Bellevue, Wash., and Waterloo, Ontario January 7, 2009 T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM: TSX: RIM) today announced that T-Mobile® will offer its customers the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone, the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile, in a stunning titanium-colored finish with chrome highlights, combines an elegant, compact design with a wide range of popular features and an easy-to-use full-QWERTY keyboard.  It features built-in GPS and support of location-based services. It also allows easy access to social networking sites and has built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g) supporting both voice and data, making it easier to stay connected to family, friends and colleagues.

"T-Mobile is thrilled to bring our customers such an elegant and powerful way to communicate with the important people in their lives," said Travis Warren, director, device marketing, T-Mobile USA. "The BlackBerry Curve 8900 offers T-Mobile customers the benefit of a full-QWERTY keyboard in the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet."

In addition to a sleek, stylish design, the powerful new smartphone includes a large, vivid display the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone as well as a 512MHz next generation processor for fast and responsive performance. The handset's advanced multimedia capabilities include a 3.2-megapixel camera with image stabilization, digital zoom, flash and the ability to record video and play video, a music player, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and headset, and a hot-swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot with a 256MB card inserted. With support for memory cards up to 16GB, customers can carry, capture and enjoy more of their music, pictures and video anywhere they go.

"The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 features a compact and refined design that looks and feels great.  It gives you everything you need to stay connected and entertained," said Mark Guibert, vice president, corporate marketing, Research In Motion. "With rich multimedia capabilities, exceptional mobile email and messaging features, enhanced Web browsing, a premium phone and easy access to social networking communities, including Facebook®, Flickr®, and MySpace.com®, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 helps you make the most of a busy lifestyle that spans well beyond normal business hours."

T-Mobile customers can continue to get great mobile coverage and unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling with T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling service as well as unlimited nationwide calling to five people with T-Mobile myFaves® service.* As a quad-band world phone, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 supports international roaming, extending the ability to stay connected while traveling abroad.

The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone from T-Mobile is anticipated to be available in February at T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online.

*Unlimited nationwide Wi-Fi calling requires Unlimited HotSpot Calling mobile plan, qualifying rate plan, broadband Internet connection and wireless router. Regular plan minutes are used when call does not originate on Wi-Fi network. For more information about Unlimited HotSpot Calling, visit http://www.T-MobileAtHome.com.  myFaves only applies to calls directly between two people and allows unlimited nationwide calling to five U.S. numbers.  Use of some device features may require a specific plan and incur separate, additional charges. See T-Mobile.com for rate plan information, charges for features and services, and other details.

The Motorola W233 Renew is made of 100% recycled materials; namely plastic water bottles. The eco friendly Renew features an MP3 player, microSD memory card slot good for up to 2GB, CrystalTalk technology, T9 predictive text and speakerphone (no camera or Bluetooth).

The Blackberry Curve 8900 sports the familiar bar style with full QWERTY keyboard and trackball navigation making the 8900 one of the most user friendly designs to date. Key features include a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, microSD slot good for up to 16GB, GPS, WiFi, adjustable text size, WAP 2.0 browser and stereo Bluetooth perfect for playing back videos or your entire music collection.

The 3G enabled Tundra VA76r sports a clamshell form factor has been ruggedized to military specs. Key features include a 2.0 megapixel camera, CrystalTalk Plus technology, stereo Bluetooth, MP3 player, a-GPS, HSPDA data and 4GB microSD slot.

The 3G enabled Surf A3100 combines a touch screen interface and Windows Mobile 6.1, making this smartphone worth a closer look. Other key features include a 3.15 megapixel camera with autofocus, HSPDA, Wifi, built in GPS, media player, stereo Bluetooth, and a memory card slot good for up to 32GB.

• iPhoto 09 directly exports slide shows into iTunes for viewing on iPod Touches and iPhones. What's neat here is using the beautiful new templates and transitional effects in slideshows to share on the go. Now, to your delight—and your friends' dismay—you can chronicle the trade-in of your old, but beloved klunker for that lip-smacking new car (backed by Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On"). iPhoto also maps geo-tagged images if you shoot with a GPS-enabled camera (i.e., your iPhone, for example) and sports some seriously cool facial-recognition features.
  

iPhoto and the whole iLife package ships later this month for free on new Macs. Or you can purchase it for $79 (single user) or $99 (family pack). It's definitely affordable and includes a kickin' edition of iMovie 09 (which blows the sad, sorry iMovie 08 to bits).

• Schiller also revealed a Keynote Remote App for the iPhone. If you're a business user, this might be more your speed. Connect the phone via Wifi, and the app lets you view a slide and notes (portrait mode) or the current slide with the next one beside each other (landscape). To move from one slide to the next, you just swipe. It's not available in the App Store yet, but when it does, it'll cost 99 cents.

• Sadly, no mention of a new iPhone, neither Nano nor 32 gigger.
• Songs can now be downloaded directly to the iPhone 3G over the 3G network for the same price
• Songs are now completely DRM-free
• Starting April ‘09, iTunes songs will be sold at three price points (69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29, based on what the music labels charge Apple. And most albums will remain steady at $9.99.)

1. I won't lust after 8MP camera phones (anymore). With all due respect to Samsung's Innov8, I will never need to print a poster of an image snapped by my cell phone. To date, I've never even done it from my actual 10MP digital camera. (Rest assured, when news breaks on camera phone behemoths, we'll cover it. I'm just saying that I'll stop taping images of them to my wall like beefcake pictures.)
   
   
2. I will stop lecturing friends on why their devices are evil or subpar. Yes, I heart my iPhone. Anyone who's read my posts here knows that. But that doesn't mean my friends' BlackBerries, Nokias or — so help me — even WAP-enabled phones are inferior. While this doesn't mean I'll suddenly fall in love with the Storm (there's very little that could make me love that thing, except for maybe tequila), I will stay open and objective about other devices.
   
   
3. I will embrace WinMo. Okay, maybe embrace is a strong word. But even though it's a top mobile computing platform, I've been no fan of this OS (neither mobile nor desktop versions). So starting now, I am an open-minded end user, a cellular agnostic who won't throw a shoe at someone for even implying that it's better than Android or the Apple OS.
   
   
4. I will no longer feel victimized by a lack of features. As much as I love my phone, I bemoaned the absence of a strap holder from the beginning. I bought a case for it right away, but even so, I was constantly nervous about dropping it. I blamed the manufacturer for this failure of design. I blamed the carrier, who was surely scheming so that I'd break it and then have to buy a new one. I blamed my mother, whose clumsiness I inherited. Finally, I just stopped complaining and rigged my own strap by looping it through the hard case. It may not be pretty, but it keeps my cell intact. And it reminds me that my phone-lovin' fate is in my own hands. Instead of wasting time blaming others for its shortcomings, I can get a new phone or look at ways to make up the difference between what I want and what I have.

The HTC S743 is the non-touch cousin of the Touch Diamond & Touch Pro. With Windows Mobile 6.1 and a dual keypad design. It also supports high speed HSDPA (850/1900) networks. Despite being only 1.7 inches wide, The S743 packs a 2.4 inch QVGA sceen. It supports POP3 & IMAP4 email protocols as well as Microsoft Exchange.

Find a copy of the complete press release from HTC below.

BELLEVUE, Wash.  January 6, 2009 HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile design and innovation, today unveiled the HTC S743, a compelling fusion of style and power. By combining a traditional 12-key keypad design with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the HTC S743 was created to bring the muscle of Windows® Mobile 6.1 to customers who prefer a more traditional user interface. The HTC S743, which supports high-speed HSDPA (850/1900 MHz) networks, will be available through select retail outlets, including dell.com and cdw.com, during the first quarter of 2009. 

"While others are content focusing on a single design or user interface, HTC is dedicated to bringing the benefits of mobile convergence to all consumers, without forcing them to use a device that doesn't truly fit their lifestyle," said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. "The HTC S743, which packs high-design and high-performance into a trim 4.9 ounce package, is a great example of HTC's rejection of a ‘one-size-fits-all' philosophy." 

Featuring the same ‘faceted' design first implemented in the highly popular HTC Touch Diamond™, the HTC S743 was also engineered to deliver an outstanding voice experience. At a mere 1.7 inches wide, the HTC S743 fits comfortably into the palm of the hand, allowing for ergonomic and comfortable voice calls. Despite its narrow profile, the HTC S743 still boasts a large and bright 2.4 inch QVGA display for reading and responding to e-mail and SMS or accessing the Internet. 

With its full QWERTY keyboard, the HTC S743 is able to take advantage of its full suite of messaging options. As a Windows Mobile 6.1 based device, the HTC S743 interfaces seamlessly with Microsoft Exchange as well as personal POP3 and IMAP4 email protocols. Along with SMS and MMS messaging, support for a number of instant messaging standards is included with the HTC S743, making it fast and easy to stay in touch with friends and family while on the go. 

The HTC S743 marks the latest HTC device to be made available through independent channels in the US. Underscoring its commitment to delivering choice to the smartphone market, US consumers can choose from unique HTC devices including the GSM variant of the HTC Touch Diamond and the HTC Touch Dual™ through a number of electronics retailers including national retailers, independent wireless outlets and online e-tailers such as dell.com and cdw.com.

• At long last, DRM-free music on iTunes.  CNet's saying that Apple has cut some major deals with labels to offer DRM-free music, and will do so at lower prices - starting as low as 79 cents for some tracks.  On the other hand, new releases may jump above the current 99 cent/track threshold under the new agreement.
• The Unofficial Apple Weblog is citing a "trusted source" as saying Apple may well announce a tethering plan for the iPhone 3G on AT&T (in the US).  5GB of monthly data for $30 is the rate being thrown around as of now.
• Several sources are talking new Mac mini with multiple video outputs, significantly enhanced storage capacity and a cosmetic redesign.

Whatever happens, I'll be at Moscone West in San Francisco at 9AM PT on Tuesday morning ... whatever Apple unveils, we'll bring it to you ... with hands-on video of whatever I can grab to follow throughout the day.