Verizon Wireless announced that the BlackBerry Curve 9310 smartphone will be available online on Thursday,and in stores in"coming weeks,"at a price of$49.99 after rebate with a two-year service plan.
The announcement came just minutes before BlackBerry maker Research In Motion was set to begin its annual shareholders meeting.About two weeks ago,the company reported$500 million in reduced first-quarter profits and a 40%decline in sales.
At that time,RIM also announced that it would ship BlackBerry 10 smartphones in early 2013,a further delay that helped send RIM's stock price plunging 19%in one day.
The announcement came just minutes before BlackBerry maker Research In Motion was set to begin its annual shareholders meeting.About two weeks ago,the company reported$500 million in reduced first-quarter profits and a 40%decline in sales.
At that time,RIM also announced that it would ship BlackBerry 10 smartphones in early 2013,a further delay that helped send RIM's stock price plunging 19%in one day.
Many analysts and even some RIM officials have admitted that the BlackBerry hasn't kept up with successful touchscreen smartphones with large screens,like the 3.5-in.iPhone and Android phone models with screens ranging in size from 4 in.to 5.3 in.
The 9310 has a 320-x-420-pixel display,putting its screen resolution well below that of more expensive smartphones.
Verizon and RIM noted in a statement that the 9310 is intended to"help customers make the move from a basic phone to a smartphone"--and its low price is part of that effort.
The 9310 also has a dedicated key for access to RIM's BlackBerry Messenger social network,which is most popular outside of the U.S.
Facebook and Twitter apps are easily accessible for real-time updates with RIM's Social Feeds 2.0 app.A 3.2-megapixel camera is included,as well as a microSD card slot for up to 32GB of storage.It has a 1,450 mAh battery,weighs 3.66 oz.and overall is 4.29 by 2.36 by 0.5 in.in size.
Verizon requires buyers to sign up for a Share Everything plan starting at$80 a month for unlimited text,talk and 300MB of data service that can be shared with up to nine other devices.
