BlackBerry Curve 8330
Average Ratings
finally found the right phone
So after having the Pearl for several months, and then the Envy 2 for six months, I've finally found the phone I need.
Pros:
Display. While not as eye popping as some of the newer screens (like the bold or the storm), its still quite good. Especially compared to the Envy2 where you had to flip the thing with 2 hands to get to the nice screen, and the pearl's nice but smaller screen. Bright, colorful, and auto-dims based on the light in the room. Awesome.
Keyboard. Compared to Envy2 or other similar messaging phones, it takes some getting used to as the qwerty on the curve is a bit more cramped. But it is still nice to not have to flip or slide to get the qwerty, and it makes the Pearl's keyboard look laughable.
Performance. This phone does it all with little to no slowdown, lag or lock ups. My personal/business email, ton of texting, calendar, web browsing, and oh yeah making phone calls. I don't know if its the extra RAM they gave this compared to the Pearl, but none of that phone's more unseemly aspects like memory leak or app freezing have cropped up. All good!
Call quality is outstanding. Much better than my envy 2, better than the Pearl. About the best I've had in a cell phone.
Web browsing. It gets a bad rap in comparison to the iPhone, which of course is superior, but it's still good here. Almost any site that you'll want to visit on a regular basis (weather, sports, news, etc) generally has desktop shortcuts to download, so you can access them in a snap. Sites that don't have mobile versions, just download opera mini and you get around a lot of the BB browser's shortcomings.
Cons:
micro sd slot is located underneath the battery! who thought of this? If you have to remove your card often this is going to annoy the crap out of you. Otherwise, it's annoying but not a big deal.
battery cover gets scratched easily.
summary: for verizon, the one phone that does it all with little to no headaches!
BB Curve----Awesome
This is my third BB Curve. The first one was through AT & T. I had no problems with it, but changed to Verizon due to better customer service and coverage areas. My 2nd Curve was with Verizon, and, again, no problems with the phone. The day after the "Storm" was released, I purchased one. Even with the "Patch", my Storm continued to shut down and restart by itself. I then had Tech Support "wipe" the Storm clean and re install the system. It continued to have the same problems. I got so frustrated, I turned the Storm back in and got my 3rd Curve. I am completely happy. Seidioonline has an extended battery with talk time in the range of 9-10 hours for the Curve. I use my Curve a lot for e-mail, texting, and talking, and a full charge on the extended battery last me 4-5 days with additional time to spare before I recharge it. I highly recommend the Curve and the extended battery. TRY IT, YOU'LL LOVE IT! It appears I will never get over my "Crackberryitis".
Da Best Phone EVER
I've owned this phone now for almost 2 months now. I absolutely LOVE this phone. I'm kicking myself for not purchasing a Blackberry prior to this one. I have the Sprint Blackberry Curve 8330. I love EVERYTHING about this phone. I previously owned a Palm Centro. I can't believe the difference. I first purchased an Instinct after the Centro. Had it for about 3 days and took that back. It was a piece of junk. I decided to try the Curve and will definetly keep this one. I've owned quite a few cell phones and usually get bored with them easily so I don't keep them longer than a few months before I want something new. Not the case with this phone.
The only cons I have about this phone is the battery (for me it seems to drain quickly). However I am constantly emailing, instant messaging, talking, playing games,everything all day and I've yet to completely drain it. I'm not used to not having a touch screen as most of my phones were previously. However, I will be keeping this one for a long time. I know my next phone will be a Blackberry, no doubt. If you're into technology like I am, go buy this phone. I was told from my friend who works at Sprint that this is the best phone Sprint has at the moment. :-)
Curve 8330 for Sprint
Sprints high speed data service really shines with this phone. The phone itself coupled with Sprint exclusives such as Sprint TV and Sprint Radio run great. The camera and screen on this Blackberry is one of the finest I have seen.
Reception and battery life is also great. I highly recommend this Blackberry for Sprint.
So Far, so Good
I am overall pleased with the BlackBerry. It is simple and for the most part reliable. My first BlackBerry was the Pearl I purchased earlier this year. I didn't know that Verizon was going to get the Curve in pink! The Pearl was cool but I didn't use the Sure Type and the memory leak issue got me twice. It is a pain but not a deal breaker if you erase unwanted information regularly.
I love the Curve because it returns me to the size I am used to and I have the features that I am now becoming familiar with. Setting it up is SOOOO easy. Most of the work was done before I left the store.
Not Much Room For Improvement!
I'm a small business owner and have had business plans with Verizon, T-Mobile, Cingular, Nextel and now Sprint. I am replacing my 8830 with an 8330. Here's my opinion on the 8330 and the differences between the two.
Pros:
*On paper the dimensional difference sounds insignificant but the 8330 is noticeably smaller which to me is a plus.
*The 8330 seems to have a quicker and more responsive browser. The cursor functions better when browsing than the 8830.
*The screen is identical in brightness and clarity but is about a 1/4" narrower due to the width reduction of the phone.
*The qwerty keyboard is more user friendly to use. The keys are spaced a little better.
*Of course the 8330 adds the 2mp camera and video capability which work flawlessly and the flash is impressively bright.
*Call quality and reception in the Portland, OR metro area are in my opinion better than any of the other companies I have tried. And this phone is excellent in RF reception and audio quality.
*Battery life seems a little better than the 8830.
*There are an incredible number of very useful applications for Blackberrys. With the excellent GPS function and related applications out there, many doors are opened for added applications. The Sprint version comes with "Sprint Navigation" which rocks. It will offer to re-route you around traffic jams with it's real-time traffic checker.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this phone. I only have one objection with this phone which is shared with the Pearl.
Con:
The trackball on the 8330 Curve and the Pearl seem to be different than the one that came with my 8830. The 8830 trackball is much smoother and seems more precise. The Curve and Pearl trackballs have a grainy feel and movement in comparison. I have tried adjusting the "Sensitivity" in the Screen/Keyboard menu but can't duplicate the smooth operation of the larger 8830.
Bottom line is this is the most effective and best designed communication device I have owned.
New BB user - Love the Curve
Coming from the Razr Maxx this is a step up as far as applications. I love my new device & all it can do. I am not a business user, this is for personal use - mostly texting, lots of email, calendar & phone. I do not sync with outlook or any of that so can't comment. I have been using it for about a week.
Pros:
Nice screen size
Comfortable qwerty keyboard
Email push is immediate
Access to Internet
Availability of 3rd party apps
Customizable ring tones & alarms
Good signal
Calendar - no need for additional planner
Good voice command recognition
Good camera for a phone (better than my prev 2mp pic phone)
Fast where EVDO is available
Can take an 8gb microsd, I don't need more
Easy to learn compared to other devices - fairly user friendly
Cons:
Lockdown on GPS by VERIZON forcing you to use VZnavigator or purchase a tracking accessory for 3rd party app accuracy.
Wish trackball scrolled faster.
If VZW had not disabled GPS I probably would give it a 5 - I know it's not really BBs fault but truthfully this does detract from the device's usefulness to me. It enables me to view & manage new mail from my 3 email accounts in 1 place and does that job extremely well. Texting is SO much more fun on this than my Razr. The Curve keeps me organized. I am very happy with the Curve & plan on keeping it.
I'm THOUROUGHLY impressed
Well all here's the much awaited review of the sprint blackberry curve 8330. I have to say after coming from palm for the past 5 years i was a bit worried about being able to adjust to a new platform but i'll tell you what this is probably the smoothest transition i've ever made between phones. After having several hours to play with it and disect it here's what i've come up with so far:
Pros:
*The browser is WICKED fast, leaves my palm in the dust
*The screen is very large
*The audio is very impressive for the size of the device
*Email setup was an absolute breeze
*Trackball is smooth and easy to use
Cons:
*The only con i can find on this phone is that the screen is a little darker than i prefer but i'm sure after mucking around with it some more i will figure it out!
Anyway there you have it, i would definitely recommend this phone to anybody i know and already have a ton of friends and family who are incredibly jealous of my new toy, i hope the rest of you get yours soon too so you can play!!! happy berry-ing!
Lives Up To The Hype
I got my Curve this morning so it's not like I've had days to play around with it. However, here are some initial impressions.
1. With all the hype surrounding this phone I didn't think it could live up to it all. I was wrong. The phone has outstanding audio quality and earpiece and speakerphone volume are excellent.
2. Messaging: Isn't what this device is all about? Well, it's great. Email and texting is a snap. The keyboard isn't hard to get used to (I'm coming from a BB 7250 and have large hands). Some email options BB offers are new, at least to me. Read receipts - finally you can request them with each email you send and you can control whether you want to send one if a sender requests one. SPELL CHECK - let's just say I really needed this feature.
3. The screen: On it's own it's excellent. Compared to my 7250 it's like I had eye surgery and can actually see again.
4. I can't comment on the battery life to any great extent. I can say that it was showing 2 bars when I got it and I've been talking, texting, browsing and emailing most of the day (something I do for work anyway) and I still have 2 bars. Overall usage is about 1 1/2 hrs so far.
5. Browser: Fast and smooth. Ok, it's not an iPod but I can change my own battery and people understand me when I talk to them. Websites come up quickly and navigation is great.
6. The Trackball: Some people have said it's slow. If you think that then change the sensitivity settings under Options. I kicked it up from 70 to 80 and it works fine.
All in all this phone is great so far. I'm hoping it'll keep getting better, which I think it will, and it was well worth the wait. Oh yeah, the silver color isn't bad at all.
Sprints best BlackBerry device to date !!!
Bottom Line:
The Curve 8330 is Sprints best new smartphone, offering an excellent balance of style, power, voice quality, and multimedia prowess.
Pros:
Near-perfect design, including an exceptional keyboard. Built-in GPS. Solid voice quality. Top-notch e-mail handling. Robust software bundle.
Cons:
Still no document editing. No Wi-Fi.
Sprints version of the new BlackBerry Curve 8330 takes Verizons version and improves on it: by adding mobile TV, OTA music downloads, more robust instant-messaging options, and a powerful information aggregator. The new Curve 8330s power, along with a wide array of capabilities, makes it ideal for both work and play.
Since this is a BlackBerry, you get oodles of messaging options, including a built-in POP/IMAP/Web client that supports up to ten accounts using BlackBerry Internet Solution (BIS). Its also compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) for remote address-book lookup and single mailbox integration, and works with MS Exchange, Lotus Domino, and Novell GroupWise. You can also run Java applications such as Gmail for Mobile, and you can check messages using the full Web browser. While the third-party app market for BlackBerrys is improving, its still not as robust as those for Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Symbian devices.
Thats ok though, Sprint really loads up this Curve with apps. You get a lot more than with the Verizon version, including IM clients for AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger in addition to BlackBerry Messenger. The optional Sprint TV gives you dozens of streamed television channels, while the Sprint Music Store lets you buy music over the air. You also get Handmark Pocket Express, an all-in-one information aggregator for news, sports, stock prices, 411, travel information, weather, and more. The only downside is that the Curve 8330 still cant edit MS Office documents. RIMs new BlackBerry OS, version 4.5, announced in January, will add that capability, according to the company.
