While it's no surprise that RIM, a Canadian company, would release the new "Curve II" 8900 on Rogers, a Canadian carrier, before unleashing it on the States, it still kinda hurts. Rogers customers can now pick up the BlackBerry 8900 for as low as $149.99 (with a whopping three year contract including data plan) while nerds like me in the US wait and wait and wait some more for the Curve II to come out, come out, wherever it is, already.
Don't get me wrong, AT&T's Bold 9000 is a sweet BlackBerry, but for those of us unwilling to jump to AT&T and/or thinking we can get by without 3G data a little longer, the Curve II is the sweet stuff of dreams. 480 x 360 display, 3.2 MP camera with flash, full HTML browser, GPS, WiFi, and that nice new BlackBerry OS? Yes, indeedy, the 8900's got it all. Rumor is the T-Mobile version will even support UMA for HotSpot@Home WiFi calling.
We should see the 8900 make its way to AT&T and/or T-Mobile during Q1 of 2009, but in the meantime you can head over to RIM's website and dream about the future.