Research in Motion today announced three new BlackBerry Curve smartphones running the latest BlackBerry 7 mobile operating system with its faster Web browsing experience.
The BlackBerry Curve 9350, Curve 9360 and Curve 9370should be available in Canada in August and from carriers in othercountries in September, RIM said, without naming carriersor pricing.
All three phones share the same look, with differences primarily ininternal radios for different wireless networks used around the globe.All three come with a 2.44-in. screen (with 480 x 360 pixel resolution)above a traditional BlackBerry physical Qwerty keyboard.
All three have GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as a 5-megapixel camera withflash and video support and a MicroSD card slot to support up to 32 GBmemory cards.
RIM described the devices as ideal for customers who want to upgradefrom a feature phone to a smartphone or from an older Curveto get an “affordable, socially connected smartphone experience.”
While analysts have noted the BlackBerry 7 OS is a markedimprovement over previous versions, mainly for its improved browser,they say that most of RIM’s hopes for success will depend on newdevices running the QNX operating system. RIM expects smartphonesrunning QNX to appear in 2012. That OS is already featured in RIM’sPlayBook tablet .
RIM announced two BlackBerry Bold smartphones, the 9900 and 9930, in May, eachrunning the BlackBerry 7 OS.
The BlackBerry 7 OS also offers voice-activated universal searching andis pre-loaded with a Documents to Go and BlackBerry Messenger.
All three of the new Curves measure 4.3 in. x 2.36 in. x .43 in.,according to RIM’s spec sheets. The 9350 and 9360 each have 512 MB ofinternal memory, while the 9370 has 1 GB.
In terms of differences in networks that each model serves, the 9350 isintended for CDMA/EVDO Rev. A networks, while the 9360 is intended forGSM and HSPA networks. The 9370 functions in both GSM and CDMAnetworks, with four radio bands for GSM and two for CDMA.