Bouygues Telecom and Research In Motion announced the launch of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 handset in France. The smart phone comes with a nice range of features meant to offer users easy connectivity with their friends, family and office. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 brings to users in France built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, as well as a hi-resolution display. The phone's fast processor (512Mhz) delivers the power needed to run email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications.

Owners of a BlackBerry Curve 8900 are able to stay connected, productive and entertained while on the go. In addition, the built-in GPS brings to users the benefits offered by satellite navigation, including the unlimited service from Maporama for consumers, as well as the Webraska navigation service from Masternaute for businesses. The latter can automatically update maps so as to deliver guidance to different points of interest.

The smart phone includes a full AZERTY keyboard as well as an intuitive trackball navigation system. It includes a 2.4-inch HVGA+ display able to provide a 480×360 pixel resolution and vivid colors. A 3.2-megapixel camera that features auto focus, digital zoom, image stabilization and flash is also present, along with a microSD/SDHC expandable memory slot that provides support for memory cards of up to 16GB. The handset also sports a full-featured media player that offers media streaming capabilities for both audio and video files. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 measures 109 x 60 x 13.5 millimeters and weighs only 110 grams.

More features of the device include Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go, so that Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be edited directly on the handset, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, support for GSM/GPRS/EDGE on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, BlackBerry Media Sync, voice-activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, a low-distortion speaker-phone, and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, as well as a 1400 mAHr battery that can deliver up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 356 hours of standby time.

The prices of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 will start at €149 including taxes with a minimum of one-year contract for the Forfait Pro or Neo.2 three-hours or more voice plan. Moreover, between January 26 and February 22, Bouygues Telecom will offer the device for only €79 including taxes, a price translated into a sales price of €129 in store to which a €50 discount is applied.

Corporate customers will be able to acquire the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for €179 excluding taxes for a 2-year subscription. Between January 26 and February 22, the phone will be available for purchase for corporate clients for €59 including taxes. A €50 discount applies to the sales price of €109 in store, coupled with a Neo Mail Entreprises data plan.