So Boy Genius Report reported on a shot of what seems to be a Curve 8900 running on AT&T -- which seems like a pretty good idea, may we add -- and we're trying to make sense of what's really going on. We hit up RIM's booth at CES to get the lowdown on the situation, and what do you know, the mythical beast is nowhere to be found. The reps on the floor said that it's only for T-Mobile and when we checked every 8900 on the show floor, we couldn't find one running on any other carrier. 'Course, we'd be shocked if RIM wasn't chronically refreshing BGR every fifteen seconds, so it's entirely possible that they saw the news, realized their grave error, and pulled the offending phone posthaste. Either way, it's a great idea, is it not?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

While you may be in love with the 480 x 360-pixel screen on the latest and greatest 'Berry straight out of Waterloo, we know that the really tantalizing draw of the 8900 is that gorgeous theme. Luckily for all you wannabe addicts out there, CrackBerry Forums member Tom1|21 has worked some magic with Plazmic's Theme Builder and has made the theme available for all 83xx and 88xx devices -- albeit for a price. Of course, the truly classifiable BB elite would've known that this very same theme -- or something remarkably similar -- was available for the incredibly low price of free just days ago. Interestingly, the original forum post has been updated and points to purchase links rather than the free-OTA download links that it was pointing to prior. A little bit of searching might lead you to the free version, and you can start saving up that coinage for the finally-available Sling client -- once it loses the beta label and gets priced, that is. Or, you can just bypass the whole theme situation and hopefully get the real deal sometime around February 18th.

Read - CrackBerry Forums thread
Read - CrackBerry Blog theme availability

Oh RIM, why must you torture us? Just when we'd moved beyond our nightly dreams of the Javelin and had our sights set on a Bold, here you go reminding us of just how luscious the next-generation Curve looks to be. Sure, the omission of 3G makes us none too happy, but it's hard to kvetch about the design. The Boy Genius managed to get his paws around one of the forthcoming BlackBerry Curve 8900s, and his initial impressions are almost universally positive. He's totally digging the size, the screen, the keyboard and even the bezel. That's right, the bezel. Check the read link to see what the fuss is all about.

Just when we're all geared up to get crazy corporate with a bunch of Bold purchases, RIM has to go and make our lives difficult by reminding us that the Javelin / Curve 8900 is out there -- lurking -- just waiting to make a grand entrance sometime in the next few months. A new video posted to CrackBerry goes through the 8900's finer points, noting that the handset clocks in just a bit more compact than its big brother, features a slightly smaller, higher dot pitch display, and carries over an original Curve-style keyboard with spaced keys rather than the flowing design employed on the Bold (for what it's worth, the narrator seems to like both styles equally). Interestingly, it's noted that this prototype employs an older trackball design that'll allegedly be replaced with a more bulletproof design by the time it launches. The lack of 3G is going to be a dream killer for many, but we could see this one getting some retail legs underneath it if the price is right -- it's got WiFi, after all.

In fact, T-Mobile Germany is saying that it'll have the 8900 next month -- a claim we actually believe, since Germany is from the future. The trackball shown on its version of the handset is distinctly different than CrackBerry's, so it's looking like the claim of a redesign might hold water.

[Thanks, Alex]

Read - CrackBerry's Curve 8900 hands-on video
Read - T-Mobile Germany's Curve 8900 product page

If that 3G action on the Bold is just a little too extreme for your EDGE mind to handle, fear not: the more pedestrian Javelin is looking hotter by the minute. Newly leaked spec documents reveal a phone that is fully modern in every single way but one -- its lack of HSDPA -- with a 512MHz core, 256MB of onboard storage, that gorgeous 480 x 360 display taken right out of the Bold's playbook, WiFi with UMA support, and a 3.2-megapixel cam. All told, it's looking ripe for T-Mobile as a replacement for the Curve in its HotSpot @Home lineup -- if RIM would hurry up and frickin' launch it, that is. We still haven't heard anything to make us believe it'll launch before next year as we'd been told a while back, and we're not sure how a company like RIM can justify launching a brand new 2.5G device in the year 2009, but we're sure they'll push a few if the price is right.

A pretty believable roadmap for upcoming BlackBerry devices on Rogers has surfaced, and by and large, we're looking at a whole bunch of good news here. First, let's start out with the best: the rumor that Canadians will be able to pick up their Bolds before the month of July is out is still holding strong, with this particular document suggesting that the 25th will see an official announcement followed by in-store availability on the 29th. Next, the KickStart -- RIM's first flip -- should make an appearance in the second half of September, and finally, the Javelin is targeted for the tail end of the year in late November or early December. Happily, this is one of those rare situations where it looks like we'll be getting the good stuff (read: the Bold) first, since the Javelin's rumored to keep 3G out of the equation.

Is it really possible to have too many pictures of RIM's alleged next-gen 2.5G device? Wait -- don't answer that. Curve owners and ravenous RIM fanatics ought to click through to get a solid look at the Javelin from every possible angle, but to the rest of you: check out the goods at your own risk.

Not convinced that you can eschew the Bold's 3G in favor of an ever-so-slightly (and arguably) hotter shell? If the mid-2009 rumored launch date is right, you've got many, many months to think it over, but in the meantime we thought we'd throw out a little more food for thought. Follow the break for a whirlwind tour of an early Javelin prototype -- and rest easy, there aren't any Burberry faceplates to contend with this time around.

As we understand it, RIM's so-called Javelin is a new BlackBerry completely devoid of 3G that's currently on track for a mid-2009 (yes, 2009) launch. That sucks, yes, but at least it'll look mighty purty if these shots of an engineering dummy in the wild are any indication. The whole phone is an interesting study in modern, high-end 2.5G design, actually, on account of the rumored WiFi, GPS, expansive display, and generous (by RIM standards, anyway) 3.2 megapixel camera. Don't get us wrong, the Bold would still find its way into our pockets long before this one would -- but hey, diversity in the product line is a good thing. As long as it doesn't involve a Burberry-clad 8800.

We already got a somewhat vague peek at the 3G-less Blackberry 9000, but it looks like there are actually two upcoming models of RIM's new hotness on the board -- the EDGE version we know about, codenamed Niagara, and an EV-DO edition codenamed Javelin, slated for Verizon. Boy Genius managed to unearth quite a bit more information on these two, and unsurprisingly, they're basically the same as the 9000 we've already seen. Both have a 480 x 320 half-VGA screen, GPS functionality and 3.2 megapixel camera, but only the EDGE-based Niagara gets Wi-Fi. Of course, there aren't any ship dates or prices in the offing yet, but hopefully we'll know more soon.