Monthly Archives: January 2009

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 has started to get under my skin over the past few days, and is proving itself in a variety of ways. The lack of 3G was a huge issue for me, but I am now weighing that up against improved battery performance and suspect that I would prefer the battery over 3G any day.

I am going to look at specific aspects of the phone today and break down the highs and lows-

Camera

The 3MP camera is one of the better ones I have used. I would put it on a par with the Nokia E71 and Bold, and indeed the 8900 is starting to feel like the Bold and E71 mated and created the Curve. As you can see from the photo below, the colours are well produced and the clarity is what should be expected from a 3MP set up. The next photo shows just how bright the flash is, and this is an issue in poor light. The flash is very bright, but not great in low-light conditions. The resultant images are quite grainy and this can apply to video recording as well. The videos play back well on the phone itself, but when viewed on a desktop the quality is relatively poor.

GPS

BlackBerry Maps is included on the Curve, and whilst it is not a piece of software that seasoned travellers will use, it does the job for basic navigation. There are alternatives, such as Garmin, and the receiver seems very capable. I managed to pick up a fix in my lounge, which is very unusual, and would like to see a more advanced navigation program released for the Curve, to take advantage of the hardware.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi has been a divisive issue for many people on BlackBerry devices, and yet again the set up is not perfect. Speed seems variable and I am finding it hard to decide if it works very well or very poorly. At times web pages load instantly and at others, things slow to a crawl. Video streaming works perfectly, so maybe I have just visited sites that were having a bad time…

Voice / Speakerphone

Both voice quality and the speakerphone are excellent and in my opinion are ahead of much of the competition. The speakerphone does not have the deep sound of the Bold, but it is very close and RIM has done a great job on such a small device. The external speaker for music and videos is also excellent- when compared to a device such as the iPhone, the gap in external speaker quality is huge.

Entertainment
 
Once again, video performance is top of the range and so is audio quality. It didn’t take long for me to start using it for video and music, and the smaller screen (compared to my Bold) became strangely unnoticeable after a few minutes. As far as compact smartphones go, the 8900 is the best I have seen for providing entertainment alongside efficient PIM functionality.

Performance

General speed and navigations is blindingly fast. The trackball, keys when married with more than 100MB of internal memory and a new super-fast processor produces a performance experience which is unrivalled. When you need to do a multitude of things quickly, the 8900 never fails to deliver.

Battery

Only people who used the previous Curve models may notice a shorter than expected battery life. For me, it is better than any other device I have used to date and I managed more than 2 days of hard usage with the expectation of at least 1 or 2 more before a recharge is required.

Practicality

I look for certain aspects of a device to be working well before any others. Battery life, stability, performance, a useable keyboard and a good screen are what I need above all else, and the Curve 8900 is one of the few devices that exceeds in all of these areas with ease.

Connectivity

As I have mentioned before, the lack of 3G will let the 8900 down for some potential users. After a few days it has become less of an issue than I initially expected because I realised that the vast majority of my wireless needs centre around email, and a BlackBerry delivers email like no other. The messaging software is unique, and not to everyone’s tastes, but time tells and as familiarity creeps in, so does the understanding of just how efficient it really is.

Conclusion

Initially I was sceptical about a £400 smartphone which had no 3G capability, but it hasn’t taken long to understand he benefits of the Curve 8900. The Curve 8310 and 8320 are still selling online for over £300 and this does put the value of the 8900 in perspective.
 
If messaging and PIM alongside excellent media and great build quality (basically everything) are what you look for in a smartphone, I would recommend the Curve 8900 very highly indeed!

Available from Clove for £401.35.