BlackBerry Curve 8330

Last night, we had a chance to check out a slew of new BlackBerry smart phones, including the 8120 and 8330 models for both Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

We’ve already talked in some detail about the 8330 models for Sprint and Verizon. The 8120, however, has a special feature called UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access, which allows you to make free calls from a local Wi-Fi network rather than using your cell phone carrier.

Check out the video below for more details about the UMA feature on the 8120 and about the two different 8330s. Is it time to finally ditch your landline?

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We’ve told you about all the specs for these two smart phones, but it was nice to be able to hold them in our hands and check out some of the new features in person. Unfortunately, neither of the two 8330’s were activated when we swung by RIM’s both at the Pepcom event at CTIA, but based on first impressions we still think both versions will attract a big following.

The first thing you notice about these devices is how different they look, with the Sprint version sporting a darker titanium finish and the Verizon version going with the more conservative liquid-silver aesthetic.

The home menus are also different; the Verizon version has a more traditional and subdued desktop dock along the bottom of the screen compared to Sprint’s slightly more animated vertical row of icons, complete with a Sprint Speed sunburst for branding. Of course, you can change these graphics, but you can definitely tell Sprint is trying to skew a bit younger and hipper with its 8330.

What both devices share is GPS capability and EV-DO connectivity, as well as 3.5mm audio jacks. Too bad the memory card slot is still behind the battery on both 8330’s. We also noticed two new applications: a video recorder and a voice note application (you can store this audio and video to microSD).

It seemed minor at first but another notable improvement is the friendlier fonts being used in applications like e-mail and the web browser. Text is now much easier to read and more modern looking. We can’t wait to take these Curves for a test drive.

Just look at these pictures.

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