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Do you want a new BlackBerry for the holidays? Sure you do. Problem is, those things can get expensive. Head to, say, Alltel’s BlackBerry site and you’ll see deals on phones that usually cross the $100 plateau. If that’s a bit steep for you, you might want to check out some of the deals we have going on. Not only can you find cheaper deals, you might even be able to find ones that will essentially pay you for the phone. Now how about that? Let’s take a look at some of the best BlackBerry deals this holiday season.

Before we dive in, note that most of these devices require you to mail-in a rebate form to get the full deal. Do not let the form sit in a drawer until it’s too late. The carriers are offering you money, and you should take advantage. If you don’t, it’s just more money in their pockets.

Also, all devices require a new activation. If you’d like to extend your current contract, there will be an option for that as well when you select the device. Since there are five major carriers, we’ll pick one from each.

Alltel – BlackBerry Pearl 8130

Love the BlackBerry but don’t want a phone that’s so bulky? Research In Motion figured you might. So it developed the BlackBerry Pearl. The CDMA version of the phone, the 8130, hit shelves a little over a year ago, and it’s still one of the top smartphones on the market. It’s got all the features you love in a BlackBerry, but it’s considerably thinner. Along with it comes the SureType keyboard, which amounts to a half-QWERTY.

Alltel has a great deal on the Pearl. You can get it for free. Oh, but it gets better. It comes with a $100 rebate, so if you take the time to fill out and mail in the form you will find yourself a little bit richer. You can also get it in red.

AT&T – BlackBerry Bold

An upfront warning: this one won’t be free. Yet, it still represents a great deal. The Bold is one of the most hyped devices of 2008. It was announced at WES and fought through numerous delays before it hit AT&T in November. Now it’s here to stay. You can only get it on AT&T in the U.S., so we basically had to feature it here. That’s not to say that the fully-equipped Bold doesn’t deliver the goods. It has multimedia capabilities like none other, and a high-res screen that’ll make you drool.

As we mentioned the other day, the Bold costs $399.99 through AT&T even with a contract. They do offer a $100 rebate, though, bringing the device down to $299.99. What if I said you could get it for $150? Might that be something you’re interested in? I thought so. This is by far the best deal on a Bold out there, so give it a look.

Verizon – BlackBerry Curve 8330

It’s my weapon of choice. Walking around the city, I see it’s the same for a number of people. The 8330 hit the market with much fanfare, as it was the first CDMA Curve. Along with Verizon, Sprint and Alltel also carry it. Verizon’s also gotten a little generous this holiday season, as they’ve enabled GPS for BlackBerry Maps. While it’s not a full GPS jailbreak, it’s still a step forward. I can actually have my passenger use it for driving directions now. Geeze, it only took forever for them to enable it.

So I got some good news/bad news on the Curve. First the bad news. There isn’t a rebate. Yeah, that kind of softens things. But, the good news is that you can get it for free. You might not be pocketing a sweet rebate check, but you won’t be paying for the device. You can also get it in pink.

T-Mobile – BlackBerry Curve 8320

Yes, another Curve. Maybe it’s an inherent bias in me. Maybe it’s because the Curve really is cooler. Or maybe it’s because T-Mobile’s Curve features Wi-Fi. See? That’s a pretty cool addition. No GPS, of course, but hey, they’ve got to save room under the hood for the rest of the goodies. T-Mobile does have a couple of Pearls for free that will pay you a $50 rebate, but those are the old 8100 models. Come on. You can do better than that. They also have the Pearl 8120 for free, but hey, we’re talking about the Curve here. You mind?

How much would you pay for a BlackBerry Curve with Wi-Fi? $100? $50? How about free after a $100 rebate? Yeah, that sounds about right. That link is for the titanium color. You can also get the Curve in sunset red. See? Not only are we offering great Berry deals, but we’re offering choices on color, too.

Sprint – BlackBerry Pearl 8130

Yes, we’re back to the Pearl. There’s not much left that hasn’t been said about it, so let’s get right into the actual offer.

Sprint offers the 8130 for $99.99, which is at least $99.99 more than the other phones listed. Of course, like the others, they offer a mail-in rebate. It’s $100, so you can get it for free. That’s the link for the Amethyst color, which is this awesomely-sweet black. It looks particularly cool if you use a gold wallpaper. You can also get it in red.

I’m going to cheat for a second here, though. See, we’ve been through five BlackBerry models, so the article should be done. But, I’m going to show my Curve bias just one more time. Through Sprint, you can get the Curve 8330 in titanium for free. After rebate, of course. That one is available in red as well.

So if you’re looking to get a BlackBerry for the holidays and someone says it’s too expensive, show them this list. If you’re looking to give one, you’re at the right place. True, the true cost of BlackBerry ownership can be a bit steep, but if you get the device out of the way that’s one fewer cost.

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