Touchscreen Blackberry phones are generally priced to cater the high-end smartphone market but Research in Motion is apparently making one to please mid-range BB users. Behold the Curve Touch codenamed Malibu that is slated to release by end of this year or early 2012. On the specs front, it will have an 800MHz Qualcomm CPU, with EVDO Rev. A support, 3.25-inch HVGA display, trackpad, BB OS 6, 5MP camera with HD video recording, NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM and microSD card slot.

The Curve Touch will support CDMA networks but a GSM variant is expected as well.

[Via Crackberry]

It’s Blackberry leak fiesta today. Dakota isn’t the only one that has got its first unofficial outing. BGR has posted some exclusive info about the next-generation Curve and Torch 2 as well. The new Curve, codenamed as Apollo will bring exciting specs in the mid-range segment. The 11mm thin Curve will expectedly run Blackberry OS 6.1 and feature an 800MHz CPU, an HVGA display, quad-band GSM and tri-band 7.2Mbps HSPA support, 5MP camera, 512MB ROM and RAM, GPS, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1050mAh battery.

Next up is the Torch 2 and going by the spec sheet, this looks to be the real deal. The phone adopts the same vertical slider form factor but under the hood lies a fast 1.2GHz CPU with OpenGL ES support, quad-band GSM and 14.4Mbps HSPA support, a 3.2-inch VGA touchscreen display, 512MB RAM, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, 5MP camera with LED flash, magnetometer, 8GB internal memory, BB OS 6.1 and 1300mAh battery.

There is no word on the release of the Curve but expect Torch 2 to hit United States sometime in Q3.

[Via BGR|2]

Research in Motion has unveiled their latest Blackberry offering that is targeted at the masses. The new phone expands its affordable Curve line with a 3G offering dubbed as Curve 3G (9300). Good thing for Curve 3G adopters is that it is Blackberry 6 ready, which means users will be able to upgrade to the latest edition OS as soon as RIM releases it.

Moreover, the phone supports quad-band GSM and features a physical QWERTY keyboard, 320×240 TFT display, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth, optical trackpad, GPS, 2MP camera, media player and microSD card slot.

There’s no word on the price yet but RIM says it will arrive at an affordable price on multiple carriers (hopefully from today) from this month.

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Research in Motion and Tata Indicom have announced Blackberry Curve 8530. The Curve 8530 is basically the same as GSM-based Blackberry Curve 8520 but features CDMA band. The 8530 will bring users the same email experience which Blackberry is famous for and features a full QWERTY keyboard and optical trackpad for precise navigation.

Other features include a 528MHz CPU, 256MB ROM, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, microSD card slot and 2MP camera.

The phone will sell for Rs. 18,990 which we feel is on the higher side but Tata Indicom does give its users 2 months of free data and live TV for first 3 months if they buy before June 30.

UPDATE: T-Mobile USA users will get the phone from Aug 5 for $130.

Research in Motion has lifted the veil off another phone from the Curve family targeted mainly at entry-level smartphone users. Despite being on the lower end, the Curve 8520 brings in nifty features like multimedia playback buttons on the top of the phone and trackpad instead of Blackberry’s iconic trackball. On the internal features front, the phone supports global GSM bands with EDGE and no 3G. However, good thing is that the phone has Wi-Fi so as to allow users to surf at high speeds.

Other things include a 2.64-inch screen (320×240), 2MP camera with 5x digital zoom, 3.5m headphone jack, microSD card slot, Bluetooth, a full physical QWERTY keyboard and out-of-the-box Mac compatibility.

There’s no word on the T-Mobile US pricing but Vodafone UK users will get it on contract for around £25 a month.

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[Via T3]

Thanks to Verizon-RIM’s BOGOF promotion, Blackberry Curve has zoomed past Apple’s iPhone. The report released by NPD Group makes Curve the undisputed king in the US smartphone market for Q1 2009.

RIM managed to snag a good 15 percent of the smartphone market while Apple and Palm lost 10 percent of it.

The top five selling smartphones in US for Q1 2009 were:

RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
RIM BlackBerry Storm
RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
T-Mobile G1

[Via NPD]

Its raining Blackberrys this month. The third Blackberry phone to be launched in India is Curve 8900. Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications will be selling this little Bold sibling for Rs. 27,500. Internally, there are no surprises as such. There’s EDGE and Wi-Fi for wireless internet connectivity, a HVGA+ display, 512MHz processor, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD/SDHC memory support up to 16GB and around 6 hours of talk time.

T-Mobile USA has announced that they will sell RIM’s thinnest and lightest Blackberry device, Curve 8900 from next month. This member from the Curve family packs a punch with its titanium-colored finish look and features like crisp display supporting a resolution of 480X360 pixels, 512MHz processor, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi, memory expansion support up to 16GB, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 and 3.2 megapixel camera. However, the phone leaves out 3G radio which means surfing at EDGE speeds when surfing over cellular network. T-Mobile has not revealed the exact pricing or availability.

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Press Release

RIM along with T-Mobile quietly launched Curve 8900 in Germany. It is a step ahead in the Curve family and takes some inspiration from its big brother, Bold. The Curve 8900 has got a new trackball, 2.4-inch display screen with a resolution of 480X360 pixels, fast 512MHz processor, Wi-Fi and GPS and a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera with flash. Despite all these appealing features, there will be no 3G radio and the users will have to suffice with the EDGE for internet surfing.

T-Mobile will start selling the phone from this month for under $7 with a commitment of 2 years or $453 for an unlocked version.

[Via Electronista]

What the ….???! NPD Group released a report of the five top selling phones in US which to everyone’s surprise is Moto RAZR V3, heading the mobile phone charts. Motorola may have hit the right note to appeal the US citizens but still have a lot of work to do to please the world. No need to say their current financial status must have made them realize that US Market does not equal the World Market.

Anyways, if you’re waiting for the remaining four phones which ruled the US market, then they are as follows:

2) Apple iPhone
3) Blackberry Curve
4) LG Chocolate
5) Blackberry Pearl

[Via Engadget]