Verizon Wireless, North America's second largest mobile carrier, has recently lowered the prices of three BlackBerry handsets from its line-up of smartphones. In consequence, users across the US can now buy the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry 8830 World Edition for 70 bucks less.

The new prices are as follows:

- BlackBerry Pearl, which is offered by Verizon in both silver and pink, now costs only $79.99;

- the BlackBerry Curve 8330 has dropped to 99.99 USD;

- the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition (available in red and silver) can now be bought for $149.99.

Of course, these more affordable prices are available with the signing of a two-year contract agreement, as the retail prices of the smartphones have not changed. Moreover, it seems that only those who buy the handsets online, from Verizon's official website, can benefit from the discounts.

The main reason behind these price cuts might be the fact that AT&T, the largest North American carrier and Verizon's direct competitor, is preparing to release RIM's newest Bold 9000 flagship smartphone. Moreover, Verizon is rumored to come soon with a brand new BlackBerry, namely the Thunder 9500 - the first touchscreen handset to be manufactured by Research in Motion.

Thus, with these two new devices coming in a short time to lure mobile users across the US, the V carrier might have though that its "old" BlackBerries would be more attractive if offered for less money.

BlackBerry 8703e, the fourth RIM smartphone from Verizon's offering is the only one that does not come with a discounted price, hence users still have to pay $149.99 for it (with a two-year contract, of course). Anyway, the other three BlackBerries that are now sold for less will surely raise the interest of American users in need of a new smartphone and a new Verizon contract agreement.