If you’ve been wondering whether or not the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 from T-Mobile is right for you, my buddy @ASacco has put together a great article you should definitely read.

Today, Research In Motion’s (RIM) brand new BlackBerry Curve 8520 goes on sale in the United States, through T-Mobile. The Curve 8520, RIM’s third iteration of the Curve, falls directly in the middle of both RIM and T-Mobile’s Curve product lines.

After T-Mobile initially released the Curve 8320 in September, 2007, it quickly became one of the carrier’s best selling smartphones. More than a year later, T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier to release RIM’s second-generation Curve, the BlackBerry 8900. And today, the carrier is first to offer the next Curve, the BlackBerry 8520.

Yesterday, I attended RIM’s Curve 8520 launch event in New York City, where the company showed off all kinds of up-and-coming wares along with the new device. I spent quite a bit of time with the new Curve and was able to mostly size it up.

Now, on to the Curve 8520 features and technical specifications, as well as my breakdown of why the new Curve could be a perfect fit for you–or not.

And if you’re interested in additional BlackBerry devices, check out my takes on the BlackBerry Curve 8900 or Tour 9630.

READ MORE @ CIO

The T-Mobile website has been updated to allow purchasing of the BlackBerry Curve 8520!

The Curve 8520 is available for $129.99 after a $170 instant discount. Here what the instant discount means for new and current T-Mobile customers:

For a Limited Time, when you purchase a T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520 on www.t-mobile.com or through 1-877-387-4324 receive a $170 instant discount. The T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve retails at $299.99, after instant discount you pay $129.99.

To qualify for instant discount, the product must be activated of a qualifying voice plan and a minimum $14.99 Data or Messaging Plan on a two year service agreement.

Prices exclusive to T-Mobile.com or 1-877-387-4324 with a new line of service activated on a qualifying rate plan for a two-year service agreement (minimum). Existing customers must activate an additional line of service to qualify. Final price is after rebates. Tax and shipping charges (if applicable) are extra. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Limited-time offer while supplies last. Instant discount may not be combined with any other rebates or offers.

The Curve 8520 is available in Black and Frost. Head on over to the T-Mobile website for more info. The T-Mobile BlackBerry downloads page has not been updated to include the Curve 8520 yet, but it should be soon.

To see everything I’ve posted about the 8520 so far check out the 8520 Archives.

Alerio, the same person who made the  T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520 unboxing video I posted about yesterday, now also has a quick video review.

Just a reminder, Alerio was lucky enough to get the Curve 8520 from Walmart before it’s official release, which is tomorrow August 5th. If things go well, you should see the T-Mobile Curve 8520 page update soon after midnight, allowing you to purchase this BlackBerry.

Who’s planning on getting the Curve 8520?

One lucky T-Mobile customer was able to snag the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 at a Walmart store for $48.88!

The Curve 8520 is not supposed to be officially available until this Wednesday, August 5th. Over the weekend I posted about the Curve 8520 already being up on the T-Mobile website, shown as “coming soon”. If one Walmart store could slip up and sell the Curve 8520 before they were supposed to, I’m sure there are a few others that will be making the same mistake (unless they hear about this haha).

If you happen to get one of these before Wednesday let me know in the comments!

Just got an email tip that the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is now live on the T-Mobile website!

Earlier this week T-Mobile and RIM officially announced the Curve 8520 confirming the August 5th launch date tip I received. The Curve 8520 is listed as coming soon with no information other than a basic overview of features, specifications and what comes in the box. Still no official or unofficial pricing information available at this time.

Head on over to the T-Mobile site to check it out. If you know anything more about the Curve 8520 feel free to leave it in the comments!

Just got an email tip with information about the T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520’s launch!

The Curve 8520 will be launched with an Optical Trackpad and is meant to replace the T-Mobile Curve 8320. It will launch August 5th for the following:

• Retail (stores)
• RPS
• Walmart
• Employees
• Upgrades (after 10 a.m. PT)

Top features:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Optical Trackpad Navigation
• Wi-Fi and Mobile Calling
• Personal and Work E-mail
• SMS, IM and Social Networking
• BlackBerry App World

Still no official pricing info yet but I’m working on that . Who plans on getting the Curve 8520, especially since it’s meant to replace the Curve 8320 for T-Mobile?

That Optical Trackpad sure does look nice.

YouTuber Salomondrin has a bunch of videos of the BlackBerry Onyx, one of them even showing BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 running on an Onyx!

The videos I grabbed are of the Onyx but he does have some of the Tour and the Gemini, in case you wanted to check those out as well. The videos I have included in this post are a hands-on, two unboxings, one showing what taking a picture with the Onyx is like, and last but not least, one showing BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 running on an Onyx.

Check out the rest of the videos after the jump.

CONTINUE READING »

TmoNews got their hands on what appears to be a slideshow presentation of the new T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520 (aka Gemini) in white.

We’ve already seen some black, branded T-Mobile Curve 8520s so I guess this means there will be two colors to choose from, unless of course the black ones were just pre-releases and the actual color will be white. Although a different color, it appears the white version will also be sporting the new Optical TrackPad.

So far the rumored launch dates are August 5th and some time in July. I’m sure we’ll find out more soon enough since it already passed FCC testing.

Don’t forget to check out the full features and specifications chart if you’re interested in this BlackBerry.

CellPhoneSignal found out that the BlackBerry Curve 8520 (aka the Gemini) has just passed FCC testing, which means it has been given the green light for distribution.

Of course it isn’t up to the FCC as to when the Curve 8520 will actually launch, but being that we’ve already seen some T-Mobile branded 8520s and leaked roadmaps showing a July and August 5th launch date, I’d say a launch is right around the corner.

If you want to learn more about the Curve 8520 check out the full features and specifications chart or head on over to the FCC to view the testing documents.

It looks like the release of the BlackBerry Gemini 8520 is getting closer!

IntoMobile got a picture of some T-Mobile branded Geminis. The Gemini 8520 is the first BlackBerry with an Optical TrackPad, but is somewhat lacking in terms of new features. It is, however, a very sleek and well designed BlackBerry from what I’ve seen so far.

Last week I posted a leaked T-Mobile roadmap showing the Gemini 8520 as launching August 5th. This picture doesn’t confirm that rumor, but it does mean that a launch could be nearing.

In case you missed it, the full features and specifications for the Gemini 8520 were posted back in early May. You can check them out if you’d like to learn more about the Gemini.