The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY phone RIM has ever made.  It also occupies a premium position in T-mobile’s smartphone lineup.  Read on to find out how the Curve 8900 stacks up against BlackBerries from other carriers and other smartphones at large.

In the two weeks we spent with this new Curve, we came away very impressed by it.  The Curve 8900 builds and improves on the many BlackBerries that came before it, and the resulting package is sublime.  For the smartphone customer looking at T-mobile service, you would be remiss to not consider the Curve 8900.  As of right now, the superior hardware design of this BlackBerry really outclasses T-mobile’s Android offerings.

Here is a rundown of some of our favorite things about the Curve 8900:

• Nice design.  This new Curve feels smaller than it looks.  It sports the now familiar new BlackBerry style that started with the Storm and continued with the Tour.  The Curve 8900 is compact enough that you should have no reason to ever consider the Pearl.  It actually fits very well in a jeans pocket.  This phone also blows the Bold out of the water in terms of design.  I really cannot stand the faux leather plastic finish on the back of the Bold.
• If you read our Storm review, you will know that we found it a little slow and frustrating to use.  Luckily, this is not the case with the Curve 8900.  The trackball/keyboard combination is much faster and more fluid than the Storm’s SurePress screen.  This is what a BlackBerry should be like.
• BlackBerries are known for their email prowess, and this phone is no different.  It was the easiest experience I have ever had setting up my email accounts on this phone.  All you need is email address and password; protocol, encryption settings, servers are all detected auto-magically and done for you.  Everything should be this easy.
• A very bright and crisp screen.  In many cases, it is difficult to see the individual pixels on this screen.  That is how tight the density is.
• Unlike the Storm and the Tour, this phone has Wi-Fi, which it really needs since it does not have 3G.  The Wi-Fi works really well and it supports UMA, which makes it compatible with T-mobile’s Hotspot@Home service.
• I prefer having a physical keyboard on smartphones, and the thumbboard on this Curve is a good example why.  Messages and notes just get typed out more quickly and accurately.  Although, it is not perfect.  The slanted keys took some getting used to; my thumbs frequenting crossed the imaginary continental divide that splits the keyboard and that felt slightly awkward.  Also, the curvature of the key layout made the ‘Talk’/'End’ keys a little difficult to press, because they become pinched at the edges.  My bumbling finger hit the ‘P’ key a lot along with ‘End’
• The native Gmail app is nice to have.  It supports push notifications and multiple accounts, but there is no way to label or star emails.  As a result, it is still a work in progress and a far cry from the Android Gmail app.
• Google Maps is also a great app.  It includes live traffic, local search, and connects with Latitude.  It is definitely better than the included Maps application.

As you can gather from above, it was not all rosy for the Curve 8900.  Here are some thoughts on what we did not like:

• Let us address the biggest issue right away: the lack of 3G.  Some may see this as a deal-breaker, and it is certainly a downer.  However, we must keep in mind that T-mobile’s 3G network is still being built out, so most people would not be able to take advantage of it anyways.  However, there is really no reason why this otherwise advanced smartphone should not have 3G, so it is certainly a negative.
• Battery life is not a strong point for the Curve 8900.  This phone needs to be recharged pretty much everyday.  Frequently putting it in standby helps, but that is not an optimal solution.
• The new BlackBerry App World is a nice place to search for apps and manage your installed apps, but it is not the one-stop shop the App Store for the iPhone is.  That will cause confusion and frustration for the general market.
• While the rollerball provides a fast way to navigate through menus and lists, it is not the most accurate.  From time to time, trying to click down on the rollerball causes the the selection to change from the ball just moving slightly.  I look forward to trying out the optical trackpad on the new Curve 8520 to see if it resolves this issue.
• The plastic back battery cover did not fit particularly snug.  There was always a little wiggle to it, and it did not feel as solid as the Storm’s metal cover.
• Only a 256MB microSD card is included in the box.  This is not a huge deal since microSD is dirt-cheap these days, but even the budget Curve 8520 includes a 1GB microSD card, so what gives?
• This may be a matter of personal taste, but I find the look and feel of thee BlackBerry OS, particularly the settings screens, to be a little long in the tooth.  The UI in certain areas is unclear and seems to belong in the days of grayscale screens.

Verdict: This is my favorite BlackBerry right now.  The slim form factor really does it for me.  I was impressed at how productive I could be away from the office with this phone and its mini-QWERTY keyboard.  The decision between the Tour, Bold, and Curve 8900 is tough, and probably will come down to which service provider you want.  You also have the weight the up/downsides of having EDGE and Wi-Fi as opposed to 3G but no Wi-Fi (in the case of the Tour).  Frankly, I would take the Curve 8900 with T-mobile in this situation.  Your mileage may vary, but I find T-mobile’s coverage to be more than acceptable for me, and superior to AT&T’s.  T-mobile also has vastly superior customer service to AT&T and better pricing for their service plans.  In fact, the Bold should really not even be in this discussion.  Comparing just the Tour with the Curve 8900, I would pick the Curve because of my preference for GSM phones and the freedom of Wi-Fi.  So as long as you live in an area with good T-mobile reception, you will not regret picking up the Curve 8900 for $150.

Check out our gallery for more pictures of the BlackBerry Curve 8900, including some comparison shots with the Palm Treo 750:

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