Apparently someone at AT&T didn’t get the memo that the BlackBerry Curve 8900 was supposed to go on sale tomorrow because it’s now available for purchase on the AT&T website for $299.99 before a $100 MIR. Who are we kidding; it’s not like we could ever complain that a slick smartphone has gone on sale early. Actually, we sort of can because they are shipping with OS 4.6.1 and not OS 5.0 like some of the 8900′s we played with at WES. But we digress…

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It was only two weeks ago that AT&T announced it would be dropping the Curve 8900 sometime this Summer, and one week ago that we told you it would run for $199.99 on a two-year after a $100 MIR. Well now AT&T has finally come out with an official launch date for both online and in retail stores: this Friday, the 22nd of May. All you have to do now is decide whether or not you want to drop an extra $100 to get the 3G-enabled Bold.

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So the keynote didn’t deliver what most people were counting on (read: anything exciting for the average consumer) but nonetheless there was still quite a bit of neat stuff to see. After the keynote, a few meetings with RIM VPs and Managers and a few cans of Diet Pepsi in the press room, we made our way out onto the Solutions Showcase floor to take a look at what the best and brightest third parties had to offer. Here’s a quick recap of some of the stuff that excites us the most.

RIM launched BES 5.0 yesterday and some pretty nice demo booths were set up to show it off. There are tons of new features in BES 5.0 that are sure to make those who eat, sleep and breath port 3101 squeal with delight. Seeing as the overwhelming majority of people who interact with BES on a daily basis are end-users, we’ll make like Stephen Colbert and get to the nut meat of it by listing the highlights that the average user can expect of BES 5.0:

• Organize email messages that require follow-up with the use of flags, as with Microsoft Outlook
• Easily access to network drives using the remote file explorer directly from BlackBerry smartphones
• Open and forward calendar appointments, including attachments
• Browse folders on the BlackBerry smartphone to view and attach files to email messages
• Use Calendar Meeting Delegation for IBM Lotus Domino, which allows attendees to delegate invitations to another person
• Simplify mailbox folder management by adding, renaming, deleting and moving folders as necessary
• Easily manage personal and public distribution lists
• Listen to WMA files while on the go with extended support for audio file types

As it currently stands, RIM is offering a free trial of BES 5.0 for 60 days which is valid for up to 20 end-users. Everyone else will just have to pony up the dough. And trust us, it’s oh so worth it.

Because we’re suckers for handsets, one of our first stops was with AT&T to take a peek at the Curve 8900 which it recently announced would finally become available. We weren’t able to squeeze a confirmed launch date out of the awesome reps at the booth, but after a bit of chat with a few people we still think the 8900 could go on sale as early as Memorial Day weekend in the region of $150 to $200. But then again, you know how things are and even the best laid plans are subject to change at a moments notice.

Google announced a new BlackBerry service which may to thrill many small and medium-sized business owners. Called Google Apps Connector for BES plug-in, the plug-in allows users’ Google Apps accounts to take advantage of many BES features such as wireless synchronization of email, contacts and calendar entries without the need for Exchange. As with all things in life, work arounds have their drawbacks and currently there are a few — most notably the lack of 2-way calendar synchronization. However, Google Apps Connector for BES is nothing to look down upon as it boasts a wide-range of features which lead us to believe that Google has something special on its hands if there really is a market filled with people who have BES but not Exchange:

Email features

• Push email
• Offline access
• Read/delete sync
• Folder/label sync
• Gmail features in built-in app
  • Spam filter
  • Archive
  • Star message

Calendar features

• 1-way wireless sync: Google Calender > BlackBerry
• View location details, attendee lists, acceptance status
• Support for recurring meetings
• Meeting notifications on device

Contacts features

• Access names, email address, and phone numbers via Global Address List (GAL)
• 2-way wireless sync
• Full support for all fields

Also, Google Apps Connector for BES is currently undergoing beta testing, but it should be available for free in both Premier and Education editions in July of this year with support for up to 250 users.

Quickplay is betting that its new PrimeTime2Go service is going to have mass appeal to TV addicts. While it doesn’t stream TV over cellular networks, users can download their favorite shows from NBC, ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, CW, Discovery, TLC, Nick, Bravo and a bunch more via Wi-Fi and store them on microSD cards for viewing at a later time. PrimeTime2Go is $8 per month and is available in App World.

Cellcrypt is here at WES with their end-to-end real time encrypted voice service. Working not only over Wi-Fi but 2G and 3G cellular networks as well, Cellcrypt provides its 256-bit, FIPS 140-2 standard approved encryption through its own servers, provided both clients have the app loaded on their respective devices. We tried it out and the voice quality was there, but there was a good two seconds of delay. However, Cellcrypt assured us that as it is now working with RIM on drastically improving this drawback before the service makes it to market. It’s definitely something that ultra security-conscience IT departments should take a look at.

Zenprise introduced Mobile Manager, a new plug-in for its Device Manager software and something we have to admit sketches us out. While it’s not the first service of it’s kind, it takes employee monitoring to the next level by spying on each and every single thing a device does. Hello, big brother. Wanna know what modules your employees has installed? Mobile Manager can do it. Wanna know how their battery is fairing? Mobile Manager can do it. Wanna know exactly where they are via GPS and see it on your screen with Google Maps integration? Mobile Manager can do it. Okay, we have to be fair and say that it’s a totally useful product in that it provides a boat load of information that others cannot — such as pinpoint trouble shooting that can be as specific as which cellphone tower caused your brief data outage and tracking down lost devices — but we can’t help but think this sort of power can and will be abused. Anyway, here are the three major points that reps went on about:

Service Manager – Service Manager automatically monitors & troubleshoots mobile performance & availability problems that impact service to your end users.

Best Practice Manager – Best Practice Manager analyzes various configurations to determine whether your configurations match vendor specifications and best practices.

Capacity Manager – Capacity Manager profiles performance of users, applications (BES, Exchange, Active Directory, etc), and the operating system to help you understand capacity and plan for growth, or help with server consolidation.

Each and every time there is a tech convention, something that normally doesn’t warrant coverage ends up getting it anyway. This WES it’s gwabbit, a $9.95 per year app that scans emails for contact information, absorbs the information, sends it off to its server, processes each bit of information into the appropriate fields, shoots it back to your BlackBerry and asks you if you want to add that contact. It’s the sort of app that is perfect for those who drive 50-feet to 7-Eleven instead of walking.

Well, that covers our day 1 pretty well. Be sure to check back with us later as we bring you more coverage from WES 2009.

Read – BES 5.0
Read – Google Apps Connector for BES
Read – PrimeTime2Go
Read – Cellcrypt
Read – Zenprise
Read – gwabbit

P.S. – AT&T, you might want to get a few cell towers on wheels here. We don’t take kindly to 3G crashing, then EDGE crashing and then even GPRS crashing leaving us with nothing but GSM. You’re officially on notice.

Well it looks like AT&T may be preparing to launch the BlackBerry Curve 8900 a bit sooner than we expected. Earlier this week we reported our latest intel which placed AT&T’s Curve 8900 on store shelves some time in June. AT&T followed up the next day and finally made the handset official, but provided very little in terms of a release date. It looks like things might be going down somewhat sooner than expected as a tipster reports the Curve 8900 will drop on May 25th. Pricing is said to be set at $149.99 though it is still unclear whether or not any rebates will be involved. Following the release of the 8900, our tipster also suggests AT&T will be dropping the price of a new Bold on June 1st from $299.99 to $199.99 on contract. $150 Curve 8900s, $200 Bolds… AT&T is apparently looking to move some serious BlackBerry volume this Summer.

From May 5 to 7 in Orlando Florida, RIM will will be hosting Wireless Enterprise Symposium or WES. While BGR will be there on the floor for the entire convention bringing you the latest BlackBerry news as it happens, we thought we’d give you all a little bit of a taste of what we know/believe is to come.

First off, expect to see the 8900 Curve make an appearance courtesy AT&T. As many people on AT&T who are running unlocked 8900s by now already know, the official AT&T service books have been pushed out which means that AT&T is doing the final prep work for launch. More notable and more exciting will be the official acknowledgment of the BlackBerry 9630 codenamed Niagara.

As you know from our feature review of the device, the BlackBerry 9630 blends the size and styling of the 8900 Curve and Storm with the heavenly keypad from the Bold all the while features a gorgeous 480×360 display, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, OS 4.7.1 and last but not least the lovable combination of dual-band 1xRTT/EV-DO from the CDMA side, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and the single and lonely 2100MHz band of UMTS/HSDPA from the GSM side. Happy, you boys and girls of red?

As far as a release date goes, we’ve heard Canadian CDMA carrier/s will get it as early as late May, early June and Verizon would be launching around the June/July timeframe. We were told a while back RIM was utterly disappointed with the Bold fiasco (announcing in May and shipping in 2012 on AT&T) but we’re guessing they haven’t learned their lesson yet.

BES 5.0 also looks to be a lock as the “gold code” is now being tested which means that RIM has gotten to the point where its just about ready for release to those whose lives revolve around port 3101. And keeping with the number 5.0, there is some talk that RIM is finally going to be up front about the existence of OS 5.0 despite the fact that we’ve been tinkering with it for longer than the Bold has been around with AT&T.

Now this next two are a bit sketchy, but a long time ago we told you that RIM wasn’t going to be embarrassed again by releasing a device like the Bold running on the outgoing 3G technology at a time when everyone in the World is holding their breath in anticipation of LTE. So with that in mind, we’ve been told that there is a possibility that RIM might take the wraps off of their work with an LTE device, or better yet show one off on stage or behind glass enclosures. We can’t say for sure this is going to happen, but we are comforted by the fact that RIM has indeed already begun trials of its LTE device. As for the second iffy rumor, it’s bound to happen at some point in time — though not necessarily at WES — so we’re just throwing it in here as a bonus. Apparently RIM is going to be releasing a device or two with processors that top off at 1GHz sometime within the next 9-12 months. Again, don’t hold us to this, but the whispers are getting louder and louder.

iWhat?

We know the BlackBerry 8900 has been slated as an AT&T device forever. Heck, Giz’s unit was AT&T branded, and then there’s also the mysterious vanishing act it pulled at CES. We also outed the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8210 (oh no, RIM isn’t even close to being done with the confusing models/different features) and that looks to be the unit AT&T is going to be launching first (we believe the 8220 will come to AT&T as well later). What everyone has been wondering, however, is when will these devices will actually see the light of day on AT&T. We just got some information that corroborates with what we’ve heard, but it isn’t from one of our normal tipsters. If you’re still interested, we have been told the BlackBerry 8900 is scheduled for a February release (we also heard the SKU is now appearing in AT&T’s systems), and that the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8210 is coming in March. Verizon isn’t going to be the only one, it seems. We haven’t got word on pricing yet, but we’d imagine you’ll see the Curve 8900 for around $199 and the Flip for around $99. Possibly lower if AT&T really wants to churn and burn.

P.S. The date also seems right because it does lineup with AT&T phasing out those EDGE devices. These could very well be the last of the Mohicans. Yeah, we totally said that.

First there was “Pluto,” then were was “Magnum,” but now we’re talkin’ about something totally different — Gemini. What’s Gemini you ask? From what we’ve been told, the working model number is 9300, so that’s BlackBerry 9300. As you can imagine, the 9xxx line of BlackBerry devices is for 3G handsets and the Gemini won’t break that tradition. We’re told to think of this as the BlackBerry Curve “3G”. While we don’t have specifics on some of them, here’s a breakdown on what we know, and what specs we’ve got a hold of:

• The screen will be larger than the BlackBerry 8900, and that will also include a higher resolution
• The CPU will also be beefed up. We’re not sure if this means it will include something more powerful than the Bold’s 624MHz processor or not, but we’d like to think so.
• The device is said to be silver (think BlackBerry 8830)
• The keyboard is a little more rounded than the BlackBerry 8900
• The Send/End keys are rounded instead of being flat on the sides
• Styling is not drastically different — it keeps with the 8900/Storm styling
• It of course rocks quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA
• Wi-Fi and GPS was not confirmed, but we’d say there’s about a 99.99% chance
• Camera specs were not confirmed as well, but you can bet you’re looking at 3.2 megapixels or better

Now, what about release date? We have absolutely nothing solid in terms of that. But, want our personal opinion? Q4 ’09/Q1 ’10. We really can’t see this one coming out anytime soon, it’s so far down the pipeline, they just released the current Curve replacement, etc. But it should let you guys know that RIM is obviously looking to transition all their devices to 3G (our opinion, not their words) over the course of the next year or so. Plus one of our only complaints about the 8900 was a lack of 3G, so bring it on!

Super duper shout out to our ninjas on this one!

Too cold, T-Mobile, too cold. The pink panther knows its BlackBerry-hungry customers are jonesing for some Curve 8900 and it just hit them where it hurts. That’s right T-Mobile customers, the Curve 8900 is now live on the site, calling to you from afar. Take in all of that sleek, sexy BlackBerry goodness and know that you’re still a month away from being able to get your hands on one. Just to recap quickly: Availability for business customers comes on January 19th and everyone else will have to wait until February 11th. $199 looks to be the two-year contract price in both instances, with a full retail price set at $499.99. There you have it people – unless you’re Mike Sickels, it’s look but no touch.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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Got a business? Got T-Mobile? Got a ‘Berry? Then it’s time to smack your CFO around until he or she signs off on the 8900 upgrades you’ve been waiting for. Rumors of T-Mobile’s enterprise pricing is making its way across the interwebz and it’s not looking too bad at all. $499.99 contract-free, $249.99 with a one-year agreement and $199.99 with a two-year sign off. Sounds about right to us, and we expect non-corporate pricing to line up with these numbers as well. We already know that the 8900 will become available to business customers this coming Monday and the rest of you will have to wait until February 11th to play. Can you make it another month?

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With the influx of BlackBerry Curve 8900 news lately as a result of T-Mobile’s official announcement that the highly anticipated handset would be available next month, many AT&T customers found themselves wondering why AT&T has been so quiet to date. Comments and emails have flooded BGR and plenty of other sites as well, wondering if AT&T would be passing on the Curve 8900 due to lack of 3G or as a result of botched negotiations, T-Mobile exclusivity, etc. As such, it will surely come as welcome news to AT&T-contracted BlackBerry fans that the Curve 8900 is indeed still on its way to the nations largest carrier second-largest carrier. RIM hit CES this week with a booth full of ‘Berrys and among them, a sleek new Curve 8900 all dressed up in AT&T branding. In short, nothing has changed and the Curve 8900 is still on its way to Big Blue. AT&T would hardly pass on the update to one of its best-selling handsets of course, despite the glaring lack of WCDMA. But then, that’s where the Bold comes in. While it still looks like T-Mobile will be the first to bring the Curve 8900 to market in the US, expect news on the AT&T release soon.

Thanks, Laurie!

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All of you skeptics out there who doubted the February release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on T-Mobile can now rest easy as T-Mobile and RIM have made the official announcement. Very eagerly anticipated, perhaps more so than the G1 albeit a lot more quietly, the 8900 features OS 4.6.1, a 512 MHz processor, 480×360 display, GPS, and WiFi with HotSpot support. The new Curve is sure to help ease the pain of the lack of Bold love. If only this device had 3G in the 1700 MHz flavor. No definitive date or price has been set, but T-Mobile hopes to sell you all an 8900 sometime in February. Or you know, you can just, uh… start reading BGR a little more often.

Press release after the jump.

T-MOBILE USA TO OFFER CUSTOMERS THE THINNEST AND LIGHTEST FULL-QWERTY BLACKBERRY SMARTPHONE

New BlackBerry Curve 8900 Smartphone Delivers GPS, Wi-Fi,
Enhanced Multimedia Capabilities and More

Bellevue, Wash., and Waterloo, Ontario – January 7, 2009 – T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM: TSX: RIM) today announced that T-Mobile® will offer its customers the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone, the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile, in a stunning titanium-colored finish with chrome highlights, combines an elegant, compact design with a wide range of popular features and an easy-to-use full-QWERTY keyboard.  It features built-in GPS and support of location-based services. It also allows easy access to social networking sites and has built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g) supporting both voice and data, making it easier to stay connected to family, friends and colleagues.

“T-Mobile is thrilled to bring our customers such an elegant and powerful way to communicate with the important people in their lives,” said Travis Warren, director, device marketing, T-Mobile USA. “The BlackBerry Curve 8900 offers T-Mobile customers the benefit of a full-QWERTY keyboard in the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet.”

In addition to a sleek, stylish design, the powerful new smartphone includes a large, vivid display – the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone – as well as a 512MHz next generation processor for fast and responsive performance. The handset’s advanced multimedia capabilities include a 3.2-megapixel camera with image stabilization, digital zoom, flash and the ability to record video and play video, a music player, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and headset, and a hot-swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot with a 256MB card inserted. With support for memory cards up to 16GB, customers can carry, capture and enjoy more of their music, pictures and video anywhere they go.

“The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 features a compact and refined design that looks and feels great.  It gives you everything you need to stay connected and entertained,” said Mark Guibert, vice president, corporate marketing, Research In Motion. “With rich multimedia capabilities, exceptional mobile email and messaging features, enhanced Web browsing, a premium phone and easy access to social networking communities, including Facebook®, Flickr®, and MySpace.com®, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 helps you make the most of a busy lifestyle that spans well beyond normal business hours.”

T-Mobile customers can continue to get great mobile coverage and unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling with T-Mobile’s Unlimited HotSpot Calling service as well as unlimited nationwide calling to five people with T-Mobile myFaves® service.* As a quad-band world phone, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 supports international roaming, extending the ability to stay connected while traveling abroad.

The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone from T-Mobile is anticipated to be available in February at T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online at http://www.T-Mobile.co

Prior to retail availability, customers can learn more about the BlackBerry Curve 8900 at www.BlackBerry.com/NewCurve8900

Maybe one of our ninjas was feeling inspired by that crazy new Dick Tracy watch LG has in the pipes because he decided to go super-sleuth and dig up the goods on T-Mobile’s upcoming release schedule for January and February, 2009. This screenshot of T-Mobile’s internal release schedule reveals pink’s upcoming lineup for the first two months of 2009 and T-Mobile well, February is most definitely your month T-Mobile people! You’ve got two major handsets dropping on the 18th: the 8 megapixel Samsung Memoir and yes, that’s right, the highly anticipated BlackBerry Curve 8900. Can you hold out another month and a half? Here’s what you’re looking at over the next two months:

• January 21: Sony Ericsson TM506 in scarlett
• January 21: Nokia 7510
• January 28: T-Mobile Shadow
• February 4: Motorola Renew
• February 4: Samsung t119
• February 18: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900
• February 18: Samsung Memoir

Happy New Year, from your pals at BGR!

We’re still in the process of trying to confirm this with our sources, but rumor has it that T-Mobile USA will be launching the BlackBerry 8900 Curve on the third Wednesday of February, the 18th. Leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor, the new Curve features a beefy 512 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM, but is seriously hurt by its lack of 3G. Yes, this device is aimed towards the business crowd where it’s highly unlikely that anyone would approve the extra money for a 3G BlackBerry — especially if it has WiFi and UMA — but so help us we just can’t stare at the phone without thinking “No 3G! No 3G!” Major gripe aside, this device is a huge addition for the T-Mobile smartphone line-up which is currently very sketchy at best (no, the Wing just doesn’t cut it any more, especially at a ludicrous $299.99).

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British friends, rejoice! T-Mobile, sneaky as it is, has just launched a country-wide sneak attack – bombarding store locations across the island. Here in the US we’re still in the dark as far as when the 8900 might find its way to AT&T or T-Mobile, but every time we see it launched abroad we get a slight glimmer of hope. Maybe. As far as T-Mobile UK pricing goes, here’s how it breaks down with an 18-month contract term:

• Combi 15: £15.00 ($22.77) / month – £166.37 ($252.57)
• Combi 20: £20.00 ($30.36) / month – £127.22 ($193.14)
• Combi 25: £25.00 ($37.95) / month – £97.87 ($148.58)
• Combi 30: £30.00 ($45.54) / month – £58.72 ($89.15)
• Combi 35: £31.50 ($47.82) / month – FREE
• Combi 40: £36.00 ($54.65) / month – FREE

Not bad T-Mobile, not bad at all. Of course if you head on over to our BlackBerry Curve 8900 giveaway you can take home a free 8900 for £0.00 / month, but these deals are still pretty good. So, if your current handset is moving cellular data way too fast for you, head on over to your local T-Mobile shop and get your EDGE on. Woo!

Thanks, Everett!

[Via engadget mobile]

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It’s that time again, people. We’ll be the first to admit we’re slacking on our BlackBerry Curve 8900 vs. mystery phone review, but we figured we’d make it up to you in the form of a giveaway! Here’s the important information you need to know:

• The unit we’re giving away is a Rogers BlackBerry Curve 8900.
• The unit is unlocked and will work with any SIM card in the world.
• You are on your own with making it work with your own carrier, though. (Some carriers won’t send out the necessary service books, some will).

That covers our mini-disclaimer. So, how do you enter? Destroy your current BlackBerry? Nope. Been there, done that. All we’re asking you to do is leave a comment, friends. That is all. Here are the official rules of engagement:

• To enter into the BlackBerry Curve 8900 giveaway contest, you must leave a comment below.
• The contest is open worldwide to everyone age 18 and older.
• If the winner is outside of the USA, you will be responsible for any applicable import tax, etc. (if necessary), but we’ll pay for shipping.
• We’ll run the contest until next Sunday, December 21st at 11:59PM ET.
• Please enter once and only once. If you enter more than once you will be disqualified.
• Please state what country you are in when you comment!
  

Good luck!