Is it the 9300 or 8530 with a revamped look to it? Although allegedly a brand new phone, the BlackBerry 9300 bears a striking resemblance to the Curve 8530, which is said to be a successor to. The 9300 sports 256MB of flash memory, a 320×240 display, Wi-Fi, 3G bands 1,2,5, and 6, and OS 5.0. What seems like a perfect entry level BlackBerry is once again diminished by a lack of flash and a relatively low flash memory. More after the jump!

Let’s get straight to brass tacks. This phone is nothing more than an 8530 with a new name and shiny framework. The specs are almost identical, and unless this is going to get an upgrade to OS 6, it seems like a complete waste of time. Why pay extra money for a phone that already exists? As an absolute BlackBerry fan, this comes to me as nothing but a disappointment. Not only is this phone a (seemingly) cheap 8530 knockoff, but the form factor is nearly spot on to that of the 8300. RIM needs to put out things that are interesting and  that will keep people on their toes. With BlackBerry 6 coming out, making a BlackBerry that (according to stats) will not be able to handle it is almost a slap in the face and a hustling.

My question to you guys is, do you think this device will ever be released? It may have been RIM’s original plan to get around to the 9300 series by now, but with the direction the market is headed, along with reports of people jumping ship come upgrade time, I would hope RIM has scratched this to head on to bigger and better things. With Android gaining tons of market traction and right on RIM’s heels, they’re going to have to do something big to keep their seat at the top in the US.

via: BerryReview