Photos: BlackBerry Curve 3G unveiled by RIM

The Curve 3G ships with the BlackBerry 5 operating system but is "ready" for BlackBerry 6, according to RIM - the latest iteration of its OS which includes a refreshed UI, an all-new WebKit browser, social networking integration and better support for touchscreen navigation.

The BlackBerry 9300 is not a touchscreen device, however, so Curve users won't be able to take advantage of RIM's new pinch-to-zoom and double-tap web browsing features when they update to BlackBerry 6.

RIM said BlackBerry 6 is expected to be available for Curve 3G users in the "coming months".

The BlackBerry 9300 smartphone also has a two-megapixel camera, and comes with a microSD/SDHC slot that supports up to 32GB memory cards for media storage.

The Curve 3G has a transmissive TFT LCD display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels up top, coupled with a full physical Qwerty keyboard. Browsing is conducted via the optical nav-pad sited just below the screen.

The Curve 3G is intended as a device for first-time smartphone users and will be available from various operators around the world from this month, according to RIM.