BlackBerry Curve 8820

The BlackBerry 8820 is the first BlackBerry with integrated Wi-Fi. RIM announced the device on July 17, 2007 and first available in the USA through The 8820 is available from September 20, 2007 through AT&T Wireless at $299. Originally announced by RIM on the 8820 is also available worldwide. [1]

Currently, BlackBerry Curve 8820 is available from newegg.com for $179.99 (free shipping plus tax). [2]

The BlackBerry 8820 has a similar form factor and look to the BlackBerry 8800. It has 2.5-inch screen with 320 x 240 pixel resolution. It has full QWERTY keyboard with dedicated Talk, End Menu and Escape buttons. It also features the trackball navigator.

The volume keys (up and down) are available on the left spine of the phone. The headset jack (2.5 mm), a mini USB port and a shortcut key is on the right.

The 8820 does not include a camera as its target market is business customers. Instead business features like Wi-Fi (with WEP and WPA), VPN and GPS are available.

Basic media player is available and it works with MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, and MIDI music files and MPEG4, WMV, and H.263 video formats.

• July 25, 2007: UK - Orange [1]

• August 3, 2007 - Spain - Orange [1]

• September 19, 2007 - USA - AT&T [1]

• March 24, 2008 - USA - T-Mobile [1]

Mobile workers who consider Wi-Fi a check-off item when shopping for a smart phone won't be disappointed by RIM's implementation, but they won't be blown away, either. We consider the 802.11 connection a good backup plan for EDGE, especially when you can't get a strong cellular signal indoors. - LaptopMag.com LaptopMag.com [1]

The addition of Wi-Fi makes the RIM BlackBerry 8820 an even more powerful communication device for business users, taking it beyond just e-mail and phone calls. - CNET.com CNET.com: [2]

With the 8820, RIM has essentially taken an already fantastic business tool and by adding Wi-Fi, made it even better. It's what the 8800 should have been from the start. - TrustedReviews.com TrustedReviews.com: [3]