Mobile Germany says November
Just when we're all geared up to get crazy corporate with a bunch of Bold purchases, RIM has to go and make our lives difficult by reminding us that the Javelin / Curve 8900 is out there -- lurking -- just waiting to make a grand entrance sometime in the next few months. A new video posted to CrackBerry goes through the 8900's finer points, noting that the handset clocks in just a bit more compact than its big brother, features a slightly smaller, higher dot pitch display, and carries over an original Curve-style keyboard with spaced keys rather than the flowing design employed on the Bold (for what it's worth, the narrator seems to like both styles equally). Interestingly, it's noted that this prototype employs an older trackball design that'll allegedly be replaced with a more bulletproof design by the time it launches. The lack of 3G is going to be a dream killer for many, but we could see this one getting some retail legs underneath it if the price is right -- it's got WiFi, after all.In fact, T-Mobile Germany is saying that it'll have the 8900 next month -- a claim we actually believe, since Germany is from the future. The trackball shown on its version of the handset is distinctly different than CrackBerry's, so it's looking like the claim of a redesign might hold water.[Thanks, Alex]Read - CrackBerry's Curve 8900 hands-on videoRead - T-Mobile Germany's Curve 8900 product page
RIM's BlackBerry Javelin 8900 gets pitched through an early review
The zany folks at CrackBerry have done the planet a kindness by posting up a short review -- though, it's anything but -- of RIM's newest unannounced set, the BlackBerry Javelin 8900. If you skim through the bit, you'll see words that hint they may like it, like "tight, sexy package" or "outperforms', though, reading more closely, we think they've completely fallen in love. The Javelin is compared to both the Curve and the venerable Bold and solidly trounces the Curve everywhere from screen, speed, OS, functionality, camera, form, and well, you get the idea. Even compared to the Bold it still stands out as being smaller, packing a better camera, more device memory, and even a higher resolution display. All these impressions are based on an early revision of the set, so we expect it'll get "awesomer" -- or something -- once it gets to retail. Follow the read link to get to the dirt, in this, the first of two parts on this new set.
