BlackBerry Curve gets a makeover

Smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) recently launched three new BlackBerry devices featuring the new BlackBerry 7 Operating System.

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Curve 9370 smartphones are the latest additions to the popular Curve series.

According to the company, 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 success of the BlackBerry Curve line and further expand the largest global launch of BlackBerry smartphones in our history,” said RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.

“The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones 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,” Lazaridis added.

The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are designed with a comfortable 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 5 MP camera with flash and video recording so that memories can be captured and instantly shared on social networks. The microSD/SDHC slot supports memory cards of up to 32 GB in additional storage.

Apart from 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.

BlackBerry 7 also introduced a next generation 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 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.

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones will be available around the world beginning September. Pricing for specific devices from specific carriers will be announced in conjunction with RIM’s partners.