Blackberry Curve

By David Ciccone, posted Tuesday, Dec. 25th, 2007
Reader Comments: 22

Sleek, Stylish and a powerful punch!

Over 7 years ago I religiously used a Blackberry everyday until I found Windows Mobile and the PocketPC Platform. Today I officially announce I am back to my grass roots and found my new choice of smartphone the Blackberry Curve! Featuring a liquid titanium finish, clean lines and soft edges, the BlackBerry Curve 8310 smartphone is the smallest and lightest BlackBerry smartphone ever to come with a full QWERTY keyboard. Also the Curve is a quad-band smartphone - so you can connect virtually anywhere across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

As stated before I am going to continue this coverage of the Blackberry Curve along with listing some of my favorite applications which I spoke about in this review..

Software mentioned in this review

SOFTWARE MENTIONED IN THE REVIEW

Viigo - Top RSS Reader for the Blackberry

Nuance Narrator - Nuance Narrator gives a voice to the Blackberry Pearl. Switch on Nuance Narrator and have your Emails read aloud to you via the speakerphone of your Blackberry device. Switch Nuance Narrator off and your device is back to normal operation.

Nuance Voice Control - Nuance Voice Control lets you make phone calls, set appointments, dictate short emails and view web pages on your Blackberry, Treo or Pocket PC using your voice instead of typing. Just press the Direct Connect button and speak! It’s never been easier to get the most from your mobile device.

Empower HTML Email Pro - Empower Mail Viewer allows you to view html formatted emails right inside your native email application. Now you can read your mails - complete with Images, web Links, email addresses, and even Smileys in all their glory.

InfoSpace Find It - InfoSpace Find It! is your easy to use, one stop, GPS enabled local search that saves you time when you're on the go.

Beyond 411- Beyond411 is the fastest way to look up business listings, driving directions, and web pages on your Blackberry. It can even search based on your exact location using GPS.
Quickplayer - The QuickPlayer for BlackBerry streams audiocasts of the latest news, business, sports and more every day on your BlackBerry. Visit getQuickPlayer.com from your BlackBerry device to get it now.

Facebook - Hooked on Facebook®? BlackBerry® smartphones can help! Now you can take Facebook with you on your BlackBerry smartphone! The best part is: you stay connected to Facebook the whole time.

BLACKBERRY ACCESSORIES MENTIONED AND RECOMMENDED

BlueAnt Speakerphone Stylish in design, easy to use and with no installation requirements, the new BlueAnt Supertooth Light offers the latest in sun-visor mounted handsfree speakerphone technology.

Blackberry Curve PowerStation - Charge your BlackBerry Curve 8310 and, optionally, a BlackBerry HS-655 Bluetooth headset plus an extra battery - at home or in the office, with the stylish and practical BlackBerry Power Station.The BlackBerry Power Station includes a two-Amp power supply to rapidly charge multiple products.

Blackberry Curve replacement door - Lost or broke your battery door to your BlackBerry Curve 8310? No problem, we have you covered! This OEM replacement battery door ensures your covered! This silver colored door is suitable for your BlackBerry Curve 8310.

Blackberry Rubber Skin Case - Get all the protection you need for your BlackBerry Curve 8310 and personalize it with the many eye catching colors to choose from.

Seidio 2600mAH Extended Battery - With 140% more power than that standard battery that comes with your BlackBerry Curve 8310, this extended battery from Seidio, will keep you powered up all day.

Also be sure to check back for our video review of the above must have accessories for your Blackberry Curve!

Hey guys, could someone tell me the name of the MAC OSX theme for this BB?

I am strongly thinking about getting one...also in view of the great apps IM+ are developing, such as the multi-chat client and the Skype functionality.

Posted by njmase, Friday, May. 2nd, 2008

Looks like a great device. Does it play MP4 video, or does it have it's own unique format. How's the web browser compared to say PIE from WM or Opera Mini? Is there an e-book reader for it? Thanks for the great demo.

Posted by brat1475, Friday, Feb. 15th, 2008

PS. That rubberized battery door in your store looks mighty tempting.

Posted by jetfxr27, Monday, Feb. 11th, 2008

Well after the last podcast , I ordered mine. It will be here tommorow. I think I have probably had the same device road map as most here. We'll see if I have the same luck as others. My Blackjack won't be in the closet just yet. Its survived two iPhones , 1 BJII , Numerous Treos, tilts etc etc. It's gonna be interesting.

Posted by jetfxr27, Monday, Feb. 11th, 2008

Dave, how has your experience with software updates and fixes been from BB devices.

Posted by Physboy, Saturday, Feb. 2nd, 2008

Hi Folks!
I registered just to say that that was an amazing video review! VERY informative and concise.
I have been looking long & hard at the Curve (8320) & this review has been the clincher. I am going to ditch my T-Mo Dash for the Curve.
As someone else mentioned, I too am sick of having to soft-reset every few days (heavy power user) & I just want my phone to work. I was contemplating going with the HTC 8925 (AT&T Tilt), but was afraid it would be more of the same, just a more powerful version.
Thank you Dave, for giving me the info I needed to make an informed decision!

Posted by Iron-Hide, Friday, Jan. 25th, 2008

Streaming video will be/should be coming in the 4.3OS which is due out very soon..... it is already on the new Pearls

Posted by gameboy213, Wednesday, Jan. 16th, 2008

Hi

The only problem which I have found is I cannot play any kind of streaming media on the device. It only accepts certain formats and needs to be delivered media. Hence using say m.youtube.com isn't possibility.

If you know of a fix do let me know

Skyrules

Posted by skyrules, Wednesday, Jan. 9th, 2008

Chris,

Well at least you gave it a try. :)

Posted by JNGold, Sunday, Dec. 30th, 2007

Yeah except vodafone uk want $56.00 a month for BES with a limit of 6 meg a month anything over that costs $4 a meg extra.Not an option for me, back to windows mobile i think

Posted by chrissyboy, Sunday, Dec. 30th, 2007

just get hosted exchange/BES like I have with my 8830.... works the exact same as windows mobile and exchange and better personally. The new BB's are fantastic.

Posted by gameboy213, Sunday, Dec. 30th, 2007

Just a heads up for anyone considering the Blackberry route, it needs to have a special data plan from your provider not the standard data plan but a blackberry plan. If your in the UK it seems to be a problem to get any data plan on Vodafone or Orange above 6 meg a month for $30 which is pathetic as this includes browsing, email and IM. The plan most providers offer is a Blackberry BIS plan (Blackberry internet Service) which gives you an email address you can forward mail to which is then pushed to your device, sync of contacts or appointments cannot be done over the air but it has to be done by tethering to a pc. The other service is the BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) this seems to be only available to business accounts as it has to be linked to a server with Blackberry BES, this would allow sync of contacts etc but is not an option to personal customers. I agree with Dave that the Blackberry platform is robust and a good user experience but when you have had the benefits of microsoft exchange the Blackberry looks weak on this side for me as well as a very expensive option.

Posted by chrissyboy, Saturday, Dec. 29th, 2007

Browser is great... No issues for me but VIIGO is a great RSS aggregator.

Posted by David Ciccone, Thursday, Dec. 27th, 2007

Well that makes more sense being that it is an EDGE device and all. How do you like the browser on the Curve?

Posted by Physboy, Thursday, Dec. 27th, 2007

Battery on the Curve is on par with other Blackberries in my opinion. 2 days minimum and up to 3 on weekends or light email weekdays...

Posted by gt2697, Thursday, Dec. 27th, 2007

Phys battery life has been fantastic. I just showed the extended battery for those who would like battery life for a week..

On the dimmer question nope that is standard time out..

Posted by David Ciccone, Wednesday, Dec. 26th, 2007

Dave,

How is the battery life? I am wondering, since there is an extended battery listed instead of just using the default one that came with the phone. Did you set the back-light dimmer to be that fast because of battery life or is it that fast by default?

I am surprised to see an EDGE device with such a battery life issue. =O

Other than the battery life, this seems like a pretty feature rich device. Do all of the apps that you showed run on the Pearl BB devices as well?

Posted by Physboy, Wednesday, Dec. 26th, 2007

Dave,

Great review. It is funny how a lot of folks thought Blackbery would fade away. I think that RIM has a done a great job with this line and the Curve is a great device. My father-in-law uses one and loves it. He too, dumped his Windows Mobile device for the Curve. The main reason was that it was stable. He was sick and tired of soft re-setting his Windows Mobile phone and needed a platform that would just work.

Posted by Steve Trotto, Wednesday, Dec. 26th, 2007

Jerry the dialing and searching is FLAWLESS and set the standard for Palm to copy. Just simply type the persons name and all the searches come up.. No delay at all!

Exchange... Well I am running IMAP w/4smartphone along with my corp email IMAP .. I hard sync my calendar and contacts which to tell you the trut isnt bad at all. Also btw when I delete an email on the Blackberry it deletes it out of my exchange account ;)

Browsing isnt bad at all! All my sites load nice along with desktop view and standard...

Posted by David Ciccone, Wednesday, Dec. 26th, 2007

Impressive. I would like to see some action on how it works as a phone. Dialing and searching for contacts quickly from your homescreen. Also, what type of connectivity issues (or lack of) to Exchange server.

I am with Mick, lack of 3G is a killer for me as well as the loss of use of Sling. I also have heard the browsing experience isn't so hot either.

I love the svelte form factor and light weight of the device. A couple of tweaks here and there and I might consider RIM along with Nokia as a WM replacement.

Posted by JNGold, Wednesday, Dec. 26th, 2007

Mick thank you! I definitely now realize why this phone is the #1 seller in the US!

I hope this video helps people see the power of RIM.

Posted by David Ciccone, Tuesday, Dec. 25th, 2007

Dave,

I'm so glad that you are using the Curve. I had it for a few weeks and thik that it is the best bb on the market today. My one complaint will be the lack of 3G. I know that there isn't a real big difference in the speed of email, but there are other definite advantages to it.

All in all, I am happy that you are using it and giving people your perspective on it. It is one of those phones that a lot of people overlook as a smartphone, and it really is a great device. Thanks for your continued coverage of a wide range of products!

Posted by gt2697, Tuesday, Dec. 25th, 2007

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