It looks like the FCC has just released the approval documents for the next iteration of the BlackBerry Curve, the 9300. Packing a CDMA radio, the 9300 looks to be the heir apparent to the Curve 2 (8530) that resides on a plethora of CDMA carriers here in the States. From the FCC filing we can see that the new Curve will have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the AWS 3G band used by some smaller carriers (Cricket, MetroPCS, etc.). The newish device looks to be the next incremental step in the 8300/8500 line, although…what we really want to see is a BlackBerry OS 6 device!

FCC

While RIM’s next-generation handsets such as the Bold, Storm and Curve 8900 are already flooding the marketplace — and a new wave including the Tour and Curve 8520 are on the horizon — it looks like RIM’s bread and butter is still the trusty old Curve 83xx series. According to recent analysis by The NPD Group, the BlackBerry Curve was America’s best selling smartphone in Q1 of 2009. It steals the title from the iPhone of course, as sales slow from its incredible pace last year. The NPD Group cites aggressive promotions such as Verizon’s popular BOGO offers as the catalyst behind the surge. Here are the top five smartphones in America this past quarter:

1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
3. RIM BlackBerry Storm
4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
5. T-Mobile G1

RIM, holding three of the top five slots, shipped an astounding 7.8 million BlackBerry handsets in its last reported quarter (Dec 08 – Feb 09) so this hardly comes as a surprise. With several new BlackBerry models on the horizon and at least one new iPhone model due out this Summer, things are definitely starting to heat up in the US smartphone space.

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By now you all have heard that BlackBerry BIS 2.5 is rolling out to U.S. carriers on June 29th. Heck, there’s even going to be some downtime. But, maybe that isn’t enough? Maybe you’d like more information. We’ve definitely got you covered in that area. We just got a hold of this presentation outlining BIS 2.5 and all the various features. The sad part? As some of you know, all the sexy stuff requires BlackBerry OS 4.5 which according to the presentation will not be available until September. That’s not to say some of you aren’t running it already, but September guys? For reals? Head on over to the gallery to check it out for yourself, but we’ll break down the more interesting stuff here for all you lazy bums:

• You can save attachments including audio and video formats.
• Full list of supported downloadable attachments are: .doc, .ppt., .xls, .wpd, .txt, .html, .pdf, .zip, and the aforementioned audio / video formats.
• File size of attachments is limited to 3MB.
• The 4.5 OS will be “available for all BlackBerry’s in September.” This includes the 8100, 8800, 8820, 8300, 8310, 8120, and the 8110. No 8320 love?
• “If a BlackBerry launches before September, it will have 4.5 software.”
• Addition of push AOL email and Hotmail/MSN accounts.

Click on over to our BlackBerry BIS 2.5 presentation gallery!