Blackberry 8520 (Curve)

BlackBerry Curve 8520  

It's almost here! Blackberry's first-ever fully-featured, native Apple support -- finally -- right out of the box is being offered in the new Blackberry 8520 smartphone. Also topping the new features list for the device is its touch-sensitive optical trackpad, which had been rumored for months to replace trackball found on other Blackberry devices.

The integrated new Mac compatibility will get into gear in September, when the phone's maker, Research in Motion, officially launches the long-awaited Blackberry for Mac desktop software that promises to make life easier for Mac-loving Blackberry users. Until Blackberry for Mac, Blackberry users have had to use third-party software such as PocketMac to use their devices with their Mac computers.

The new 8520, along with the just-on-the-horizon Blackberry for Mac software, will be a huge gain for Mac users who until now had to put up with some frustrations to bring together their beloved Macs and Blackberries. There is, however, one caveat: Blackberry for Mac will support only Mac OS X version 10.5.5 or higher, leaving some users in the cold for now.

The new 8520 will be offered in black or frost, and includes a built-in 2-megapixel digital camera in an attractive if not distinctive 4.29-inch-tall, 2.36-inch-wide and .54-inch-thin unit.