RIM reveals new Curve smartphones with NFC capability

23 Aug 2011

Canadian smartphone player Research in Motion has revealed three new Curve models powered by the BlackBerry 7 operating system – they include the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones and include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world beginning in September.

RIM says the new models are designed to address that part of the mobile phone market where customers are looking to upgrade their existing feature phone or existing BlackBerry Curve with an affordable, socially-connected smartphone. 

“These new models will build on the incredible success of the BlackBerry Curve line and further expand the largest global launch of BlackBerry smartphones in our history,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion.

“The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are absolutely stunning and offer a significant performance upgrade with an unmatched mobile social experience for the millions of feature phone users in the market as well as our existing Curve customers.”

The new phones are ergonomically designed with a comfortable and iconic keyboard for fast, accurate typing and an optical trackpad for easy, one-handed navigation. GPS and Wi-Fi support are also included, as well as a 5MP camera with flash and video recording so that memories can be captured and instantly shared on social networks.

The microSD/SDHC slot supports up to 32 GB memory cards for additional media storage. In addition to supporting the new BlackBerry 7 OS, the new BlackBerry Curve smartphones include upgraded processors, displays and memory, and built-in support for NFC.

Next-Generation BlackBerry 7 OS

The new BlackBerry 7 OS comes with an advanced WebKit browser engine, HTML 5 gaming and video performance and productivity and collaboration apps. The Premium version of Documents To Go is included free of charge, offering users powerful document editing features as well as a native PDF document viewer.

With BlackBerry Protect, users can locate their misplaced BlackBerry smartphone using GPS or remotely turn up the ringer for an audible notification if their handset is close-by.

BlackBerry Balance is integrated in BlackBerry 7, to allow both work and personal use of smartphones without compromising the IT department’s need for advanced security and IT controls.

The latest release of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) is pre-loaded on the new phones, extending the real time BBM experience to a range of other apps, such as Foursquare.
The new Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones (2.0) app introduces features like Facebook chat and BBM integration that makes it easier for users to connect with their Facebook friends in real time utilising push notifications.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com