Crave

Starting Friday, Verizon Wireless customers can purchase the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 in stores and online for $99.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

As the CDMA kin to the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520, the Curve 8530 is more of an entry-level device so you won't find some of the higher-end features found on the BlackBerry Tour, such as world roaming capabilities and a high-resolution display.

However, the Curve 8530 certainly brings some worthy upgrades to the aging Curve 8330, including a next-gen processor, an optical trackpad, and dedicated media controls, and one key feature that even the Tour lacks: integrated Wi-Fi.

On paper, it seems RIM has another crowd-pleaser on its hands, but we have some reservations about the phone's design and Verizon also happens to have another capable messaging smartphone in its lineup, the HTC Ozone, which offers the same features plus world roaming and costs $50 less.

RIM shipped us a Curve 8530 to check out, but it didn't include all the software that would ship on the final version, so we'll hold off on posting a review and verdict till we get a final product. In the meantime, however, you can read some of our first impressions in our hands-on photo gallery below and get a better 360 view of the phone in our First Look video. Stay tuned for more.

Verizon RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 (photos)

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520

(Credit: RIM)

The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520 is making the rounds. First debuting with T-Mobile and recently announced for Sprint and Verizon (as the Curve 8530), the Curve will now also be available at AT&T in the coming weeks for $99.99 with a two-year contract and a mail-in rebate.

While more of an entry-level device, the Curve 8520 has integrated Wi-Fi and includes access to AT&T's 20,000 hot spots nationwide. The smartphone also features a 320x240 display, an optical trackpad, dedicated media keys, and a 2 megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities.

In addition to the Curve news, the carrier confirmed via Twitter that the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be available starting November 22 for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

(Credit: Sprint)

Verizon Wireless isn't the only one showing some BlackBerry love today. Following Verizon's announcement that it will bring the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 to its lineup on November 20, Sprint released a statement saying that it, too, will offer the Curve 8530.

Like the other models, the Curve 8530 includes features such a Wi-Fi, an optical trackpad, GPS, a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, among other things. In addition, it will support the Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV.

Pricing and release date were not announced at this time, but interested customers can preregister for the device on Sprint's Web site. Sprint will offer the Curve 8530 in black, red, and royal purple.

HTC Droid Eris

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

When it rains it pours. On Thursday, Verizon Wireless opened the floodgates and unleashed a handful of cell phones and smartphones that should make their way into your hands just in time for the holiday shopping season. It looks like there's a little something for everyone, so let us know which you are most excited about in our comments section.

Here is a roundup of all of today's news:

Verizon's Droid Eris offers Android for less
Verizon introduces BlackBerry Curve 8530
LG Chocolate Touch is now official
Samsung's Convoy goes rugged
Verizon offers prepaid wireless for laptops

BlackBerry Curve 8530

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

A new BlackBerry has joined the Verizon Wireless family: the BlackBerry Curve 8530. The 8530 looks a fair bit sleeker than its predecessor, the Curve 8330, thanks to the touch-sensitive track pad and the slanted full QWERTY keyboard. We're also happy to finally see Wi-Fi capability, which was sadly lacking in the previous Curve. It also has 256MB flash memory, a 528MHz next-generation processor, EV-DO, GPS with support for geotagging pictures, a 2.0-megapixel camera and camcorder, a music player with dedicated media keys, a 3.5mm headset jack, BlackBerry's App World application store, and, of course, plenty of e-mail and messaging features. If you're not satisfied with the onboard memory, you also have the option of adding up to 16GB of microSD/SDHC card storage.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be available starting November 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a new two-year agreement.

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520

(Credit: T-Mobile)

On Monday, T-Mobile announced the upcoming availability of its latest smartphone, the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520. The Curve 8520 is slated for release on August 5 for $129.99 with a two-year contract and will come in two colors: frost or black.

This will be RIM's first model with dedicated media keys, which are integrated along the top of the handset, and also replaces the trademark trackball navigator with a touch-sensitive optical trackpad (think Samsung Omnia). Also of note, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 touts Mac compatibility out of the box (via desktop software).

The rest of the smartphone's features are pretty standard. The quad-band world phone offers built-in Wi-Fi, with support for T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling service, so you'll be able to make calls over Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the Curve 8520 is not 3G-capable, however.

Other highlights include a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, Facebook and MySpace mobile apps, support for BlackBerry App World, and a microSD expansion slot. In addition to T-Mobile retail stores, you'll also be able to get the smartphone at Wal-Mart stores. We've already put in our request for a review unit, so check back soon for a full review.

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900

(Credit: AT&T)

Earlier in May, AT&T announced plans to bring the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 to its shelves in early summer and looks like the carrier is making good on its promise.

The newest Curve will be available in stores and online on May 22 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Though the smartphone isn't scheduled to be in stores till Friday, it looks like you can actually purchase it from AT&T's Web site now.

AT&T's RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 is largely like T-Mobile's version, which was released in February, but you get the addition of free Wi-Fi access at over 20,000 hot spots nationwide (fine print: provided you have a qualifying data plan) and support for AT&T Navigator (domestic and global) and Yellowpages.com.

Other highlights include integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and a 2.4-inch, 480x360-pixel resolution TFT display. There's no 3G support so if that's a must-have, you might want to check out the RIM BlackBerry Bold. We'll be getting in a review unit, so check back soon for a full review.

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900

(Credit: RIM)

A lot of folks have been waiting for this (and by a lot of folks, I mean me), but on Monday, AT&T finally confirmed the upcoming availability of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 for early summer.

AT&T's version is largely similar to the T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8900, which has been available since January 2009, sharing the same sleek design and features like integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

The main differences are, of course, in carrier services. The AT&T Curve 8900 allows for free Wi-Fi access at over 20,000 hot spots nationwide (fine print: provided you have a qualifying data plan) and supports AT&T Navigator (domestic and global) and Yellowpages.com.

Unfortunately, there's still no 3G love for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, so the bigger, badder RIM BlackBerry Bold holds the advantage there. No pricing was announced at this time, though we suspect it'll be around the same range ($199.99 with two-year contract) as the T-Mobile version.

(Full press release from AT&T)

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8350i

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Sprint, you're a sneaky one. Without much fanfare or, frankly, even a peep, the carrier released a cameraless version of its RIM BlackBerry Curve 8350i.

The smartphone is available now for $149.99 with a two-year contract and comes without the 2-megapixel camera for those customers whose workplaces ban the use of camera phones. The rest of the device's feature set is the same as its camera-loving counterpart, so you'll still get support for Nextel's Direct Connect push-to-talk services, Wi-Fi, and GPS.

(Via: Boy Genius Report)