The BlackBerry Curve 8520 has entered a market already crammed with BlackBerry devices and positioned itself in the budget end of said market. With the original Curve selling like no other smartphone in history, it has a solid base of users who may want to upgrade, but who do not want to spend over £400 for the privilege.
The price of £241.50 unlocked is without doubt competitive and this brings a lot of advantages over the previous Curve models. I am not going to compare it to the Bold or Curve 8900 because there is little point. Both devices are more powerful, have higher resolution screens and that is reflected in the asking prices. The Curve 8520 is designed for people who need mobile email, decent PIM and who are slightly hesitant at jumping into the BlackBerry world of communication.
RIM has done away with the highly useable, but often troublesome, trackball and replaced it will a touch key which works in a similar way. This style of navigation was first used in the Samsung i780 and once you get used to it, you will feel right at home dashing around the various applications and general interface of the phone. You still click to select which is good and after a few minutes of uncertainly I started to feel drawn to this way of controlling the device and eventually preferred it to a trackball for the trust it offers. If the trackball worked 100% of the time I would still go for it, but the worry that it will clog up with dust at some stage is enough for me to be glad that it is not present here.
The screen is only 320 x 240 and this will feel like a downgrade for Bold and Curve 8900 users and is probably the biggest weak point of the 8520. RIM has done a good job of making the latest OS work well on the lower resolution screen though and those who have not used higher end devices will not notice the lack of pixels available.
Initially the device feels very plasticy in the hand and almost takes on the air of a rugged unit made for a specific industry. Despite the looks which verge on cheap, it is extremely well built and feels capable of dealing with the daily knocks any phone will take. Its lightness also helps in this regard and I see no reason why a drop or two will do undue harm to the unit. Everything is in proportion from the keyboard to the screen through to the side buttons and this is not always the case even with the high-end units.
Available from Clove for £241.50.
All in all, my first day has been highly positive and I thought a video would better describe the merits of the unit as a starter, so here it is. Expect part two in a couple of days.
UPDATE: Not sure what I was thinking during the video below, but the sound quality for music is very, very bad indeed. Sounds like an old radio being played 20 yards away.
Does it get dusty? I read a review that said it attracts dust more than most phones.