Carphone Warehouse has featured the Blackberry Curve 8900 on their Coming Soon page with a projected forecast of December. The asterix denotes that the estimated date can change at any time.

Blackberry Curve 8900 - The Carphone Warehouse

Yes "Coming Soon"..........to Britain. Remember the Bold was out several months before being released in the States.

Wirelessly posted (BOLD)

I guess its all a matter of time. I don't think the javelins delay will be nearly as bad as the bolds though

I hope not as well. I think this is the one I want.

Which is a good thing for us in the UK, the sooner the better.

Id like to hear what you think about it if you get one.

I have got mine yesterday (from T-Mobile Germany) and it is a really great device. For people who think that the Bold is too large and the Pearl too small, the Curve has the right size. It just took me a few minutes to get used to the smaller keyboard. I was previously using a Bold. Some other "testers" I know said that the Curve 8900 feels "cheap", but I can't agree to this at all. It looks and feels better than the Curve 83xx series.
The only issue I have with the Curve 8900 is the shutter lag with the camera. After you press the button it takes two seconds before the picture is taken. But on the other hand, I don't use the camera very often.

So - does that mean that TMob have actually started selling them now to customers? or is your TMob 8900 prior to release?

And could you post some more thoughts/impressions/photos? That would be great!

Mine is prior to release. T-Mobile Germany should start selling the devices beginning of next week.

No problem. There is now a UK release date offered by Carphone Warehouse: December 20th.

I'll post up a short review if I end up getting it...

Is there any indication of when TMob is going to start selling? Also, whether it will be possible to get an unlocked handset or not for use in the UK.

I am debating whether to get a QWERTZ version from Germany or to be (more sensibly, I know...) patient and wait for the UK QWERTY version in mid-late Dec.

I don't think that T-Mobile are going to start selling it through their exclusive stores at the moment. I think that Carphone Warehouse have exclusive access to the 8900 earlier than the single carrier's shops and the phone shops so they will sell it via any network that previously talked to RIM about carrying it, but selling-wise I do think Carphone Warehouse will be the first out the door with it.

They may have it on a T-Mobile contract on launch I feel, there is not an iota of fact to back this up. Just my personal feeling.

CW is now letting customers pre-register.

Pre-Register for The BlackBerry Curve 8900 at Carphone Warehouse | BlackBerryNews.com

In the past I have bought both 8120 and Bold SIM free from CPW on or near the date of release, would imagine that 8900 will be the same.

If not you can always pre-order over at Smartphone, Pocket PC & Ultra-Mobile PC Store - eXpansys UK.

Agree (although I have caved and gone for a QWERTZ model as I may not be in the UK when the CPW model is released....I keep telling myself it will be good for my co-ordination and brain development to continually adapt to new keyboards...)

CPW are fairly good with releases unless a network has an exclusive. Expansys however have become expensive and usually very slow to get handsets. They used to get stuff way before anyone else did but now they're often several weeks or months after the fact and at a higher price.

wonder if the 4.6 OS will be avail. for the curve 8310 as well?

Got mine today from Germany (courtesy of a very kind BB Forums member).

First impressions (as I can't set it up on our BES for a few days at least):

- Build is great. Not as hefty as the Bold and smaller (felt tiny and toy like having used the Bold for a few months! ) but solid, great design. Same size as the Curve, but sharper design all round.

- Screen is great. Pin sharp - smaller again than the Bold but excellent.

- Processor doesn't feel any slower than the Bold -this may be more apparent when multi-tasking.

- Camera is a great improvement simply for AF, if nothing else. It is slower, but that's entirely as a result of the AF working. Otherwise, better.

- Trackball is good - faster and responsive. Keypad is stiffer than the Bold, much more like the Curve.

- dedicated lock key and redesigned mute key very nice, and useful.

Really nice in the hand. That's all until I can get a chance to get it properly running. I can say though that if you're a fan of the Curve, and can do without 3G, you won't be disappointed.

Will check tonight whether it is compatible with the Curve charging stand or not.

EDIT: not compatible with the Curve charger - slightly different shape so the 8900 won't sit in the Curve cradle.

That's exciting news! Last new I heard was an unconfirmed Dec 27th

So back on target for my own Xmas present!

I had a play with one at my local CPW today. Arrived this morning. I'm not due for an upgrade until late Jan, sadly.