BlackBerry Curve 8900 hands on
What’s that? Thought we were holding out on you? Never! The BlackBerry Curve 8900, also known to the BlackBerry faithful as the BlackBerry Javelin, is the much-awaited BlackBerry Curve replacement. It’s definitely been covered in depth so we won’t bore you and nitpick the handset. Instead, we’ll give you some of our very first impressions and let you decide the next steps.
- The size is awesome — totally small enough to be pocketable, but not too small where sacrifices on the keyboard had to be made.
- Unlike the Bold where some people had trouble hitting the right convenience key since it was too low, on the Curve 8900, it’s located perfectly.
- The screen, as we’re getting accustomed to now with RIM, is flawless! It’s smaller than the Bold as you know, and that’s an even denser, crisper, and sharper display in our books. Really a job well done.
- What about the keyboard? Even better than the first Curve. The keys feel more “fuller” and not hollow like the original 8300 did. They’re also decently spaced, and even after using a Bold for 5 months, the second we picked this up, we were off to the races. Another great execution by RIM.
- It might just be us, but the fake chrome bezel around the 8900 actually seems like it’s more equipped to handle rough usage than the Bold is. We could be wrong, but at first glance it looks like a tougher material or finish. You know how our original Bold fared…
So, do you guys want a full on review of the BlackBerry Curve 8900, or do you want one of our oh-so-popular battles? Maybe a Curve 8900 vs. G1? Hit us up in the comments and let your voice be heard. Word. Don’t forget to get jiggy with the BGR gallery and check out the pictures!
Click on over to our BlackBerry Curve 8900 hands on gallery!
I would so get this if it had 3g, im getting ready for a new phone.T Mo i would love the storm please ! But this 8900 is hot the size seems perfect !!!
If only it had 3g..
If it had 3G then why in the hell would AT&T carry the Bold??? The Bold has a bigger processor and 3G. Other than that the Curve 8900 kills the Bold.
BG if you don’t have 4.7.0.66 on this model, then don’t review it.
i am a bit confused i think. what are the differences between this new curve and the bold? just the 3g and better processor?
Nice BG. First real pic of the black trackball.
How far out is this from launching?
We need a Bold+Javelin camera shootout, BG.
Javelin vs that new nokia qwerty. I forget what it was called
oh i really hope this goes to AT&T. The bold is so wide, its totally made for man. I can barely grab the thing. The girls want a nice new bb too.
BGR, the only battle worth the JAVELIN would be that with The iPhone 3G! PLZ, PLZ give us a comparison between the two…
JAVELIN VS. IPHONE 3G!!!!!
Danny, Customers with BIS access for 19.99 with Tmobile will not get free hotspots. Tmobile will be replace their current blackberry service to one that will include messaging and hotspots. Current subscribers will be grandfathered in and would need to upgrade to get free hotspots. The prices are as follows. 24.99 BIS/400 msg. and 34.99 BIS/ unlimted msg. If you are currently subsribe to either 400 or unlimited messaging aswell I would recomend the change. Now if you don’t use messaging you real need to ask youself if paying $5 extra a month is worth getting a free hotspot account. IMO sice the stand alone hotspot account is a value of19.99 per month its worth it.
@ Simon
is a *huge* improvement over the white. The old white one turned beige after a week or two of use, even by OCD handwashers like myself. After that it is nearly impossible to get the ultra fragile mech back to looking clean (check crackberry forums) so there are many people who purchase replacement balls in quantity as a result.
The “black pearl”
Plus it looks a helluva lot better in terms of style (until they come out with optical on the next gen) :crosses fingers: Think mid 90s beige PC vs 00s/modern black PC. Do you see many people using a sleek new black PC using a beige mouse? (Do they even make beige mice anymore?)
The pic differs from the one posted in the rimarkable (Gizmodo) hands-on. Do we know which is more likely to be “almost release” hardware vs “beta” hardware?
I VOTE Curve 83xx vs 89xx point by point, spec by spec! More relevant to users of the 83xx than anything else when deciding to upgrade.
i dont see the BOLD, the flagship RIM phone going anywhere near 50-100 bucks…what would that make the 8900’s price range? Free to 50$? i doubt it, I think the Bold will stabalize at around 200 bucks and never go lower…with the 8900 at 100 or 150. The old curve was going for 150 for the longest time.
For me it would be bold vs 8900 vs fuze pro.
Size and 3g are tops for me (presuming they are all good phones).
I don’t care what they compare it to, I just want the BG to check is trusty sources and get us an ETA.
Hit us up with a full hands on review BGR! I want this more than the bold! Please, any word on a release date, you can even be very general or broad…just give me something! I haven’t heard a thing yet? Before xmas?
@jbru
Please read my post again. I clearly said that I think the price will drop BY $50-$100. Not TO $50-$100. Most smart phones drop in price after a few months especially after the cool factor gets stale. And judging by how impatient some of you are and how some of you have already said the Bold is old news, it might get stale rather quick)
Let me clear a few things up for those who are new to the Javelin. It is not 3G, NOT 3G. This was made for T-Mobile, T-Mobile Germany already has it on their site. T-Mobile US will see a December or early 2009 luanch (Anyone notice their Curve pricing just dropped at T-Mobile?) At&t may pick this device up, however their stance on non-3G devices has become pretty clear. The Pearl Flip is exclusive to T-Mo until Jan 2009, you may see this on At&t when it runs out.
so then why does it have at&t on it?
8900 vs 9000 vs iphone 3G!
a battle with this and the G1
as well as this and the Sidekick LX
i need a little bit more info on this before
i can dedicate my upgrade to it
Some of you all really need to read other blogs as well as BGR.
First with Blacktrack ball..hardly..
Not going to AT&T…hardly.. I take it some of you haven’t seen the AT&T branded one on Giz.
Bold and Jav cemera shoot out…been done, Jav reigned supreme.
iPhone 3G vs Jav..Umm, ya that’s fair lol a 3G device against a non 3G device
Javelin on T-Mob Germany site—Nope, been pulled…goes 404 error.
BG…what’s the difference between this one you have and the one that was reviewed on Gizmodo? They look slightly different (color on the keyboard), and obviously I’m going to guess different networks.
http://gizmodo.com/5071533/blackberry-curve-8900-first-impressions-kills-the-original
Give us the review in detail…this is the phone I’m waiting on.
BGR I most def would like a battle between the Bold and Javelin. Also, I would be very interested to know which of the two devices the staff at BGR are using the most