14 DAY TRIAL // Major carrier Verizon has just announced the upcoming availability of the global-ready BlackBerry Curve 9370 smartphone. The device comes with both CDMA and GSM network support.
The affordable BlackBerry 7 OS smartphone is expected to arrive in Verizon Wireless stores and online on January 19. It will go for as low as $99 with a new two-year agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
According to Verizon, customers who purchase the BlackBerry Curve 9370 will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card.
This is the first global-ready BlackBerry smartphone available from Verizon Wireless. It comes with 3G as well as quad-band GPRS and EDE support, allowing users to rake advantage of wireless voice and data services in more than 200 countries.
The smartphone features the traditional BlackBerry-esque design and comes with a full portrait QWERTY keyboard that allows users to type faster and more accurate.
Although the global-ready Curve 9370 is powered by the BlackBerry 7 operating system, Verizon and Research In Motion (RIM) plan to update the smartphone to BlackBerry 7.1 in the near future.
For the time being, BlackBerry 7.1 is only available for BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850. This update brings Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities to both smartphones.
Verizon BlackBerry Curve 9370 comes pre-loaded with the latest version of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger version 6), as well as the updated Social Feeds app.
For business users, the smartphone offers the premium version of Documents To Go, which is included as well at no additional cost. The application allows users to edit and create documents.
The smartphone packs Near Field Communications (NFC) support, which enables users the ability to pair accessories or read NFC tags with a simple tap.
There's also a 5-megapixel read camera with flash, a 2.44-inch standard display, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 support, as well as GPS and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32 GB, 2GB memory card included).