BlackBerry Curve 8300
Phone Scoop Review
Aug 9, 2007 by Eric Zeman
RIM's second attempt at a mass-market phone makes strides in media capabilities while remaining true to its smartphone roots. With Video Tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
The best BB so far
I have used most of the WM5&6 PDAS (Tytn, Treo's, etc) and decided to jump to Blackberry, as I was getting really frustrated with the frequent reboots needed at critical points in operation with WM. The 8700 was to big, so I tried the 8800. Cute phone, but no camera, and the keyboard drove me nuts! So now I've had the 8300 for a couple of weeks, and here is my take;
Pro's:
-Nice form factor-very comfortable to use
-Keyboard is excellent
-Screen is very clear and bright-better than the Tytn even.
-Sound is very loud and clear
-the media player is the best I have used so far! Both the standard connector and the bluetooth for stereo listening are great.
-Camera - WOW! I was at my granddaughter's dance recital last night, and the lighting was very bad- the flash worked great, and I discovered the camera has ZOOM! It was neat! I could zoom in on her face from 30 ft away and snap a picture. All of the pictures were clear and bright even in low light levels.
Phone- very intuitive, and the sound quality is excellent.
-Bluetooth calls were equally clear.
-Battery Life is excellent
-Email- one of BB strong points except for attachments-you can look but not touch.
Cons
-BB handling of documents has always been terrible, and still is. If you want to store a document to look at it later, you have to use a third party software that is very slow and inconvenient, regardless of which one it is.
-No WiFi
-No 3G- the Internet connections are so slow they remind me of speeds 5 years ago.
I love this thing!
I user to have the 8700c, and I'm glad i upgraded to this device. This device is perfect for those who like the Pearl but thing the keyboard is too small or didn't like the SureType. Plus if you had a go at the 8800 but didn't like the feel the keys as while the Curve is perfect for you. I've had this device for a couple days now and i haven't let it get more than 6 inches away from me at any given time.
Pros:
-Great Camera, flash on it, has to be the best flash I've seen thus far on a camera phone, indoor pictures came out great with it.
-Spell Check, love it!
-The improved media player, not bad at all.
- Voice dialing
-Great feel in the hands, love the rubberized sides
Cons:
-Putting the storage card slot behind the battery
- AT&T Blocks off Blackberry Maps from the device (though you can get it on there)
Overall great device, i look forward to getting a long time use out of this one!
Learning Curve.
I've never owned a Blackberry before. I'm glad I do now. This phone has just about every feature necessary you could ask for in a cell phone.
Pros:
- Unbelievable display. It's crystal clear. Equipped with light sensor to adjust screen brightness as needed.
- Thin and light weight.
- Very customizable.
- Battery life is great.
- Great media player.
- Blackberry one push button e-mail is fantastic.
- Good reception.
- Great call clarity.
- Nice camera.
- Trackball actually works out great.
- Edge is decent.
- Stereo Bluetooth
- Expandable MicroSD
- Countless options.
Cons:
- Alert volume can't be fine tuned. It has 4 settings. Mute, Low, Medium, High, Escalating. And frankly I find the Low setting a bit loud.
- No GPS or WiFi. But you can equip it with GPS with a $100 accessory. And WiFi isn't that important to me.
- AT&T doesn't offer insurance for their smart phones. That is a bummer. But you can't count that against RIM.
All in all, it really is fantastic. The unreleased as of yet Blackberry 8820 will solve the WiFi and GPS problem if you want to wait. But who knows at what price that will hit the market. I definitely recommend the leather case for the Curve. It saves battery life by making the phone sleep when it is in the case and wakes when you remove it from the case. This phone is a definite purchase.
I'm in love!!!
I have only written one other review here on phone scoop and that phone didn't even deserve the time that I put into it. I vowed that I wouldn't write a personal review about a phone again, but this Blackberry changed my mind.
I never thought that I would actually own a Blackberry device as they have always seemed marketed to the heavy business user. I did a lot of research on the Curve before and after it came out.
I love it. My only regret? Not buying it sooner. I didn't get it when it was released because I got rolled up into the iPhone hype machine.
Yes, I took back the iPhone, and finally got my Blackberry.
The device rules for these reasons:
PROS
The qwerty keyboard is pretty much perfect
The display is a pure work of art. Fabulous!
Texting and email is pure bliss.
Rim's integration of email is just wonderful
Incredible battery life
Lots of cool applications
Customizable beyond belief
Use any music file as a ring tone
Trackball is fantastic
Wonderful size
I could go on and on about all of the pros.
The only negative that I can think of is no 3g support on this model. But 3g is far from nationwide, and you can't miss what you don't have anyway.
Now I completely understand why everyone says "When you go Crackberry, you never go back."
It is the truth. I don't think I will ever own another device that isn't a Blackberry.
Why didn't I do it sooner???
My info:
Branded at&t Blackberry Curve
Edge at&t network
Using in the greater Pittsburgh area
Finally my only phone!
I have been carrying around two phones for years, one for voice and a Blackberry for email. As of today, only one phone!
The Curve is a great phone. Call quality is about the best I have experienced in a cell phone. Blackberry push email has always been great. The rest of the phone is very similar to the 8700c it replaced. The 8700c was good, but not good enough for voice.
This phone has a very good camera, better than the Sony W10i, the Sync and the Krzr. Its music player is also good, better than the Sync and Krzr but not as polished as the W810i.
Overall, I was very impressed and will now use this as my only phone.
Pros:
Great voice quality
Good camera
Good music play
Cons:
No scroll wheel (the buttons aren't as sensitive)
No 3G (AT&Ts 3G network is not big enough anyway)
I'm Sold On Blackberry
I never spend $300.00 without first checking it out thoroughly, and this phone was no different. I researched everything I could find on all smart phone as well as pocket PCs. I personally was looking for a phone that I could push email to, that was number one, and secondly it would be nice if it could surf the net. I looked at numerous blackberries, starcoms, window based smart phones such as the blackjack, but I kept coming back to the the Blackberry Curve. The Curve, first and formost has an excellent email set up. After just a few minutes I was receiving and sending my original POP3 email from my phone. Another thing that I loved is that when you delete an email, the phone ask you if you want to delete it just from your BB or your BB and your desktop. Here are a few other things that made me decide on the BB Curve.
1) "Independent" Voice Commands - This is very important because "independent" voice commands do not have to be trained with the phone. The old way, "dependent", requires you to go through your program and say every word and number before hand and train it.
2) Media Player - As much as I have wanted a smart phone, I have also wanted a media player that would play videos as well as digital music. With the BB Curve, I killed two birds with one stone. This phone has an awesome media player.
3) Data Card - This phone uses micro sd cards for data storage. This is a plus for the media player. Currently I have a 2GB card and they say that 4GB will be available soon (or is already available). With 4GB you have plenty of room for videos, MP3s, as well as pictures and other applications.
4) Size and Feel - The form factor, or shape, of this phone is fantastic. I just recently purchased a BB case but before that it fit snugly into a RAZR case. It also has rubber sides that make it easy to hold and harder to drop. At less than 4 ounces, and just a little more than a 1/2 inch thick, what else can you say.
see continued
My 1st BlackBerry
This device is absolutely amazing. The internet is fast (although it runs on EDGE and doesn't support the UMTS/3G network). The look and feel of this phone is incredible. The QWERTY keyboard is so convenient and has a perfect layout. The keys are more separated and defined than on the 8800 and the Samsung Blackjack. The media player is great, the trackball is convenient and highly functional. I feel like I could compliment this phone all day....
Pros
Bluetooth 2.0 and BT stereo headset capability
2 MP camera (images are awesome!)
Quadband (and the unlock code is easy to obtain)
Email push is so amazingly convenient (like I said, this is my first BB, so its new to me, but I love it, absolutely)
Internet browser
Cons
Not 3G, but no BB is, yet....
Can't change LED color on the Curve like you can on the Pearl
I haven't had this phone for too long, so I haven't had a chance to really test everything out yet.
Black Berry Got it right this time
I personally work for cingular and have carried many phones. Not a single one of those phones have been a blackberry mainly because I thought they were the most boring devices on the market. The pearl was ok but I prefer a large qwerty key pad and I am not a fan paying a lot of money to use rims data network. However the Curve has completely changed my opinion blackberry products as of right now. The form factor is great, it weighs ten times less then what you would think, the 2 megapixel shooter is decent but still an upgrade from the pearls 1.3, and best of all......my media max plan works perfectly on the phone which allows for cheap internet usage.
Pros:
Great Form Factor
Durable and Light weight
2 megapixel camera with flash
2 different internet browsers
Scroll whell for easy navigation
Os is very easy to use and takes little time to learn how to use
Full function mp3 player
3.5 mm stereo jack
Cons
No 3g or wifi but I also have a blackjack so no big deal for me.
THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST
The perfect balance of form and function. The keyboard is much easier to use than my 8800 and is more similar to the 8700 series without the bulk. The device is very light but solid. Doesn't have the creaking issue like the 8800 and it just feels sooo good in the hand. The rubberized side grips are great and a big improvement over the slippery metal finish of the 8800.
The camera take really nice shots. I thought RIM did a great job with the 1.3mp so you can imagine how much better the 2mp is with the flash. Excellent media player and video looks great in full screen mode. The headphone jack works as promised. Plugged my iPod headset right in and was good to go.
Spell check! Spell check! Spell check! Wow how great it is to finally have and not worry about typo's when sending out important client emails.
I have had the device less than a day but so far I can't find any cons other than it did not come with a case. I'd have deducted half a point for that BUT the thing is so thin and narrow and light that it rides very comfortably in my front pocket. The only other con is that I can't put it down.
This is a hit. The perfect meld of a Pearl and 8700. Get one if you can. It won't disappoint.
Blackberry Curve
Pros:
Spaced keys, a bit cramped for my fingers, but I test drove both the 8800 & 8830, & those should be the LAST RIM phones with un-spaced keys.
In West Mich, for whatever reason, EDGE seems as fast as VSW's 3G, + ref 8830 above.
Carrier coverage, phone & service plan pricing, as well as bundling with other services. Data plan with BB is over $15 less than other smart phone plans = $360 over 24 months.
Battery power & signal strength, I was surfing & emailing IN THE WOODS - ALL WEEKEND!
Bonus Pros:
Trackball. Coolest thing I never thought was cool. I would give up the red button on my ThinkPad for one if I could.
Software. You can scroll over a number in the text of an email & dial it. Are you kidding me?
Tech support. Clear, non-engrish English for tech support with little to no wait. Are you kidding me?
Camera, don't need it but it does take nice pics for a phone.
Fat Trimmings: Spare me the battery hogging 3G, (wi-fi = dealing with IT dept). No GPS, have you used cell phone GPS? Just get goggle maps.
Cons:
Software & Key size. The menu's are a bit confusing, but the help software has yet to disappoint & tech support took care of Gmail's simultainous use of the sent & in boxes (causes sent message duplication, easy fix with online filter settings.)
Camera protection. Note to mfg's - in general cell phones with cameras need protective covers. They're cell phones. Pocket lint kills exposed camera lenses.
Conclusion:
After playing with all the smart-type phones, I actually wanted the 8525 something bad. But then, instinct (& fear of Windows on something I need to be reliable) took over & I went with the Curve.
My previous phones include the fabled i1000s (back when Nextel worked), Moto E815 (3 of them) & several others in between.
But this phone has that something special that really gets it there. Synergy. The synergy of this thing takes it far beyond it's spec list.
In retrospect though, I almost want to doc a point for the name, Curve? Really?
