The BlackBerry Curve may look like just another business device, but if you don’t judge a book by its cover, you will find that it is hiding some toys on the inside.
The BlackBerry Curve is more advanced than any previous BlackBerry phone. The Curve looks good overall, as it has a good solid build, durable construction with rubber side panels, and positive resistance on the keys which are as comfortable to use as ever. Backlighting also allows for all of the keys on the keyboard to light up.
The Curve is a little larger than most mobile phones out there, which is not unusual for a BlackBerry, but with the slight increase in size comes an even greater increase in features. The Curve comes with a 2 megapixel camera, and has the ability to play QVGA quality video and music.
The keyboard is not quite as large as some other phones that use a slide out keyboard, but it is still comfortable and very usable. In the center of the phone you will find the trackball. The trackball is used to navigate the menu and the web. If you happen to do a lot of navigation the trackball may get a little tiring to use.
On the left side of the Curve you will find the headset jack and a mini USB port capable of handling sync and charge duties. Just below that you will also find the push to talk button.
On the right side of the Curve you will find the volume buttons, as well as the camera button.
The Curve is powered by a 312 MHz Intel processor, which is what you will also find in previous models. The operating system runs well, and it also has little problems, if any, running applications.
If you are going to be using the internet a lot, be prepared as the browser on the Curve is a bit ugly and also limited. Download speed is fast, but the end result is still not good if the web page ends up looking awful. Stick to mobile device oriented web sites, or your web pages may end up disappointing you.
Email on the Curve is great, with the exception of web based email on the browser, and the keyboard and trackball work well together as you don’t have to reposition your hands at all.
Videos and photos look good on the 320×240 pixel LCD screen. If you are used to BlackBerrys, you will notice the improvement on the screen of the Curve. Pictures taken from the camera also look good, but they could still be better.
The Curve is not heavy for its size, but instead of holding the phone up against your ear you may want to use head phones, the Bluetooth headset, or the speaker phone.
The 64MB flash memory is capable of handling most applications, however, you will probably want an additional memory card if you are going to be adding a lot of files. To get to the microSD card you must first remove the battery, as it is behind the battery in the back of the phone, and this may be frustrating to users who would like to transfer files from the card.
The Curve can also be used as a modem for a laptop as it supports the dial up networking profile.
Music played on the Curve sounds good despite the size of the phone, and by using the headphones that come with the Curve you can enjoy distortion free music.
The Curve allows for 240 minutes, or 4 hours, of talk time with the 1000mAH battery. A larger battery would definitely be better, but as far as smartphone batteries go, the Curve will hold its own.
The Curve is definitely better than previous BlackBerry models, however, there is still room for improvement.
-Web browser is sub par
-Bad location for microSD
-No video recorder
-Needs more battery power
Despite the few negatives that surround the Curve, it is still a great phone for those who love BlackBerrys, or those who are looking for their first smartphone. The Curve is definitely capable of competing with the other phones in its class.
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by Roger, on July 6 2009 @ 12:16 pm
The Blackberry Curve 8330 does have a video camera. The resolution is not very good, but better than expected. The video feature has a slower frame rate, so it looks choppy, but each frame has better resolution than my old Motorola Razr.
The web browser still has a lot to be desired. But, Google has come up with many apps that look and work great!
If you can forward your email account to GMAIL, then you can have a GMAIL icon righ on your front screen. But, the actual messages are just text, with no links.
Looking forward to something in between a Blackberry and iphone.
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by Callahan, on August 28 2010 @ 5:58 pm
The Blackberry Curve 8330 is an all around winner. As far as “no video”, this is incorrect. It has a great video and camera. The “sd card hard to access”, in my opinion if you consider an additional 2Gb of memory useful and are capable of taking out the battery, its worth the 1 minute and really quite simple. *Sprint Users Beware! After the OS upgrade from 4.5 Sprint has removed the “roam-only” option and altered the “automatic” option parameters to save money! The result is a reduction in quality of service, as you must be within a 5-mile radius of one of Sprint’s towers to have a “Home” (Sprint) signal. Even when in “automatic”, as soon as the signal roams +5 miles from a Sprint tower it continuously tries to regain the signal which results in numerous “lost calls”) Very frustrating. Sprint has traded integrity for a smaller bill from Verizon or another carrier to supply their customer a signal. *(Hold down the “Alt” key while typing NMLL and your analogue signal bars change to a digital display measured -db/M.) You may view the signal go from: -25 to -256 dbM (the lower the number the better the signal, -25 is a higher number than -250, closer to the whole # 1. Verizon gives you the BOGO (buy one get one) on Blackberry’s, however charge more for ea. service, including denying the user control over the GPS so you have to pay monthly for THEIR navigation. Blackberry Apps allows tons of Great programs like Google Map, Call Control, MyLookout,(which allows you to track a lost unit from any PC, makes the cell “scream” if lost within earshot of a very loud siren-type ring, data backup) I believe these are free to us as they are provided with a viable e-mail address and some intrusive access to your data. These are pre-determined as you download each app through the “permission settings”. Also about 7,000 more available apps varying in price from $0-$40. With an Intel 312 mhz processor and Research in Motion providing a top notch software Blackberry’s Curve 8330 is a very Powerful device. And you can use it to make phone calls too! Just An Opinion - rcpalmbay@sprint.blackberry.net
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by Ziaur Rahman, on July 11 2011 @ 1:20 pm
yes yes yes…. the blackberry curve is reliable indeed, particularly with its new look and style…. I definitely would like to use this model forever.
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