Verizon Announces the BlackBerry Curve 8530 Smartphone

Ha! So it's not the Curve2. Looks like all that crazy Curve2 talk and Curve2 promotional material was just VZW being a little overzealous in branding the Curve themselves (in reality you'd think it should be the Curve 8550 now that it has WiFi). Whatever the case, Verizon has gone ahead and announced the BlackBerry Curve 8530 Smartphone. It goes on sale November 20th and will be $99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. GPS, Trackpad, WiFi... it's a nice little device. If you haven't yet, be sure to read our BlackBerry Curve 8530 Review.

Press Release

Verizon Wireless Introduces the BlackBerry Curve 8530 Smartphone

New Smartphone Features 3G Connectivity, Built-In Wi-Fi and GPS, Touch-Sensitive Trackpad and Dedicated Media Keys

BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 5, 2009) - Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8530 smartphone, an exciting new addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones. The slim BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone gives customers access to Verizon Wireless' 3G network, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, as well as easy access to music, games and other mobile apps for entertainment on the go.

Available colors: Black and Smoky Violet

Key features:

• Easy-to-use, highly tactile, full QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for reliable, responsive typing and navigation
• 256 MB flash memory and 528 MHz next generation processor for enhanced performance
• Supports voice-activated dialing and Bluetooth(R) (version 2.1), with support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• 3G-enabled (EV-DO)
• Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• GPS with support for location-based applications, including geotagging pictures and Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator(SM) service
• 2.0 megapixel digital camera with zoom and video recording(i)
• Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry(R) Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from your computer to the smartphone(ii)
• Access to BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry(R) smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, social networking and sharing, news and weather, productivity and much more
• Access to e-mail, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites (including Facebook and MySpace)
• Rich multimedia capabilities, including dedicated media keys smoothly integrated along the top of the handset, giving customers an easy, convenient way to control their music and videos
• Support for BlackBerry services with access to up to 10 supported e-mail accounts, including most popular ISP e-mail accounts such as Yahoo!(R), Windows Live(TM) Hotmail(R), AOL(R) and Gmail, and BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support, which provides advanced security and IT administration features for corporate deployments
• Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD(TM)/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 16 GB cards today and expected to support next generation 32 GB cards when available

Pricing and availability:

• The BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone is expected to be available from Verizon Wireless beginning Nov. 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data plans for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.

For information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.