BlackBerry

Well, that was quick. Earlier this morning, RIM introduced its new BlackBerry Curve and now, the entry-level smartphone has its first U.S. carrier.

Sprint just announced that it will offer the BlackBerry Curve 9350 starting September 9 for $79.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate, while Sprint business customers may qualify to get the handset for $49.99 on a business account.

The Curve 9350 is a CDMA-only device, so you won't get world-roaming capabilities, but the BlackBerry OS 7 smartphone does offer a 2.44-inch, 480x360-pixel display, an 800MHz processor, a 5-megapixel … Read more

The BlackBerry Bold, Torch, and Storm all got a makeover, and now it's the Curve's turn.

Today, RIM introduced the latest version of its entry-level Curve series. Available in Canada later this month and shipping to other carriers worldwide starting in September, the new BlackBerry Curve will come in three models: the CDMA-only BlackBerry Curve 9350, the GSM/UMTS BlackBerry Curve 9360, and the dual-mode GSM/CDMA BlackBerry Curve 9370.

Designed for those looking for a more affordable smartphone option or for people making the jump from a feature phone, the Curve offers a more entry-level set of … Read more

As we mentioned last week, Sprint has released both the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and the BlackBerry Bold 9930 today. However, instead of the $249.99 price point that was announced originally, you can now get the Bold 9930 for $199.99 after a $50 Web special if you buy it from Sprint's online store. After our tirade about how expensive the Bold 9900/9930 was, we think $199.99 is definitely a much more palatable price.

However, the $50 discount is not available in other sales channels, and the usual two-year agreement still applies (with a new line or eligible upgrade). So if you must have a new Bold 9930, get it online, as it seems to be cheaper that way. … Read more

Google buys Motorola, and now HP is killing off WebOS devices. What a crazy week in mobile land! We also go in-depth with RIM's new BlackBerry OS 7 handsets, discuss the imminent U.S. arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S II, and more.

News Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B WebOS goes down in quiet death After a long wait, T-Mobile releases BlackBerry Bold 9900 Verizon and Sprint reveal BlackBerry 7 handset pricing; to launch in August AT&T prices BlackBerry Torch 9810 at $49.95 … Read more

This week we had a chance to review RIM's latest crop of BlackBerry handsets, which the company initially announced at BlackBerry World back in May of this year. They are the BlackBerry Torch 9810, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 (the Torch 9860 is the same phone but for GSM carriers), and the BlackBerry Bold 9930 (similarly, the Bold 9900 is its GSM sibling).

The one unifying characteristic they share is that all of them ship with the BlackBerry OS 7. OS 7 improves upon OS 6 with voice-activated universal search, Liquid Graphics technology that promises better graphics and animation, support … Read more

If you were a bit shocked by Monday's news that Google was shelling out a cool $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility, we don't blame you in the least. Indeed, the acquisition was unexpected considering Google has spend its life building anything other than hardware. The changes for consumers, Android's Nexus line, the supply of mobile patents, and the smartphone market as a whole will be momentous. What's more, it effectively means the end of a somewhat struggling company that not only was an early supporter of Android, but also did much to build the cell … Read more

commentary The BlackBerry Bold may be out of the smartphone game before it even gets into it.

T-Mobile USA said today that it will sell RIM's latest flagship phone, the BlackBerry Bold 9900, for $299.99--after a $50 mail-in rebate. That follows the Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel variant of the smartphone, the Bold 9930, which will retail for $249.99 at both carriers.

But when the bar for a vast majority of smartphones--even high-end ones such as Apple's iPhone--is set at $200, and you go over, that's a problem. For RIM, the premium price is going … Read more

Google and Motorola Mobility's impending nuptials may be grabbing a huge amount of newsprint this week, but Research In Motion is doing everything it can to assert its presence in the mobile world as well. First it released the first BlackBerry OS 7 devices with Verizon's BlackBerry Bold 9930, AT&T's BlackBerry Torch 9810, and Sprint's BlackBerry Torch 9850, and tonight T-Mobile finally got around to spilling the release details for its BlackBerry Bold 9900.

Of course, the news is no surprise given that T-Mobile first said that it would carry the device last May … Read more

We've had the pleasure of playing around with the Bold 9930 for a day or so, so we'll cut to the chase: the BlackBerry Bold 9930, and by extension, the Bold 9900, is the best Bold handset BlackBerry has ever made. It is a wonderfully sculpted device that marries curves with stainless steel, and high-quality glossy plastic with soft touch bezels. We admittedly rolled our eyes at RIM's claim that it is the thinnest BlackBerry ever, but the device's slender profile does add to the phone's sleek and elegant aesthetic. We're also very happy … Read more