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Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-on
So, the trickle of BlackBerry juice is now a flood. Just weeks after RIM launched its high-end Torch 9810, 9850 and Bold 9900 handsets, it's revealed the refreshed mid-range Curve 9360 (aka the 9350 or 9370, depending on the carrier and region). When compared to the Bold 9900, which can be seen as a richer cousin with a similar form factor, the new Curve clearly comes with key hardware sacrifices in order to meet a lower (but still to-be-confirmed) price point, including an 800MHz processor (instead of 1.2GHz), no touchscreen and a 480 x 360 HVGA+ display rather than the Bold's full VGA panel. Compared to previous Curves, however, the 9360 is a significant upgrade. It sports the new BB 7, a 5MP camera and a physical design that RIM hopes will entice the "youth demographic" as well as the millions of international users who have helped to turn the Curve into RIM's globally bestselling range. The question is, is this device enough of an upgrade, considering it's been a year since the last refresh in the Curve series? Read on for our initial hands-on impressions... %Gallery-131410%
BlackBerry Curve 3G (9300) is officially BlackBerry 6 ready
The cart left the gate on Thursday and here comes the horse: the official BlackBerry Curve 3G (model 9300) announcement just landed in our inbox. So in addition to sporting (800/850)/1900/2100MHz or 900/1700/2100MHz HSDPA data, quad-band GSM, WiFi, and GPS, we now know that if you buy this BlackBerry 5 device today you can upgrade to BlackBerry 6 "in the coming months." Assuming your carrier can get its act together, of course.
BlackBerry Curve 9300 for sale on Rogers, still not announced
Uh, RIM ol' buddy, is there something you'd like to tell us about this unannounced BlackBerry Curve 9300 that's up and dancing on Rogers' website right now with a $79.99 Canadian price tag on a three-year contract? We're looking at a quad-band GSM and HSDPA 850/1900/2100 candybar with 802.11n WiFi, GPS, 256MB of RAM, a 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion (2GB in the box), and 2.4-inch display throwing 320 x 240 pixels. And no, that's not the latest and greatest OS which makes us wonder about the possibility for a BlackBerry 6 upgrade. Maybe T-Mobile USA would like to say something, anything? [Thanks, Samir A.]
RIM's BlackBerry Curve 9300 spotted in T-Mobile branding (update)
It's certainly not the first time we've seen this here BlackBerry (with "this here" meaning "Curve 9300"), but it's the first time we've seen it outfitted in carrier clothing. Notice that T-Mobile logo at the bottom? That's the clearest indication yet that this particular 'Berry will soon be headed to T-Mob, but given that it's unlikely to support an upgrade to BlackBerry OS 6, your off-the-chart excitement level may indeed be unwarranted. At any rate, we're also hearing that Rogers in Canada will be snagging this at launch, but we'll be passing along official details just as soon as we get them. Update: As it turns out, this actually isn't the first time we've seen a magenta-scarved Curve 9300, just the one that has us most convinced it's got a date with destiny. Not to mention stateside availability.
BlackBerry Curve 9300 spotted in the wild again, gets examined in-depth
We've already seen what's purported to be the BlackBerry Curve 9300 out in the wild a few times, but Vietnamese site Mainguyen has now gotten its hands on a unit as well, and given us our most detailed look at the phone yet. That includes a better look at the slightly higher-end elements more reminiscent of the now-discontinued Curve 8900 than the Curve 8500 series it's apparently replacing, and confirmation of at least a few specs (including a 3.2-megapixel camera). Head on past the break for a video, and hit up the source link below
HTC Gold with Windows Phone 7 in November, and more from a rumored UK roadmap leak
O, to see what Omio sees. The outlet has obtained what it claims to be "a huge UK mobile phone release schedule for the rest of the year... [from] all the manufacturers" (emphasis its own). So, from where would such an all-encompassing roadmap hail? We don't know, nor can we corroborate any of this, but the details are numerous so let's go through it -- albeit with cautious optimism and a few grains of salt. The biggest phone we can see of this baker's dozen of a lineup is the HTC Gold (sound familiar?), due in November and loaded with Microsoft's mobile OS newcomer Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, that's all the information provided, but it's certainly enough to entice us. Also in November, we've got Samsung i8700 and Nokia E7 -- the latter being possibly a N8-esque QWERTY slider with AMOLED display and Symbian^3, and the former being a mystery (although Omio takes a gander that its aquatic Greek mythology might suggest a Bada-powered existence). Going up the list Memento style, October purportedly brings across the pond-ers HTC Vision, the virtually unknown HTC Ace, Nokia N8, and Sony Ericsson's Xperia X8 and Yendo. September's a bit of a yawner -- SE Hazel and a Nokia X2 candybar -- as is August with the X6 8GB and BlackBerry Curve 9300. And July? Nokia E5-00, Sony Ericsson W20, and Samsung i5500. As is usually the case, the more you can wait, the better your options. Now, let's see if this supposed roadmap stays on course.
BlackBerry Curve 9300 gets FCC approval? (update: or just an AWS version of the 8500 series?)
Like many companies, RIM generally does a superb job of concealing model numbers of unannounced devices when it files for FCC certification -- but given what we know of Waterloo's product pipeline, we think it's safe to take a stab at what we're looking at here. In all likelihood, this is the upcoming Curve 9300, evidenced by the general shape of the rear and... well, the obvious "Curve" label up top. This particular unit appears to have triband CDMA including AWS, meaning we could definitely see it launch on some of the AWS-packing regionals like MetroPCS. Physically, it's a step up from the 8500 series below it -- but by all appearances, it's not a major redesign. How about that 9800, RIM? Update: Wireless Goodness points out that this could simply be an AWS CDMA version of the 8500 series, since we haven't seen such a version launch yet on the regionals. Seems plausible -- but either way, the 8500 and 9300 seem like awfully similar devices.
BlackBerry Curve 9300 prototype gets handled on video
BlackBerry lovers, are you sitting at home on a Friday night itching for the latest device scoop? Or out but glued to your screen checking news sites in between BBM relays? Looks like TechnoBuffalo (with a little help from Negri Electronics) has you covered: hands-on time with the Curve 9300. This prototype 8500 replacement has T-Mobile UK bands and is actually working (although with OS 5 at the moment). Compared with its predecessor, the keyboard is apparently improved, the side buttons more flush with the device, and there are a few cosmetic differences as you can notice in the picture above. Video after the break... now get on with your evening, k?
BlackBerry Curve 9300 fixing to replace the 8500 series?
It death of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on T-Mobile (you can still get it on AT&T, by the way) bummed us out for the simple reason that it was perhaps the best-looking BlackBerry every made. The Curve 8500 series that followed it just didn't have the same sort of sleek, high-end air about it, so we're happy to see that the 8500's follow-on should go a little ways toward closing the gap. What we're apparently looking at here is the Curve 9300, a phone that carries over the now-standard optical pad from the 8500 but uses a decidedly 8900-esque chrome surround while adding 3G and support for 802.11n, a feature it shares with the Pearl 3G. What keeps the 9300 on the low end of the spectrum, though, is its screen -- it's apparently just QVGA, and we're a little discouraged that the leaked unit here isn't running BlackBerry 6 -- but you get what you pay for, right?
