The BlackBerry Curve 8900 represents RIM’s mid-range smartphone, positioned below the larger Bold and Storm models but above the the non-qwerty keyboard Pearl and Flip handsets.

The new Curve is a little slimmer than its predecessor, although it has a similar weight at 3.9 ounces. It’s a great looking phone, especially with the titanium effect metal finish and chrome styling.

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The Curve 8900 uses the OS 4.6 operating system which means it gains an improved Web browser, an “always-on” spell checker and full support for Microsoft’s Excel documents (including the ability to edit).

As is common with all BlackBerry smart phone, the Curve benefits from push e-mail technology where it maintains a permanent connection through the BlackBerry Internet Service. It can also sync with your own server software.

The screen is a 2.4″ TFT affair with 480 x 360 pixels, whilst the processor and RAM have been boosted to 512MHz and 256MB respectively. An integrated light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the screens backlight to suit surrounding lighting levels.

Other improvements over earlier versions are improved network reception, a much better camera featuring a 3.15 megapixel resolution, flash, image stabilisation and auto-focus. Geo-tagging using the integrated GPS is also a great feature.

As far as connectivity goes, the Curve sports GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. For network data transfer, you are stuck with just GPRS or EDGE as unfortunately there is no 3G support on the Curve 8900, perhaps a major omission on BlackBerry’s behalf.

A USB 2.0 port is provided for wired data transfer, although it is worth noting that his is now in the micro-USB format rather than mini-USB found on previous free BlackBerry smartphones.

The new Curve promises to maintain BlackBerry’s reputation for impressive battery life, with the 1400mAh Li-ion battery allowing almost six hours of talk time and almost 360 hours on standby. In order to achieve these manufacturer-derived figures, you would need to turn off certain options when not required such as GPS and Wi-Fi.

If you’re set on the Curve as your next cell phone upgrade, how about a Free BlackBerry Curve? After all, it is one of the most accomplished smart-phones available today.