Pocket-lint is supported by its readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Pocket-lint - It would be fairly easy to dismiss the BlackBerry Curve out of hand, but it could potentially be a big mistake to do so.
The Curve is RIM punting into the budget end of the market, but still offering the two things that people really get excited about: the keyboard and BlackBerry's email service. The Curve has had something of a makeover from the redesign that came in with the Curve , blending it with some of the lines from the series. The snappy design of the has been eased off slightly: it is instantly recognisable as a BlackBerry, but doesn't look quite so sharp.
The design differentiation is backed-up by hardware differentiation, which is where RIM really save the cash. Thinking of it as a step down from the might not be fair; thinking of it as a refresh of the series might be more appropriate. BlackBerrys aren't famed for their build quality and the Curve we had to review was no exception. An ominous creak from the screen surround and back cover that pops off just a little too easily suggests things aren't as tight as they might be.
The keyboard, however, has not been messed with. It feels great, it doesn't slide around in the housing as much as it does on our It is crisp and precise — exactly the sort of thing you need for bashing out emails. It has that logical dab of BB magic to it too — press and hold a key and you get capitals, Alt gives you access to your most often need characters, with Sym accessing the rest. It's well conceived and it keeps things fast and it's something that BlackBerrys have been doing for years.
But the biggest change here is that the trackball has gone and been replaced with an optical trackpad. The rubberised finish round the edge of the case helps with grip, and we were pleasantly surprised to find music playback controls above the screen, so you can control your music with the phone in your pocket.
It also has a 3. BlackBerrys are renowned for their messaging and office work capabilities, and the is no exception. The operating system may be clunky, but once it's configured, the works efficiently. Sign up for our daily newsletter Newsletter.
Our Rating. Since the Curve is a lower-end model, it doesn't possess the same high-resolution display as the Curve Instead, the 2.
While obviously not as sharp--images and text aren't as smooth and show some pixelation--the screen is still clear and bright. You can adjust the screen's brightness and backlight time as well as the theme, font size, and more through the Settings menu.
Below the display, you'll find one of the new features of the BlackBerry Curve the optical trackpad. Sandwiched between the Talk and End keys, menu shortcut, and back button, the trackpad replaces the trackball navigator that has become a BlackBerry staple since the debut of the original BlackBerry Pearl , and though many fear change, we have to say the transition from the trackball to the optical trackpad was quite easy.
We were pleasantly surprised at how responsive the trackpad was, much more so than the one found on the Samsung Omnia. Aside from the difference in feel flat versus spherical , it wasn't much of a change, and we didn't have to alter any of our habits. You can also press down on the trackpad to select items.
Also new to the BlackBerry Curve the dedicated media keys on top of the device. The latter also doubles as a mute button while on calls. The multimedia experience is made even better by the inclusion of a 3. Also on the left spine is a Micro-USB port and customizable convenience key, while a volume rocker and another user-programmable button are on the right. The aforementioned controls are slightly different in that they're slight bumps along the surface rather than the traditional buttons you're used to seeing on a BlackBerry.
They're interesting to say the least but work just fine. On back, you'll find the camera while the microSD expansion slot is located behind the battery cover, though the latter is just a tad difficult to take off without a release switch.
It's largely similar to the 's; the buttons are slightly smaller and packed close together, so users with larger fingers might have some problem. However, we were able to find our groove after a while and could easily type messages.
The number keys share space with letters on the left side, though they're not as easy to spot at a glance since the charcoal gray buttons don't stand out against the black keyboard whereas the highlighted them in white.
For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page. It lacks 3G support and GPS but still delivers on the core functionalities. We'll start with the most basic and important of them all: the phone capabilities.
The Curve offers quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging.
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