TmoNews, an unofficial T-Mobile news blog, has confirmed that the anticipated and updated Curve has a "hopeful" release date of Feb. 18. The device is expected to hit T-Mobile first.

Already available in Canada and the U.K., the Curve 8900, which got the stamp of approval from the FCC here in November, is being called the high-end BlackBerry Bold 9000's kid brother.

The quad-band Curve 8900 offers Edge support with built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, a 512MHz next-generation processer, a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2.4-inch, 480 x 360 high-resolution display. The Curve 8900 also marks the thinnest smartphone in BlackBerry's 10-year history to offer a full QWERTY keyboard, just a hair over a half-inch thick. While the Curve 8900 lacks 3G support, it wraps in a 3.2-megapixel camera and BlackBerry OS version 4.6.

The new Curve also integrates all of the business e-mail, messaging, calendaring and document viewing and editing features that have made BlackBerry a corporate staple while tying in a host of multimedia functions, such as a media player, that make it an appealing device to consumers as well.

The Curve 8900 could mark the first major release of 2009 for BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM), which introduced a string of hot smartphones into the market in the second half of 2008. RIM's recent releases include the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 for T-Mobile, RIM's first flip phone; the high-end BlackBerry Bold 9000 for AT&T; and the coveted BlackBerry Storm for Verizon Wireless, RIM's first touch-screen smartphone, which puts it in direct competition with other touch-screen titans like the T-Mobile G1 and the Apple iPhone 3G.