The BlackBerry® Curve™ series of smartphones have always been fun and easy-to-use, with great attributes that distinguish the line in a sea of entry-level handsets. Today, we are excited to announce the latest addition to our Curve family, the new all-touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone!

Our BlackBerry® 7 OS devices have been getting great buzz since we first announced the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones, the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone, the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones, and the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones. Later this month, the new BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone running BlackBerry 7 will be making its way to carriers and retail locations around the world. So, we thought it would be a good time to get Product Manager Mark to share three key things you need to know about this new BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone. Take it away, Mark!

1. All the great attributes of a BlackBerry Curve in a sleek all-touch design

First off, the new all-touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 is the first BlackBerry Curve smartphone that sports a touch screen, offering a full-sized touch display at that. It maintains the great attributes and fun and approachable features that distinguish the BlackBerry Curve family, adds some really cool new technology such as NFC and Augmented Reality, while offering users a responsive all-touch screen interface.

Like existing BlackBerry Curve models, the BlackBerry Curve 9380 is light in weight and has a sleek and stylish design. The beautifully crafted handset fits easily into your holster, feels great in your hand, and looks good no matter where you go.

The 3.2” all-touchscreen is packed full of pixels for a crisp picture, which makes it ideal for quickly scanning and scrolling through messages, zooming in on your friends’ newest Facebook® pics or streaming YouTube® videos on the go.

2. The BlackBerry Curve 9380 keeps you socially connected

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone is jam packed with features. From the basics like phone functionality, SMS and email, to a great web browsing experience and cool apps that take full advantage of the smartphone. It also makes it easy to interact with your social network, because the new BlackBerry Curve 9380 delivers an amazing social experience!

Your social life can be fully integrated through BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) driven by BBM 6, and great new BBM-connected applications which, for example, allow you to connect with your friends through BBM while playing a game or listening to (and sharing) tunes with BBM™ Music.

The new BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone also features our Social Feeds application, which ties all of your social networks together into one place. With Social Feeds you can update each of your social networks at once, and new messages from your friends pop up at the top of the screen so you can check them quickly and easily.

Oh, and we can’t forget the 5 megapixel camera! You can take a photo or a video of whatever you want, whenever you want. The camera allows you to take that snapshot quickly and then upload it to share on Facebook or Twitter®.

3. NFC and Augmented Reality – Some cool technology in the new all-touch BlackBerry Curve 9380

As we mentioned earlier, there’s some really cool new technology in the BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone too: NFC (Near Field Communications) and Augmented Reality (driven by the digital compass). NFC technology will allow you to interact with your surroundings in a whole new way. You can read and create smart tags, tap to connect with posters to access content, or sync up with NFC-enabled accessories. The recent announcement about BlackBerry® Tag coming in a future release of BlackBerry 7 will apply to this model and we’re working with MasterCard® to bring their MasterCard® PayPass™ mobile payment certification to this handset as well.

If you haven’t yet, you have to check out Augmented Reality technology, starting with the Wikitude app. This app allows you to hold up your device and, using the camera, explore the world around you. Standing in front of an important landmark? Just point your BlackBerry Curve 9380 at it and let Wikitude tell you all about it. It is even designed to work with BBM in virtually real-time to let you see where your BBM friends are in a crowd! These new experiences will blow you away, and we really encourage you to check them out yourself on the BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone.

You’ll be amazed with how easy and intuitive the BlackBerry Curve 9380 is to use. The responsive all-touch screen, optical trackpad, navigation keys and virtual keyboard make using the BlackBerry Curve 9380 effortless. Another bonus is that the smartphone’s features are well laid out, accessible, and you’ll really appreciate having all that screen real estate for watching YouTube® videos or viewing pictures. We’re incredibly excited about adding the BlackBerry Curve 9380 to our lineup and can’t wait to hear what you think!

Check out our BlackBerry Curve 9380 Where to Buy page for more details. Availability dates for specific devices from specific carriers will be announced in coordination with Research In Motion® (RIM®) partners. For more information on pricing and availability, contact your local carrier.

Make sure to post a comment below and let us know what you think!

#TeamBlackBerry, rejoice: The newest member of the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone family is coming this month! The BlackBerry® Bold™ 9790 is the latest addition to the Bold series taking its place alongside the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones running the new BlackBerry® 7 OS.

We wanted to get the inside scoop on the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone, so we tapped product manager Miko to talk about what this new device has to offer. Check it out and get excited!

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone delivers an elegant design in a compact size

BlackBerry Bold smartphones have always been known for their impeccable design, and the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone continues this tradition with its instantly recognizable form factor. Constructed of quality materials and crafted with precision detailing, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is proof that form and function can co-exist harmoniously. The iconic BlackBerry keyboard, brilliant display and streamlined silhouette come together to provide users with a compact yet powerful smartphone.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is an ultimate productivity tool for both professional and personal use

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone delivers the high performance that users have come to expect from a BlackBerry Bold, allowing you to be more efficient in both your work and personal life.

The high-res touch screen complements the iconic QWERTY keyboard beautifully, delivering what I like to call “a true productivity machine”. The QWERTY keyboard makes typing emails, using BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) and social networking updates much easier and quicker, and the fluid touch screen provides a truly responsive, refined touch experience so you can enjoy the web, media or photos with a swift swipe, zoom, pinch or pan.

What I think makes the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone a compelling choice is how it’s equally well-suited for both professional and personal use. It has the power to support today’s busy professional with great tools like voice-activated Universal Search and Documents to Go® for mobile collaboration, yet it can also transition to social networking. Plus, its compact form factor makes it easier for users to take it along wherever they go.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is a powerful, feature-packed smartphone

Under the hood, this smartphone sports a powerful 1 GHz processor, a whopping 8 GB of memory and a 5 MP auto-focus camera. Another cool technology in the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC technology allows you to read smart tags on signs and posters, and connect with other NFC enabled devices – all with a simple tap.

I’m sure you’ll agree the BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is a very worthy addition to our lineup of new BlackBerry 7 smartphones! This handset will be available from carriers around the world starting later this month. For more information on pricing and availability, please contact your local carrier, and check out our BlackBerry Bold 9790 Where to Buy page for updates in the meantime.

Let us know what you think of this great new addition in the comments below.

The BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930 smartphones have gotten great buzz since we first announced the two BlackBerry® 7 smartphones with a BlackBerry Bold touch at the BlackBerry World™ conference in May. Members of the media and #TeamBlackBerry certainly enjoyed test-driving them at our #BB7FanNight event in Toronto. (FYI: We’ve gathered many BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 reviews from across the web for your quick reference.) Now that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are making their way to your local carriers and retail locations, we thought it would be a good time for the BlackBerry Bold Product Managers Michael and Jason to share five things you need to know about the new BlackBerry Bold touch smartphones.

1. The new touch BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones combine design style with substance

Our design goal for the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones was to deliver a stunning design that integrates the BlackBerry Bold family’s iconic QWERTY keypad with a brilliant, high resolution capacitive touch screen. Great care, time and precision went into designing and creating the keypad on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones; it was meticulously refined, sculpted and positioned to deliver the utmost in precision functionality to make typing accurate, simple and fast. In fact, even though the keypad on these two smartphones may look similar to that of the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 smartphone, it actually has 5% more surface area. Achieving such an improved typing experience – on the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones yet – is something we know BlackBerry customers will appreciate (and is a testament to our design team’s commitment to delivering continuous improvements to what matters most to our customers).

In terms of the overall design, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones were built in the tradition of the BlackBerry Bold line of smartphones, with purposeful detailing plus premium materials and finish. When you first hold the device in your hand, we think you will quickly realize how great it feels. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite design elements below:

• Brushed stainless steel frame: the elegantly brushed stainless steel frame extending around the exterior adds to the visual appeal of both Blackberry Bold smartphones, giving them what we feel is a timeless and classic look. Beyond aesthetics, the stainless steel frame adds reliable durability while seamlessly integrating important functions like the convenience and volume keys.
• “Aerospace composite” battery door: distinct to the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, the “aerospace composite” battery door is incredibly lightweight and durable. It’s made of the same composite material that’s used to construct next-generation airplanes, racecars, and high-tech sports equipment. The cool factor is high to be sure, but more importantly, this composite construction actually helps optimize antennas, radios, and other device technology for highly reliable connectivity.
• Ultra-thin design: When we looked at the amount of time people have a device in hand, it became a priority for us to make the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones ever at 10.5mm. For BlackBerry smartphone users, this means a lightweight, sleek & slim device that fits comfortably in the palm of their hand, while maintaining uncompromised performance.

2. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930: The most powerful guts ever in a BlackBerry smartphone

We wanted to match the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones’ distinctive design with powerful hardware to deliver a best-in-class BlackBerry Bold smartphone experience. With a 1.2 GHz processor, 8GB of onboard memory with the option to expand (using up to a 32GB media card), and high-speed CDMA or HSPA+ world phone connectivity, these models have the most powerful ‘guts’ ever in a BlackBerry smartphone, helping you get more things done even faster. Here are a few features we’d like to speak to in more detail.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are the first BlackBerry smartphones to feature brilliant 2.8” 640×480 high-resolution touch screens, which deliver crisp, clear images and text at 287 pixels per inch, in full 24-bit color. Powered by the BlackBerry 7 OS and Liquid Graphics™ technology, these screens provide a truly responsive and versatile touch experience, so you can browse the web, interact on social sites, read and respond to emails, and view high resolution videos and photos. If you’d like to learn more about the evolution of the touch experience in BlackBerry 7, check out Sangita and Troy’s post, which tackles the subject in more detail.

In addition to hi-speed CDMA or HSPA+ cellular connectivity, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones also feature dual-band Wi-Fi® connectivity (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Reliable Wi-Fi connectivity is important for pulling down large amounts of data quickly without a hit to your data plan, and Dual band Wi-Fi connectivity means better connectivity and faster performance at the office, coffee shop, airport, or at home.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are the first BlackBerry smartphones to feature Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC is a technology that allows BlackBerry smartphone users to just tap to connect, get information, and link up with other supported NFC devices or authentic BlackBerry accessories. For more information about what NFC means for BlackBerry smartphone users, please watch this interview with Andrew Bocking, VP of Handheld Software Product Management.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

3. The new BlackBerry 7 OS delivers better performance, usability and voice-activated Universal search

The powerful hardware in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones have been paired with the new and powerful BlackBerry 7 OS, which offers a variety of performance and usability enhancements, such as Liquid Graphics and the next generation BlackBerry web browser. While BlackBerry 7 Product Manager Annu is planning on providing a detailed blog post on BlackBerry 7, we thought we’d share one of our favorite features: voice-activated Universal Search.

With voice-activated Universal Search, the powerful on-device search functionality that premiered in the BlackBerry 6® OS has gone hands free. Using advanced speech-to-text translation, you can now search for files, emails, contacts, music, and more—all without typing a thing. Voice-activated Universal Search also combs the web and BlackBerry applications for the information you need. For example, I often use Universal Search to find an address, which automatically brings up the BlackBerry® Maps location information. Very cool!

4. The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones improve social collaboration

As we said before, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones’ full QWERTY keypad offer an efficient and speedy typing experience, but it’s not just for emails. The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones feature the latest versions of our social media applications, including Social Feeds, Twitter® for BlackBerry smartphones, Facebook® for BlackBerry smartphones, and the new BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) 6. This suite of apps makes it easy for BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphone owners to quickly connect with friends, family, and co-workers.

We’re most excited about the potential of BBM 6 for BlackBerry Bold smartphone users, because of “BBM-connected” apps. BBM 6 allows for 3rd-party applications to incorporate your favorite aspects of BBM into their apps, from status updates and sharing to BBM chats. The video below shows how popular social application Foursquare takes advantage of BBM 6, but that doesn’t mean that social on the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones is only about fun and games. Don’t believe me? Check out this post on how to use BlackBerry Messenger 6 for business.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

5. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones “Balance” the needs of enterprise and end users

In addition a full QWERTY keypad, dual-band Wi-Fi and BBM 6, the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones offer a variety of features that reinforce the BlackBerry Bold family’s heritage as the ultimate enterprise device for business people on the go. Two of our favorites are BlackBerry® Balance™ technology and the Documents To Go® Premium app.

BlackBerry Balance is a new technology in BlackBerry 7 that ensures your work life and private life never mix—so you can enjoy the fullest mobile experience on just one device. When you’re at work, BlackBerry Balance technology allows you to focus on getting tasks done while securely accessing business information, but it also makes it possible to stay connected via apps like Facebook, Twitter or personal email accounts. This is because BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to works behind the scenes to safeguard against accidentally compromising the security of company content while simultaneously protecting the privacy of your personal content. To learn more about this new technology, check out the BlackBerry Balance product page.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones also come with the full premium version of the Documents To Go app, which is a vital tool for mobile productivity. Documents To Go is a mobile document suite that is designed to allow you to create and edit Microsoft® Word®, Microsoft® Excel®, and Microsoft® PowerPoint® docs, and view PDF docs anywhere, anytime. As someone that travels regularly for work, I can attest that the ability to easily review or edit important work documents has been a lifesaver many times over.

We’re incredibly excited that the next generation of BlackBerry Bold smartphones is now available for BlackBerry smartphone users. For more information on pricing and availability, please contact your local carrier or visit our BlackBerry Bold where to buy page. Make sure to post a comment below and let us know what you think!

Yesterday, the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) celebrated the launch of our new BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones with our special guests of honor: BlackBerry® super fans, BlackBerry customers, and the new all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones.

We always have a blast talking face to face with shoppers and BlackBerry smartphone users, but we are also there to gather important feedback. Your opinions of our smartphones contribute to the creation of their successors, and we were particularly excited to gather feedback on our first sole all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone.

So, let’s hear what people had to say! Below, you will find early hands-on impressions of the all-touchBlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones straight from our esteemed guests, so you’ll know what to expect when they’re available in stores. Remember, we may have provided the BlackBerry smartphones, but these opinions belong to press, consumers and smartphone users like you! Please don’t hesitate to post a comment of your own and let us know what you think about the new BlackBerry Torch smartphones.

#bb7fannight I rate torch at 5 it is simply fab , quick, refined & definitely touch worthy! #toronto #yyz #blackberry launch is best evening—
Georgina Bencsik (@GeorginaBencsik) August 04, 2011

I rate the 9860 a 12 out of 5 #bb7fannight @BlackBerry—
Jimz (@jimz22) August 04, 2011

The BlackBerry Torch 9850/60 is super-light, on top of having a top-notch screen. #bb7fannight—
Simon Sage (@SimonSage) August 04, 2011

#BlackBerry7 gets a rating of 5+ because it's soo user friendly, up to and beyond the time, one step ahead, light, and so efficient.—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

I give BB7 a rating of 8/10 #BB7FanNight!—
Jordana Stein (@jordanastein) August 04, 2011

Website: CrackBerry

“GREAT DISPLAY – At 480×800 pixels, this is the highest resolution display on a BlackBerry to date. The extra pixels come in handy, especially for web browsing, and the BlackBerry 7 web browser seems to be dialed in pretty good. Very smooth and usable.
FEELS GREAT – I LOVE the feeling of this device in the hand. RIM set out to build a full touchscreen phone that felt great when held both in portrait mode and in landscape mode and they really succeeded here. The sculpted back of the device almost makes it feel like you’re holding a game console controller when in landscape.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Torch 9850 / 9860 Hands-On Video and First Impressions

Website: IntoMobile

“The hardware itself is very nice, and the first thing that comes to mind when you pick it up is just how light it is. It’s also competitively slim at 11.5mm. This nicest thing about the 9850/60 is that it actually feels new.”

Read more: Video: Hands-on with the BlackBerry Torch 9860

Website: TheBerryFix

“Honestly I could sit here for days and tell you how fluid these liquid graphics are and how awesome the Open GL gaming is but why write about it when the only way to experience it is to see it.”

Read more: (VIDEO) RIMs Andrew Bocking walks us through BlackBerry 7 on the Torch 9860

Do you know what London and Toronto have in common? Yesterday, both cities hosted BlackBerry® 7 OS launch events, welcoming the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810, 9850 and 9860 smartphones to the BlackBerry® family! Among the guests of honor were the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and 9930 smartphones, both of which are BlackBerry 7 OS devices that had previously been announced at BlackBerry World™. Of course, the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) was on hand at these launch events to demo the smartphones and speak with attendees.

While the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are not yet in stores, we’re eager to share these early hands-on impressions from the press, everyday shoppers and BlackBerry smartphone users. We may have provided the BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, but these opinions are 100% their own. Once you have an opportunity to use the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 or 9930 smartphone, feel free to post a comment of your own and let us know what you think about them.

The new BB Bold 7 browser is 40% faster than before. My Bold 5 just shudder with envy. So did I. #BB7FanNight http://lockerz.com/s/126330103—
katie (@motherbumper) August 04, 2011

Very impressed with new Bold – very thin and sleek and new OS7 is super smooth on it #BB7FanNight—
Jehan Watson (@JehanWatson) August 04, 2011

#bb7fannight The 9900 defines what Blackberry is all about. The physical keyboard and touchscreen is a winning combination. @BlackBerry—
Max Fireman (@brava27) August 04, 2011

Thinnest blackberry every made also touch screen! Love the new bold 9900! #BB7FanNight http://twitpic.com/60k1tk—
Jordana Stein (@jordanastein) August 03, 2011

BlackBerry Bold 9900 impression: 4.5\5! Great response! Very very snappy! #BB7FanNight—
Michael Lam (@FindMike) August 03, 2011

#BB7FanNight. Ultra sexy my heart is beating like a disco drum for the new Blackberry BOLD baby!!—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

Website: TheCellularGuru

“The Browser: is now up to 40% faster than the WebKit browser found in OS6, and 100% faster than the original browser found in BlackBerry 5 devices. The new browser has the most compliant HTML5 implementation of any device on the market; we actually pitted my Rogers Nexus S browser head to head with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 at HTML5test.com – the Nexus scored a 184, while the BlackBerry Bold 9900 scored a staggering 277.”

Read more: Interview with Annu Dawar the Product Manager for BlackBerry 7 at #BB7FanNight

Website: NerdBerry

August 4 – “Following in the footsteps of the Bold 9000 the 9900 has what is probably the best BlackBerry keyboard I have used. …. The touch screen responsiveness is top notch, and can be compared to other platforms and manufacturers … The one feature that I hadn’t really thought about going into the event, but which surprised and amazed me the most, is the Wikitude browser. The Wikitude browser takes advantage of the augmented reality and is surprising cool. As you can see in the video the augmented reality can be used for several social media functions, and the integration of BBM is off the hook.”

Read more: (VIDEO) Hands On With The BlackBerry Bold 9900 At #BB7FanNight In Toronto

August 3 – “The night has been full of hands on with the new BB7 devices, like the highly anticipated Bold 9900, and I have never been more a fan. When the Torch 9800 launched I thought I had seen the pinnacle of Blackberry, but tonight I stand corrected.”

Read more: BB7FanNight In Toronto Delivers Results!

Website: CrackBerry

“I love the look and feel of the new Bold, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE KEYBOARD, and I love that there’s finally a touchscreen on a front-facing qwerty BlackBerry. The new Bold is FAST, rich looking and is just the absolute best of the traditional BlackBerry experience.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 Hands On and First Impressions (part deux)

Yesterday was a big day for us on the Social Media team at Research In Motion® (RIM®)! To celebrate the launch of the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 and our other new BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones, we hosted a fan event in Toronto and invited members of #TeamBlackBerry and the media to try out our new devices. Thank you to all of our attendees for making the event such a success!

Why do we patrol these events with a notepad, camera, and open ears? Because we are committed to incorporating your feedback into the designs of BlackBerry smartphones, and we want other BlackBerry device owners and shoppers to hear what you have to say. While the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone is not yet in stores, we’ve posted these early hands-on impressions so you can know what to expect when it hits shelves. Remember, we may have provided the BlackBerry Torch smartphone, but these opinions belong to press and everyday consumers and BlackBerry smartphone users like you. Please don’t hesitate to post your own comment and let us know what you think about the new BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone.

Ohh new Blackberry Torch. Fast. Super Fast. The new generation is all grown up & built for speed. #BB7FanNigh http://lockerz.com/s/126327883—
katie (@motherbumper) August 03, 2011

#bb7fannight just played with the Torch 2 9810 and the Bold 9900 a 5 star improvement over OS6 & FAST!!—
Bill Murphy (@murphquake) August 04, 2011

The new Torch 9810 with OS7 is sweet. #bb7fannight http://twitpic.com/60kstq—
Jason Shim (@JasonShim) August 04, 2011

Loving the new BlackBerry Torch and Touch – so hard to choose just one! #BB7FanNight—
Jenn Annis (@JennAnnis) August 03, 2011

#BB7FanNight love the wikitude "find a friend" locator app…did I mention…. I love #BB7FanNight…and my Blackberry—
Desiree_Todd_313 (@DesireeTodd_313) August 04, 2011

I think BB7 is a knock-out of the park, 8.5/10 – #BB7FanNight—
Corey Herscu (@cellguru) August 04, 2011

Impressed with the improved screen resolution and speed with the BB7 OS! Always looking for ways to tweet faster! #BB7fannight—
Jeff Ashcroft (@JeffAshcroft) August 04, 2011

Website: TheCellularGuru

“The biggest bang feature in BB7 is Liquid Graphics; it is all about fast performance, quick response times, and fluid animations.”

Read more: Interview with Annu Dawar the Product Manager for BlackBerry 7 at #BB7FanNight

Website: TheCellularGuru

“Augmented Reality: is simply something that needs to be seen to be believed; it’s actually awesome. RIM partnered with Mobilizy to provide Wikitude for BlackBerry 7. You can locate YouTube videos that were made by GPS location, your BBM contacts, and create points of interest right from your phone.”

Read more: Interview with Annu Dawar the Product Manager for BlackBerry 7 at #BB7FanNight

Website: CrackBerry

“All in all, the Torch 9810 is the original Torch, but way better. If you like the sliding form factor of the 9800, you’re simply going to love the 9810.”

Read more: (VIDEO) BlackBerry Torch 9810 Hands-On and First Impressions

The BlackBerry® Torch™ smartphone family is welcoming a whole slew of new siblings today. In addition to the all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones, we also announced the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone, the evolution of the popular BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone. #TeamBlackBerry members in North America will be able to purchase the BlackBerry 9810 smartphone from AT&T, Bell, Telus and Rogers. For more details on pricing and international availability, make sure to check out our BlackBerry Torch product page or contact your local carrier.

We asked Product Manager David to get the inside dirt on the 3 things you need to know about the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone. Let’s do this!

1. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the BlackBerry Torch smartphone evolved

Our intention with the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone was to build upon the success of the original BlackBerry Torch all-in-one design by combining powerful new hardware with the powerful new BlackBerry® 7 OS. The new BlackBerry Torch 9810 improves upon its predecessor, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, with a crisp new 3.2” inch touch screen with a VGA (640×480) resolution at 246 DPI (“dots per inch”), which is a great tip-off to the new hardware under the hood. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone also features a 1.2 GHz processer, a 5 MP camera with HD video recording, face detection and image stabilization, a digital compass and HSPA+ network support. Combined with the BlackBerry 7 OS, these new hardware features ensure that the BlackBerry 9810 smartphone is faster and more fluid than its predecessor.

We’ve also added subtle refinements to the traditional BlackBerry Torch casing, as well as its keypad. To top it off, we coated the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone in a distinctive silver color that we feel reflects the power and performance of the device.

2. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone is a great blend of form and function

Unlike its new siblings, the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone features the original Torch’s popular full QWERTY keypad, touch screen, trackpad combination. With a touch screen larger than its new cousins, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry 9930 smartphones, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is a flexible device for people who require both form and function from their smartphone.

Like the other new all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphones, the big, brilliant touch screen of the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is well-suited for 3D games, watching videos and browsing the web. If you need to get some work done on the go, that screen is also handy for viewing Microsoft® PowerPoint® and Microsoft Word documents with the free bundled Premium version of Docs to Go™. Of course, if you need to start editing those documents, or you want to fire off a few emails or BBM™ your friends, you can easily switch to portrait mode and slide out the full QWERTY keypad. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone’s HD camera captures photos or video and makes it easy to share both with friends via Facebook, Twitter, and BBM 6 (or possibly through that BBM 6-connected app you’ve downloaded). Regardless of your needs, the BlackBerry 9810 smartphone offers the flexibility to get it done.

3. The new BlackBerry 7 powers the BlackBerry Torch 9810

Like the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone is running the brand new BlackBerry 7 OS, and thus shares many of the same benefits. For starters this means a new and improved BlackBerry browser, optimized touch screen UI (“user interface”), BBM 6, hardware accelerated Liquid Graphics, and support for new apps like the Wikitude augmented reality browser on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront. Make sure to check out what my coworkers Sangita and Troy had to say about these BlackBerry 7 features in their BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 post, and stay tuned for a more in-depth overview from BlackBerry 7 Product Manager, Annu, in a future blog post.

For my money, my favorite BlackBerry 7 feature has to be the next generation BlackBerry browser. The BlackBerry browser is smooth and responsive, whether scrolling through web pages with your fingers or using the trackpad. Web pages load at tremendous speeds, and are naturally rendered as you’d expect to see them on your desktop browser, thanks to Liquid Graphics.

Post a comment and let David know what you think of the new BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone!!

I’m happy to tell you about two new BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphones announced today, the all-touch BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 and 9860 smartphones. #TeamBlackBerry members in North America will be able to purchase the BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone from AT&T, Rogers, Telus and Bell, and the BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone from Sprint and U.S. Cellular. For more details on pricing and international availability, make sure to check out our BlackBerry Torch product page or contact your local carrier.

To ensure you have our patented Inside BlackBerry insight into these sweet all-touch BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, I tapped Product Managers Sangita and Troy to list the 5 things you need to know about the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860. Take it away, Sangita and Troy!

1. The all-touch BlackBerry Torch has a screen built for everything

With a 3.7” inch touch screen at a WVGA (800×480) resolution with 253 DPI (“dots per inch”), the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 have the biggest BlackBerry® smartphone screens ever. These all-touch screens provide a sharp and crisp viewing experience to combine everything BlackBerry devices are known for – performance, security and reliability – with new user features like augmented reality apps and improved web browsing and multimedia experiences.

Personally, I love the BlackBerry Torch smartphone screen most for browsing the web with the next generation BlackBerry 7 browser. My news sites, shopping sites and my daily obsession, tech and lifestyle blogs, all render fast and look great on that big, beautiful screen. Of course using BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone touch screens to pan, zoom and scroll through my favorite websites is easy as well.

One design element to note with the all-touch BlackBerry Torch screen: we designed the face of the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones to ‘fall over’ the device edge (something we call ‘The Waterfall’ internally), which lengthens the screen to provide a visual experience that works in landscape or portrait orientation.

2. The new BlackBerry Torch smartphone design is sculpted for touch

Our design goal with the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones was to create a stylish look that sets the product apart in a field filled with boxy devices. The seamless front lens with ‘Waterfall’ ends offers a great visual experience and the sculpted back provides a perfect ergonomic fit, regardless of whether it’s used as a traditional phone (in portrait orientation) or like a gaming console or web browser (in landscape orientation).

Though there are many layers to the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones design, they are integrated and flow one into the other. For example, the buttons on the side of the smartphone are simple to find with your fingers and provide quick access volume, mute and camera functionality, but are understated, so as not to interrupt the design. Another example would be the back housing of the BlackBerry Torch smartphone, which dips down to fit in the camera lens and flash, without impacting its form and feel in the palm of your hand.

Engineering the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones to meet this vision wasn’t easy, and there were a number of occasions where it appeared that we might have to trade-off form for function. But our development teams rose to the challenge, and in the end, have delivered a product that is both aesthetically pleasing and incredibly functional for both personal and professional use.

3. The new BlackBerry Torch smartphone evolves the all-touch experience

We knew when designing the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones that the touch screen user interface (“UI”) would have to be both refined and robust enough to support an all-touch device (it would be pretty hard to write an email otherwise, Ed.). Many improvements and enhancements have been made to the touch screen UI in the BlackBerry 7 OS that the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones take full advantage of. These improvements vary from minor adjustments of touch sensitivity based upon screen location to redesigning the layout of the virtual keyboard for easier texting (I personally love the fact that symbols and numbers are now combined under one key). In addition, the predictive text algorithms have also been optimized to provide fewer, more targeted word choices for faster communications.

All these improvements combine holistically to ensure an efficient and intuitive experience when using the BlackBerry Torch smartphone, whether you’re BBM™ chatting with a friend or playing the latest game.

(YouTube link for easy mobile viewing)

4. The all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone is packed to the gills with new features, including an HD camera and Magnetometer

In addition to the large and crisp screen, the all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones have many hardware features new to BlackBerry smartphones, including an HD camera and magnetometer (also known as a “digital compass”). These features aren’t just for show, but allow BlackBerry smartphone users to create, consume and share great content on their device. Here are a few examples:

Camera – The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone cameras supports HD recording at 720p to capture stunning videos to view on your BlackBerry smartphone, computer or HDTV. But my favorite feature has to be the 5MP, zero-shutter lag photo camera. I have a five-month-old son and my BlackBerry Torch smartphone (which is always with me) has been the perfect tool for me to capture those special moments. The ability to upload these photos from within the Camera app with a few clicks to Facebook® so I can virtually instantly share these moments with friends and family turns the BlackBerry Torch into something more than a smartphone for me.

Magnetometer – Combined with the Camera app and GPS, the magnetometer or digital compass on the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones has enabled a new class of “augmented reality” applications on the BlackBerry platform. One example is the Wikitude augmented reality browser, which will be available on the BlackBerry App World™ storefront at launch. The Wikitude browser combines real and virtual worlds via the Camera viewfinder to provide immediate and relevant data about one’s surroundings. One great feature of the Wikitude browser is its integration with BBM 6. This (opt-in) feature allows you to see the location of your BBM 6 contacts in real-time and spontaneously arrange to meet for coffee if you happen to be in the same ‘hood. See the video above for an example.

5. The new BlackBerry 7 OS powers the all-touch BlackBerry Torch smartphone

Together with the powerful hardware found in the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone, the new BlackBerry 7 OS offers a variety of performance and usability enhancements resulting in a truly wonderful user experience. Annu plans to talk about BlackBerry 7 in more detail in an upcoming post, so we will highlight one specific aspect of BlackBerry 7: something we call ‘Liquid Graphics’.

From the ground up, the software architecture of BlackBerry 7 has been redesigned to maximize the use of hardware acceleration and graphical fidelity. This optimization allows for rich graphics, smooth animations and a fluid touch experience. Liquid Graphics touches much of the features discussed above, from the new BlackBerry browser to the all-touch UI to 3rd party applications like the Wikitude browser or 3D games. Combined with the large screen, Liquid Graphics provides a responsive and striking graphical experience for BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphone users.

Please post a comment and let Troy and Sangita know what you think of the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones, and don’t hesitate to ask questions about each device!

In order to get the most out of your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, you’ll want to know about each gesture that allows you to control and access various features. Today I’ll be providing an overview of the various gestures, so if you plan on purchasing a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – or have already got one – this would be a good post to bookmark.

Let’s dive in!

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

We are thrilled to be launching the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet – the world’s first professional-grade tablet. It is available today in thousands of retail outlets across the United States and Canada.

I’ve been spending a lot of time meeting with customers to preview the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and it is abundantly clear from their hands-on reactions that the ultra-portable 7” design, best-in-class multimedia, uncompromised web browsing and unmatched multitasking performance is going to strike a chord with a lot of people.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is a great device, and those who try it with their own hands and see it with their own eyes really do get a full appreciation for the performance, so be sure to check it out at a nearby retail store if you have the chance.

PlayBook Retail Stores – United States
PlayBook Retail Stores – Canada

I think you’ll be impressed by the premium design, the intuitiveness and fluidity of the UI, the performance of the apps and the overall power of the platform. I also think you’ll be amazed at the quality of web experience that is now being delivered in a tablet that you can hold in one hand.

Bringing the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to market has been a collaborative effort amongst thousands of RIM employees around the world and we are extremely proud of the result. We are also extremely excited about the future of the product and the platform.

I hope you will be able to get your hands on the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet soon and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

– Ryan Bidan, Senior Product Manager, BlackBerry PlayBook, Research In Motion