RIM launches NFC enabled Curve smartphones

CANADIAN SMARTPHONE MAKER Research in Motion (RIM) has announced three Blackberry Curve models featuring NFC capabilities.

The Blackberry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 all run RIM's latest Blackberry 7 OS.

RIM UK MD Stephen Bates told us the handsets will fit in "the mid range" and will sell at £200 plus SIM-free. We are guessing this means that they will cost about £25 to £30 a month on a free contract.

These Blackberry Curve smartphones feature upgraded processors, displays and memory, and built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications).

RIM said the handsets are aimed at updating the existing Blackberry Curve with "an affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially-connected smartphone".

The company announced its "biggest launch ever" of two Bold and three Torch models along with its Blackberry 7 OS earlier this month.

RIM touts its Blackberry 7 OS as introducing a faster web browser that delivers a "more fluid" browsing experience.

The company claims its partnership with the Webkit browser engine offers an experience that's up to 40 per cent faster than Blackberry 6 and 100 per cent faster than Blackberry 5.

Other features include zooming and panning plus optimised HTML5 performance for better gaming and video responsiveness.

"These new models will build on the incredible success of the BlackBerry Curve line and further expand the largest global launch of BlackBerry smartphones in our history," said Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO of RIM. "The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones are absolutely stunning and offer a significant performance upgrade with an unmatched mobile social experience for the millions of feature phone users in the market as well as our existing Curve customers."

The Blackberry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world, including the UK, beginning in September. µ