AT&T took some time this morning to announce the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is coming soon. The Curve 8520 is the entry level BlackBerry, featuring optical trackpad, Wi-Fi, GPS, along with dedicated music keys, and a 2.0 megapixel camera, without flash. The Curve 8520 is expected to launch in the “coming weeks” for $99.99 with two year term. Keep an eye on AT&T’s website for availability. Skip on over for the full press release from AT&T…

Press Release:

New BlackBerry Curve 8520 Joins AT&T Smartphone Lineup

AT&T’s Great-Value Smartphone Features Global Access, Slick Design, Robust Capability, Trackpad, Media Keys for Easy Access to Music and Entertainment, Preloaded Facebook and Myspace

Dallas, Texas, November 16, 2009

AT&T*, the choice for twice as many smartphone customers than any other carrier and the first U.S. carrier to offer BlackBerry^® service, announced today it will introduce the best value in its BlackBerry smartphone portfolio with the addition of the BlackBerry^®Curve™ 8520 from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX:RIM).The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a stylish, easy-to-use, compact smartphone offering the best value for consumer and business customers looking for BlackBerry service. The smartphone features a full QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for easy typing and navigation, built-in Wi-Fi^® and an advanced media player, plus dedicated media keys, smoothly integrated along the top of the handset, for a convenient way to control music and videos. The handset also provides global connectivity via phone, email, text, IM, picture messaging and social networking, with Facebook^®and My Space applications preloaded.

The sleek, new device houses a high-resolution 320×240 display a 512 MHz processor, 256 MB of Flash memory, and a 2 megapixel camera equipped with video recording.

“AT&T was the first choice for BlackBerry in the U.S. and we continue to expand our offering of BlackBerry products to suit the different needs of business and personal users,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “The BlackBerry Curve 8520 offers the best value by combining the essential features of a BlackBerry smartphone with access to AT&T’s network, which includes best coverage worldwide, as well as the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network.”

AT&T users of the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 can enjoy access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network with more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots — including approximately 7,000 Starbucks locations. As with all other Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry smartphones from AT&T, BlackBerry Curve 8520 users with a qualifying data plan, which includes all consumer BlackBerry unlimited data plans, get seamless and unlimited access to these domestic hotspots at no additional cost. When traveling outside the U.S., BlackBerry Curve 8520 users can enjoy the best coverage worldwide with wireless voice coverage in more than 215 countries and wireless data coverage in more than 185 countries.

Mobile users will enjoy great battery life, simultaneous voice and data capabilities when using Wi-Fi, and the ability to access up to 10 corporate and personal email accounts whether they are corporate or personal accounts. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 also affords users the ability to edit Microsoft^® Word, Excel^® and PowerPoint^® files with DataViz^®Documents to Go^®suite.

“The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a great choice for first-time smartphone users and offers easy-to-use messaging, social networking and multimedia features with a full-QWERTY keyboard that makes typing fast and comfortable,” said Carlo Chiarello, vice president, product management, Research In Motion.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available in the coming weeks for $99.99 after mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. 2-year agreement on a min. $69.99 plan required.) AT&T smartphones require the purchase of a monthly data plan. Other monthly charges apply. See below.^†

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.

† AT&T Wireless imposes: a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge of up to $1.25 to help defray costs incurred in complying with obligations and charges imposed by State and Federal telecom regulations; State and Federal Universal Service charges; and surcharges for government assessments on AT&T. These fees are not taxes or government-required charges.

¹ Smartphone customer satisfaction claim based on independent survey data from Nielsen² Coverage not available in all areas. Other terms and conditions apply.³ Video recording requires microSD memory card, sold separately.⁴ International roaming: Special credit & tenure restrictions & add’l charges may apply. Calling to & from certain countries may be blocked & change without notice. See wireless.att.com/learn/international/ for updated countries, rates, charges & full terms & conditions. International Dialing: Airtime or roaming charges are in addition to long distance charges. International Roaming: Requires compatible device. Avail, quality of coverage & svcs while roaming are not guaranteed.⁵ Nation’s largest Wi-fi network based on non-municipal company and owned and operated hotspots and an 802.11 b/g enabled device.⁶ AT&T Promotion Card: Price before AT&T Promotion Card & with 2 year contract is $199.99. Allow 60 days for fulfillment. Card valid for 120 days wherever major credit cards accepted. May be used to pay wireless bill. Not redeemable for cash and cannot be used at ATMs or gas pumps. Some restrictions and other charges apply. See terms at store or at att.com/wirelessrebate. You must be customer for 30 consecutive days to receive Promotion Card. Offer expires Dec. 25, 2009. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment.Limited-time offer. Other conditions and restrictions apply. See contract and rate plan brochure for details. Subscriber must live and have a mailing address within AT&T’s owned wireless network coverage area. Up to $36 activation fee applies. Equipment price and availability may vary by market and may not be available from independent retailers. Early Termination Fee: None if cancelled in the first 30 days but up to $35 restocking fee may apply to equipment returns; thereafter up to $175. Some agents impose additional fees. Unlimited voice services: Unlimited voice services are provided primarily for live dialog between two individuals. No additional discounts are available with unlimited plan. Offnet Usage: If customer’s minutes of use (including unlimited services) on other carrier’s networks (“offnet usage”) during any two consecutive months, or customer’s data use during any month, exceeds customer’s offnet usage allowance, AT&T may at its option terminate customer’s service, deny customer’s continued use of other carriers’ coverage, or change customer’s plan to one imposing usage charges for offnet usage. Customer’s offnet usage allowance is equal to the lesser of 750 minutes or 40% of the Anytime minutes included with the plan (data offnet usage allowance is the lesser of 24 MB or 20% of the KB included with customer’s plan).

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verseSM and AT&T | DIRECTVSM brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T’s Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATTNews. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

© 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 3G service not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

It’s no secret that the BlackBerry Curve 8530 is heading to Verizon, and now rumors have arrived that some Verizon stores have started to receive their accessories for the new Curve. It’s expected that Verizon will officially put the Curve 8530 on sale November 20th, therefore it only makes sense that accessories are starting to flow into stores now. Is anyone here interested in grabbing the new Curve with Wi-Fi and optical Trackpad from Verizon?

[via CrackBerry]

Look what came out of hiding! The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has just been announced officially by RIM. Not too long after it was announced we saw press releases from both Verizon and Sprint, in the United States. The new Curve 8530 sports a newer style body, with trackpad navigation, Wi-Fi, dedicated music keys and GPS. Sprint is yet to announce pricing or a release date, however Verizon says they will be launching it on November 20th for $99.99 with contract, after rebates.

Press  Release:

Verizon Wireless Introduces the BlackBerry Curve 8530 Smartphone

New Smartphone Features 3G Connectivity, Built-In Wi-Fi and GPS, Touch-Sensitive Trackpad and Dedicated Media Keys

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and WATERLOO, Ontario – Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530 smartphone, an exciting new addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones. The slim BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone gives customers access to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, as well as easy access to music, games and other mobile apps for entertainment on the go.

Available colors: Black and Smoky Violet

Key features:

• Easy-to-use, highly tactile, full QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for reliable, responsive typing and navigation
• 256 MB flash memory and 528 MHz next generation processor for enhanced performance
• Supports voice-activated dialing and Bluetooth® (version 2.1), with support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• 3G-enabled (EV-DO)
• Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• GPS with support for location-based applications, including geotagging pictures and Verizon Wireless’ VZ NavigatorSM service
• 2.0 megapixel digital camera with zoom and video recording*
• Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry® Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from your computer to the smartphone**
• Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry® smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, social networking and sharing, news and weather, productivity and much more
• Access to e-mail, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites (including Facebook and MySpace)
• Rich multimedia capabilities, including dedicated media keys smoothly integrated along the top of the handset, giving customers an easy, convenient way to control their music and videos
• Support for BlackBerry services with access to up to 10 supported e-mail accounts, including most popular ISP e-mail accounts such as Yahoo! ®, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, AOL® and Gmail, and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support, which provides advanced security and IT administration features for corporate deployments
• Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD™/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 16 GB cards today and expected to support next generation 32 GB cards when available

Pricing and availability:

• The BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone is expected to be available from Verizon Wireless beginning Nov. 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan.  Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.  Data plans for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.
• For information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

* Video recording requires microSD card, sold separately
** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies

It’s finally here! The new mid-range BlackBerry Curve 8520 for Rogers has been officially released. Starting today Rogers customers should be able to grab one for $99 with three year contract, or $449 without contract. As of today Rogers is offering the Curve 8520 in black, followed by Violet in the coming weeks. It’s not on their website as of yet, but expect it later today.

Rogers and RIM Launch the New BlackBerry Curve 8520 Smartphone in Canada TORONTO, ONTARIO and WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Oct. 8, 2009) – Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI)(NYSE:RCI) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today launched the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8520 smartphone. It’s the latest addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones and it provides a highly intuitive and efficient mobile experience for users with easy mobile access to email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites including Facebook(R) and MySpace, as well as rich multimedia capabilities.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available from Rogers Wireless in two colours – black and violet. In addition to providing the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution, the smartphone features a new touch-sensitive trackpad for navigation and dedicated media keys that are integrated into the top of the handset for quick and convenient control of music and videos. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g) and support for Rogers TalkSpot(TM) service, allowing customers to make unlimited Canada-wide calls over Wi-Fi for only $15 per month.

“Rogers and RIM have a proud history, dating back over ten years, of bringing Canadians the best in smartphone hardware and technology,” said John Boynton, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Communications. “Rogers is thrilled to offer this latest BlackBerry Curve to our customers looking for a stylish and cutting edge smartphone at an attractive price.”

“BlackBerry is already the top-selling smartphone brand in North America and this latest addition to our line-up is designed to expand its appeal even further,” said Carlo Chiarello, Vice President, Product Management, Research In Motion. “The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is an incredibly approachable smartphone with easy-to-use messaging, social networking and multimedia features that will undoubtedly help more Canadians decide to make the switch from a traditional cell phone to a BlackBerry smartphone.”

Other key features of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone from Rogers Wireless include:

- Highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard for fast, accurate typing

- 2 MP digital camera with zoom and video recording(i)

- High-resolution, light sensing 320 x 240 display that automatically adjusts backlighting

- 512 Mhz next generation processor and 256 MB Flash memory

- Instant messaging with BlackBerry(R) Messenger, Google(R) Talk, Windows Live Messenger(TM) and Yahoo!(R) Messenger

- Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry(R) MediaSync, which makes it easy to sync iTunes(R) and Windows Media(R) Player playlists with the smartphone(ii)

- The urMusic application provided by Rogers allows you to sideload your music for FREE and discover, browse and download songs from all your favourite artists. urMusic also gives you access to the best Live Nation(R) concerts with Wireless Box Office(TM), a mobile ticketing service where Rogers pays the service charges

- Enhanced web browser that displays full HTML for a desktop-style browsing experience on the go

- Access to BlackBerry(R) App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more

- Expandable memory via a microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 16 GB cards today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available

- Premium phone features including voice activated dialing and Bluetooth(R) (2.0) support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals

- BlackBerry(R) Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!(R), Windows Live(TM) Hotmail(R), AOL(R) and Gmail(TM)

- BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments with advanced security and IT controls

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Beginning today, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is available in black from Rogers from $99.99 with activation on any combination of a 3 year voice and data plan with minimum combined monthly service fee of $45 per month from Rogers. Some conditions apply. The BlackBerry Curve 8250 will be available in violet from Rogers in the coming weeks.

For more information please visit: www.rogers.com or www.blackberry.com/curve8520

Rogers and RIM Launch the New BlackBerry Curve 8520 Smartphone in Canada TORONTO, ONTARIO and WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Oct. 8, 2009) – Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI)(NYSE:RCI) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today launched the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8520 smartphone. It’s the latest addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones and it provides a highly intuitive and efficient mobile experience for users with easy mobile access to email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites including Facebook(R) and MySpace, as well as rich multimedia capabilities.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available from Rogers Wireless in two colours – black and violet. In addition to providing the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution, the smartphone features a new touch-sensitive trackpad for navigation and dedicated media keys that are integrated into the top of the handset for quick and convenient control of music and videos. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g) and support for Rogers TalkSpot(TM) service, allowing customers to make unlimited Canada-wide calls over Wi-Fi for only $15 per month.

“Rogers and RIM have a proud history, dating back over ten years, of bringing Canadians the best in smartphone hardware and technology,” said John Boynton, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Communications. “Rogers is thrilled to offer this latest BlackBerry Curve to our customers looking for a stylish and cutting edge smartphone at an attractive price.”

“BlackBerry is already the top-selling smartphone brand in North America and this latest addition to our line-up is designed to expand its appeal even further,” said Carlo Chiarello, Vice President, Product Management, Research In Motion. “The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is an incredibly approachable smartphone with easy-to-use messaging, social networking and multimedia features that will undoubtedly help more Canadians decide to make the switch from a traditional cell phone to a BlackBerry smartphone.”

Other key features of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone from Rogers Wireless include:

- Highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard for fast, accurate typing

- 2 MP digital camera with zoom and video recording(i)

- High-resolution, light sensing 320 x 240 display that automatically adjusts backlighting

- 512 Mhz next generation processor and 256 MB Flash memory

- Instant messaging with BlackBerry(R) Messenger, Google(R) Talk, Windows Live Messenger(TM) and Yahoo!(R) Messenger

- Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry(R) MediaSync, which makes it easy to sync iTunes(R) and Windows Media(R) Player playlists with the smartphone(ii)

- The urMusic application provided by Rogers allows you to sideload your music for FREE and discover, browse and download songs from all your favourite artists. urMusic also gives you access to the best Live Nation(R) concerts with Wireless Box Office(TM), a mobile ticketing service where Rogers pays the service charges

- Enhanced web browser that displays full HTML for a desktop-style browsing experience on the go

- Access to BlackBerry(R) App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more

- Expandable memory via a microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 16 GB cards today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available

- Premium phone features including voice activated dialing and Bluetooth(R) (2.0) support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals

- BlackBerry(R) Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo!(R), Windows Live(TM) Hotmail(R), AOL(R) and Gmail(TM)

- BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments with advanced security and IT controls

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Beginning today, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is available in black from Rogers from $99.99 with activation on any combination of a 3 year voice and data plan with minimum combined monthly service fee of $45 per month from Rogers. Some conditions apply. The BlackBerry Curve 8250 will be available in violet from Rogers in the coming weeks.

For more information please visit: www.rogers.com or www.blackberry.com/curve8520

It seems the Rogers BlackBerry Curve 8520 is just around the corner. Today Best Buy Canada “accidentally” listed the BlackBerry Curve 8520 for Rogers on their site. It’s currently listed at $99 with three year contract or $449 without. This comes after launch materials and dummy phones have arrived at some Rogers retail stores across Canada. This might mean we will see an official launch sometime soon. Keep checking in…

Check out the Curve 8520 over at BestBuy.ca >>

[via MobileSyrup]

Thanks to Tony, from Cocky Culture, who just let us know about Crimson, a brand new theme for the BlackBerry. It is a dark red theme with a skull and cross bones. It has class and a gothic feel to it. The theme is available from the BlackBerry Sync Store for $3.95 until Sept 25th!

The description says:

Our friends over at Elecite sneaked out a new BlackBerry theme to kick off the week. It’s called Spear and is for most of the newer models including the BlackBerry Bold 9000, Curve 8350, 8500, 8900, and Tour 9600 series. Spear features 8 customizable icons, with an over-sized digital clock on your home screen. It’s available today for $6.99 from Elecite.

Check out Spear and Elecite’s other Premium Themes at Elecite.com >>

It seems that Rogers might be launching the Curve 8520 soon than later. The first live picture of a Rogers branded 8520 has been spotted over at BGR. This unit is running OS 4.6.1.274, and appears to have zero physical branding, just the OS boot up screen. Looks like this is the start of things to come… Anyone care to leak out some shots of the Rogers branded Onyx (Bold 9700)??

We knew it would come soon than later, but proof the BlackBerry Bold 9700 “Onyx” and Curve 8520 “Gemini” are heading to Rogers has arrived. Boy Genius obtained some screen shots of Rogers’ internal upgrading system, which shows both devices listed. It’s not known when either of the devices will be available, or even pricing at this time. We think both devices should launch late this month or early next… Stay tuned for confirmation.

Colorware is known for creating some of the coolest, and some of the ugliest colored devices on the market. Now the fun folks at Colorware have just introduced the BlackBerry Curve 8520 to their portfolio. Starting today you can customize your 8520 in tons of different colors for as little as $99 USD. If you don’t own a Curve 8520 yet, you can pick one up from Colorware for $499 USD and its unlocked and colored. Why don’t you head over to Colorware and start creating your own Colorware creation >>