Next-Generation BlackBerry Curve to Get Better Specs

A recent leak of Research in Motion’s consumer-centric BlackBerry Curve smartphone line reveals that the QWERTY-enabled smartphone will get updated specs that will make it competitive in the smartphone market.

First, the screen has been improved. Moving from a QVGA experience, the updated Curve will sport an HVGA screen resolution, which was previously exclusive to the higher-end enterprise-driven Bold series; the leaked next-gen Bold codenamed Dakota is said to get a VGA display, leaving the HVGA option available for the Curve.

According to BGR, the Curve will be a world phone with tri-band 3G UMTS connectivity providing download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps and quad-band GSM/EDGE support. Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and NFC support are also on-board. With NFC coming to both the next-generation Curve and the next-generation Bold (Dakota), RIM, like Google, may be eyeing the mobile wallet market.

Though HD video recording may be reserved for the higher-end market with the Bold (Dakota), the Curve will get a 5-megapixel camera with flash. There is 512 MB RAM/ROM and the Curve will get an 800 MHz processor. Like the Dakota, it will be among the first devices to be released with BlackBerry OS 6.1 and will have a thinness of 11 mm.

The device has a codename of Apollo.

While the next-generation Curve matches specs on the current-generation of high-end Bold, the keyboard differs from the Bold’s contiguous key arrangement. Instead, the Curve will still retain the line’s hallmark island style key arranagement, which in the past offers a more clicky typing experience rather than the softer typing experience of Bolds of yore.