Last we heard, the Curve 8900 was scheduled for a vague “early summer” release. Well, AT&T has just announced that the Curve 8900 will be available both online and in stores starting this Friday. That’s a whole lot less vague and just two days away.

If you are adding a line or are eligible for a fully discounted upgrade, you’ll need about $200 not including tax. To recap, some features include WiFi, GPS and a 480 x 360 resolution display and the joy of owning a BB.

If you’ve been in suspense and can’t wait to find out more about that BlackBerry Curve 8520 with the optical trackball in place of the spinner, the folks over at CrackBerry have posted a pre-release review. Overall, it’s a pretty nice phone, and the optical trackball works well. The hardware is well put together and the OS runs smoothly.

Is it as cool as the Curve 8900? Not really. The design in general has been updated, but things like the screen, battery, and camera are from the Curve 8300. What gives? It is EDGE-only and may turn out to be a pay-as-you-go phone. We’ll see

It’s a good day for T-Mobile and BlackBerry fans. They are the first to get the Curve 8900 for $199 with a 2-year deal. So feel free to rush into T-Mobile stores to pick up the BlackBerry Curve 8900. Or online.

Not that it comes as a shock or anything, but just reminding you. What are you waiting for? Go get it.

Slacker has announced a version of it’s free internet radio app for the smartphone, with 100 expert-programmed Slacker stations, over 10,000 artist stations or tons of custom stations. You can even listen to music without a network connection using Slacker’s station caching, which is exclusive to BlackBerry devices

It lets you store your favorite stations on a memory card instead of streaming them over the network connection you’re using. That way you have access to them even when there’s no signal. Slacker claims that it will also reduce battery consumption by as much as 5x.

It had to happen. If a device is as popular as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, it will get the Colorware treatment sooner or later. Usually sooner. Just like the iPhone 3G, and your DS. So, if you want to beat your precious gadget upside the face with an ugly stick, the folks at Colorware will gladly help.

It doesn’t have to be ugly of course, you can put together something striking I’m sure. Just be certain it’s what you want before you commit. A solid color will run you $129, but if you want a different top, bottom, frame or sides, it will be higher. You could just love your device for who it is, which is the cheapest option and it will love you back. Maybe.

You’ll want to mark February 11 on your calendar, because I know you’ve been waiting. That’s when T-Mobile will launch the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It comes one week earlier than what we initially thought. Just what is “High Speed Internet”? Probably code for T-Mobile’s crappy new “Web2Go” WAP service.

Then again, it may be referring to the integrated Wi-Fi connectivity found in the Curve 8900. No HotSpot@Home? Specs include: High Speed Internet (wifi??), Personal and Work E-mail, 3.2 Megapixel Camera with Auto-Focus and Video, Address Book, Alarm Clock, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, Calculator, Calendar, EDGE High-Speed Data, Sync with Microsoft Outlook, GPRS, Games and a whole lot more.

T-Mobile along with RIM launched a new, upgraded BlackBerry Curve today that not only features Wi-Fi for data but can also connect voice through the Wi-Fi connection via Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) and the HotSpot@Home service. The BlackBerry 8320 can take advantage of both the current EDGE network or a Wi-Fi connection when available, seamlessly switching between the two during a call.

When using UMA, users of the 8320 can talk through a 802.11g wireless home network or public Wi-Fi hotspot without racking up any talk-time minutes as they would through the standard cellular EDGE voice connection. The new Curves from T-Mobile will come in new colors of titanium silver (shown here) or a pale gold (exclusively through T-Mobile) but other than that are pretty much the same as the original BlackBerry Curve. The BlackBerry 8320 has a 2 megapixel camera, media player, microSD expansion slot, full QWERTY keyboard and takes advantage of T-Mobiles myFaves for 5 friends from any carrier.

Here’s another release that just made it within its announced time constraints, launching on the last of the month. RIM and AT&T have announced the official release of the BlackBerry Curve, available through AT&T starting tomorrow, May 31st for a price of $199 with a two year contract and a mail in rebate, of course.

The BlackBerry Curve is the latest, smallest and lightest BlackBerry smart phone with a full QWERTY keyboard that RIM has produced. In fact, AT&T (through a predecessor company) was the first carrier to introduce a BlackBerry wireless solution back in ‘99 and is now the first with the Curve. The features available in this phone combined with the price is almost enough to make a guy want to switch carriers.

Press Release

The BlackBerry Curve (aka the 8300) is the latest model that’s been added to the BlackBerry lineup of handheld devices from Research In Motion (RIM). The claim to fame for this new model lies in the combinations. The BlackBerry Curve sports a smaller size combined with a full QWERTY keyboard, and also packs in blend of features to serve both work and play.

The BlackBerry Curve is the smallest and lightest BlackBerry yet that has a full QWERTY keyboard. At only .6 inches thick, 2.4 inches wide and 4.2 inches tall, the device is almost the same size as the BlackBerry Pearl aside from being just a little bit wider to accommodate the QWERTY keyboard. The Curve also outweighs the Pearl by .7 ounces with a total weight of 3.9 ounces. The BlackBerry Pearl is the smallest BlackBerry device that …