Blackberry 8330 (Curve)

The Blackberry 8330 (Curve)is less business like compared to the version of their Blackberry 8830 smart phone. It has a "pearl" track ball, and has a 2MP (1600 x 1200) camera for still photographs and video. It also a media player to view pictures and videos, and play music.

This version of the Curve also has a built-in GPS . However, using GPS, you have to download maps online, which in turn uses up data. The 8330 also works on the EVDO network which is faster than EDGE. Unfortunately there is no wi-fi capabilities on this phone, so everything you do online will require the use of a data plan. You can however, insert a microSD(HC) card for extra memory. The fact is you will need a microSD card to record video. The built-in memory is very minimal.

As for the other features, it has the same old regular Blackberry features.

The Blackberry Curve has the smallest of the full-QWERTY keyboard that they've made. The unit is thinner, smaller, and lighter than the other models. It also feels cheaper, because of how light it feels in your hand. The previous models had a heavy-hard plastic feel to it. Making it rugged & reliable.

The Blackberry interface was well thought. First time users may find there's a learning curve. Guaranteed though,you'll end up a Crackberry addict.

There are new features on this phone compared to previous generation Blackberry. You are able to customize your home screen. You can set it up to have only a few main icons, or more. If you prefer to access everything, you can change the layout to display all. Every item on the menu can be swapped out and moved, or hidden to suite your desires. With the menu button it's easier to customize the front. You can also customize almost every application.

The software applications are basically the same. All Media is accessed through the Media application. You can listen to mp3s, view videos, view pictures, and listen to your voice notes. The Music Player allows you to view your mp3s by artist, albums, genres, and you can create playlists. The music can also be played through the speaker phone.

With the Voice Notes Recorder you can save notes as an mp3, and then access it from your computer.

With the Video Camera you can record small videos. It tends to be a bit laggy at times, as the screen fails to refresh quickly, especially if items are moving a lot. which causes heavy pixelation. One good thing is that this camera has a light which is used for flash, and also for video.

The Curve has a 2 megapixel camera which produces 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution images. It is sufficient, and the norm for most cameras. You can adjust the digital zoom to 3x and 5x.

So over all, the Blackberry 8330 (Curve), is a solid, well rounded phone, that will support the needs of most.

Cheers for now,

dokken2007