While at CES this year I was very surprised with one device in particular - the BlackBerry Curve 8900. Having recently migrated from an iPhone to a BlackBerry Curve 8310 I have been looking at stepping up to a newer BlackBerry device. A good friend has the BlackBerry Bold and despite the amazing looks, quality build, and sharp screen - he has been plagued by 3G network issues on AT&T and also suffers terrible battery life. It should be noted that I talked to a RIM representative who explained it was an AT&T decision to remove the ability to disable 3G on the phone.

With my excitement for the Bold cooled by the known issues I turned my attention at CES to the Curve 8900. With a form factor that almost perfectly mirrors its predecessors I know it is something I could live with daily. The device packs a beautiful screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, and the great looking theme of the Bold. Having come to BlackBerry from an iPhone 2G I really miss WiFi on my GPS enabled Curve 8310. The one point that might continue to lead me to the Bold is the impressive keyboard - the larger keys allow me to be much more accurate when typing than the Curve I currently use, and it should be noted the Curve 8900’s keyboard is comparable in size to the 8300 series phones.

BlackBerry Curve 8900:

BlackBerry Bold:

Images courtesy BlackBerry press photos.