Want to get your BBM on in style without spending a fortune on RIM's latest trio? Say hello to the new 11mm (0.43 inch) thin BlackBerry Curve, now official in 3 variants -- the dual-mode GSM / CDMA 9370, the GSM / UMTS 9360 and the CDMA-only 9350. These long rumored handsets feature an 800MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, a tiny 2.44-inch HVGA+ (480×360 pixel) display, a five megapixel EDoF camera (with LED flash and VGA video recording), Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n with UMA, GPS / aGPS and NFC. While there's no sign of that new-fangled touch screen technology, you'll find BlackBerry 7 under the hood, along with a 1000mAh battery to keep it ticking all day long, 512MB of built-in storage (1GB on the 9370) and microSD card support (up to 32GB). RIM is still mum on pricing, but the new BlackBerry Curve is "expected to be available from carriers in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world beginning in September" -- including Vodafone, based on the video (and PR) after the break. We'll have a hands-on later today so stay tuned for more.
Update: It's official, the BlackBerry Curve 9350 will be coming to Sprint on September 9th for a perfectly reasonable $80 -- provided you're willing to sign a two year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. We've tacked on the PR after the break.
BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370
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RIM Introduces New BlackBerry Curve Smartphones
Sleek, fast and easy-to-use smartphones feature next-generation BlackBerry 7 OS and deliver smooth social experiences wherever you go
Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced three new BlackBerry® smartphones featuring the BlackBerry® 7 Operating System (OS). The all-new BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, BlackBerry® Curve™ 9360 and BlackBerry Curve™ 9370 smartphone are exciting additions to the popular BlackBerry Curve series.
These new models are designed to address a large and important segment of the global mobile phone market where customers are looking to upgrade their existing feature phone or existing BlackBerry Curve with an affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially-connected smartphone.
"These new models will build on the incredible success of the BlackBerry Curve line and further expand the largest global launch of BlackBerry smartphones in our history," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are absolutely stunning and offer a significant performance upgrade with an unmatched mobile social experience for the millions of feature phone users in the market as well as our existing Curve customers."
Everything You Need
The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are slim, stylish and simply beautiful. They are ergonomically designed with a comfortable and iconic keyboard for fast, accurate typing and an optical trackpad for easy, one-handed navigation. GPS and Wi-Fi® support are also included, as well as a 5MP camera with flash and video recording so that memories can be captured and instantly shared on social networks. The microSD/SDHC slot supports up to 32 GB memory cards for additional media storage.
In addition to supporting the new BlackBerry 7 OS, the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones feature a range of powerful hardware enhancements including upgraded processors, displays and memory, and built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that is enabling many exciting capabilities, including the ability to pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.
Next-Generation BlackBerry 7 OS
BlackBerry 7 introduces a next generation BlackBerry browser which combines the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine with the hardware enhancements in the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones to deliver a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience. Additional enhancements to this next generation BlackBerry browser have also enabled smoother navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.
BlackBerry 7 OS also includes a number of other pre-loaded applications and integrated functionality for increased productivity and collaboration right out of the box. The Premium version of Documents To Go is included free of charge, offering users powerful document editing features as well as a native PDF document viewer. BlackBerry® Protect is also pre-loaded*, offering customers the peace of mind that personal data can be backed up and secured in the cloud. With BlackBerry Protect, users can locate their misplaced BlackBerry smartphone using GPS or remotely turn up the ringer for an audible notification if their handset is close-by. BlackBerry® Balance (announced May 2, 2011) is integrated in BlackBerry 7, allowing users to enjoy the full BlackBerry smartphone experience for both work and personal purposes without compromising the IT department's need for advanced security and IT controls. The popular universal search capability has also been enhanced with support for voice-activated search, so users can now simply speak to begin searching their device and the web for information.
Best In Class Communications and Social Experiences
The next generation BlackBerry Curve smartphones deliver the world's best mobile communications and social experiences with a highly refined and integrated suite of phone, email, messaging and social apps to keep users connected and productive throughout the day.
The latest release of BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger) is pre-loaded and now extends the real time BBM experience to a range of other apps, such as Foursquare, allowing users to easily interact with each other from within the 'BBM connected' app (see separate announcement on July 28, 2011).
The updated Social Feeds (2.0) app has been extended to capture updates from media, podcasts, and favorites all in one consolidated view. The new Facebook® for BlackBerry smartphones (2.0) app introduces features like Facebook chat and BBM integration that makes it easier for users to connect with their Facebook friends in real time utilizing push notifications. Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones also delivers a deeply integrated experience including use of real time push notifications and Social Feeds integration.
Availability
The BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world beginning in September. Availability dates and pricing for specific devices from specific carriers will be announced in conjunction with RIM's partners.
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BlackBerry Curve 9350 Debuts Sept. 9 for Just $79.99 from Sprint
Stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The next generation of Research In Motion's (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) popular BlackBerry® Curve™ series of smartphones, the stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350, comes to Sprint (NYSE: S) on Friday, Sept. 9, offering the latest BlackBerry operating system – BlackBerry® 7. The new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is a fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected smartphone that is as beautiful as it is functional.
The slim and stylish smartphone will cost just $79.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1 and be available in all Sprint sales channels, including Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and web sales (www.sprint.com). Sprint Business customers may qualify to get BlackBerry Curve 9350 for $49.99 (excluding taxes) on a business account with a new line or eligible upgrade and new one- or two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1.
"It is exciting to see the BlackBerry Curve line continue to evolve, building upon past success," said David Owens, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. "This latest iteration offers the recognizable form factor our customers have come to enjoy, while adding powerful new features and innovative apps of BlackBerry 7 to deliver the smoothest and fastest BlackBerry Curve experience to date."
The BlackBerry Curve 9350 smartphone offers a full QWERTY keyboard and trackpad for easy one-handed navigation and keeps users connected by allowing them to easily share moments through pictures and videos via MMS, as well as by instant message with world-class IM services like BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger). With easy access to social networking sites like Flickr®, MySpace and Facebook®, this smartphone provides smooth integration to keep users up to speed on what's happening in their personal and professional lives.
Key features include:
BlackBerry App World™, the official app store front for BlackBerry smartphones offering customization, fun and productivity
Near Field Communications (NFC) support for a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance
5MP camera with HD video capture, flash and zoom
512MB RAM
2GB microSD card included, with support for up to 32GB microSD card
BlackBerry PlayBook support with BlackBerry Bridge™ (BlackBerry Bridge is available as a free download on BlackBerry App World)
DataViz Docs To Go® Premium suite preloaded, for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from anywhere
Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g/n)
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
Smoother and Faster with BlackBerry 7
With BlackBerry 7, the BlackBerry Browser is significantly enhanced to provide a faster and more fluid user experience and includes optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.
Building upon the Universal Search feature introduced in BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry 7 expands the capability to include voice-activated search. This new capability makes it easier and more convenient to search for content on the smartphone or web.
BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® Balance™, which separates personal content from corporate content, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the smartphone for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps, while satisfying the very real need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls, such as wiping only corporate data or blocking work-related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.
BlackBerry Curve 9350 requires activation on one of Sprint's Everything Data plans plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint's Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge – a savings of $40 per month versus Verizon's comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web or $10 per month versus Verizon's 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)
Sprint was unbeaten among major wireless carriers for customer satisfaction according to results from the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. In addition to tying for first place among wireless carriers, Sprint was also the number one most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, during the last three years, according to the survey.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 52 million customers at the end of 2Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1The American Express Prepaid Reward Card ("Card") provided in connection with this Rebate offer is a prepaid Card that is usable only at U.S. merchants that accept American Express Cards. Some limitations apply. Offer valid only in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Card is not redeemable for cash (except where required by law) and does not provide ATM access. Use of Card constitutes acknowledgement that it is given as a reward and no consideration, value, or money has been paid by the holder to American Express in exchange for this Card. USE OF CARD IS SUBJECT TO THE CARDHOLDER AGREEMENT. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, A $3.00 MONTHLY FEE WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST CARD BALANCE, STARTING SIX MONTHS AFTER CARD ISSUANCE. Card expires six years after the date of issuance if not depleted before. For BALANCE, customer service and Cardholder Agreement, visit americanexpress.com/sprint or call 1-866-608-3756. Card issued by AEPCMC under license from American Express Prepaid Card Management Corporation, Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.
