There never seems to be an ending to the flood of handsets that join the smartphone line-ups provided by the two major US telecom carriers, Verizon and AT&T. So, after we talked earlier today about the two new Samsung handhelds, the Mythic and Sprint, it's now time to take a look at the new BlackBerry Curve 8530, which has just made an appearance at Verizon.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is a slim, good-looking handheld featuring a highly tactile, full QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad. Plus, the Curve model incorporates 256 MB of flash memory and a 528 MHz CPU, is 3G (EV-DO) enabled and also has a Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) module.

Additionally, the handheld has voice-activated dialing and Bluetooth (version 2.1), with support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals. Similar to most modern smartphones, it incorporates a GPS module with support for location-based applications, including geotagging pictures and Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator service, as well as a 2.0-megapixel digital camera with zoom and video recording.

Naturally, the Curve 8530 offers seamless Internet navigation and complete messaging options (e-mail, SMS, MMS), plus access to social networking websites, but also the BlackBerry App World. It packs an advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys along the top side of the device and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, as well as expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 32 GB cards.

Last, but certainly not least, let's talk about the pricing details. So, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone should be available in Verizon Wireless stores beginning with November 20, with the price tag being set at $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Not shabby, but not too affordable, either.


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