SlashGear

Verizon‘s second smartphone announcement this morning is one for the heavy messengers (no, we’re not talking about fat couriers): the BlackBerry Curve 8530, tipped as dropping this month back in August.  The Curve 8530 has not only EVDO Rev.A but WiFi b/g and GPS, together with a full QWERTY keyboard and 2-megapixel digital camera.

There’s also VZ Navigator, a 3.5mm headphone socket and dedicated media keys, all the usual messaging accounts (including SMS, MMS and IM) and a microSD card slot.  Onboard storage is 256MB and the processor is a 528MHz chip; the traditional BlackBerry trackball has been replaced by a touch-sensitive trackpad.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 will go on sale from November 20th in black and smoky violet, priced from $99.99 following a $100 mail-in rebate.  That presumes a new, two-year agreement, with data plans kicking off at $29.99 on top of a regular voice plan.

Press Release:

VERIZON WIRELESS INTRODUCES THE BLACKBERRY CURVE 8530

New Smartphone Features 3G Connectivity, Built-In Wi-Fi and GPS, Touch-Sensitive Trackpad and Dedicated Media Keys

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and WATERLOO, ON – Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530 smartphone, an exciting new addition to the BlackBerry Curve series of smartphones. The slim BlackBerry Curve 8530 gives customers access to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi® capabilities, as well as easy access to music, games and other mobile apps for entertainment on-the-go.
Available Colors: black and smoky violet
Key features:
• Easy-to-use, highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for reliable, responsive typing and navigation
• 256 MB flash memory and 528 MHz next generation processor for enhanced performance
• Supports voice-activated dialing and Bluetooth® (2.1), with support for hands-free headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• 3G-enabled (EV-DO)
• Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• GPS with support for location-based applications, including geotagging pictures; Supports Verizon Wireless’ VZ NavigatorSM service.
• 2.0 megapixel digital camera with zoom and video recording*
• Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry® Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from your computer to the smartphone**
• Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, social networking and sharing, news and weather, productivity and much more
• Access to e-mail, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites (including Facebook® and MySpace)
• Rich multimedia capabilities, including dedicated media keys smoothly integrated along the top of the handset, giving customers an easy, convenient way to control their music and videos
• Support for BlackBerry® services with access to up to 10 supported email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo! ®, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, AOL® and Gmail™; and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support, which provides advanced security and IT administration features for corporate deployments
• Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD™/SDHC memory card slot, supporting up to 16 GB cards today and expected to support next generation 32 GB cards when available

Pricing and Availability
• The BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone is expected to be available from Verizon Wireless beginning Nov. 20 for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an Email and Web feature or an Email and Web for BlackBerry plan. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data plans for the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Nationwide voice plan.
• For information on all Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

* Video recording requires microSD card, sold separately
** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies