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
New Convert
Well, I must admit that I have been a windows smart phone user for the last 5 or 6 years. I have endured the Compaq IPAQ, the TREO and Samsung Blackjack but nothing has put my mind at ease like the Blackberry 8300.
I have used first generation blackberry technology in the past....the big blue clumpy nextel version and even had the Tmobile version but WOW this 8300 fromAT&T is impressive.
My girlfriend (soon to be wife) and business partner uses the Pearl and she convinced me to look into the 8300 after my Blackjack took its last breathe. I was concerned about the compatibility of products, what's on the market for blackberry users and further more, I thought I needed an enterprise server to enjoy the full benefit of the blackberry. Total opposite from what I thought. There are tons of apps for it and the email is seamless without an enterprise server.
Pros: Sleek, light-weight and easy to handle. Through the blackberry mail setup the phone can handle up to 10 email accounts, including gmail and yahoo. Crystal clear screen, easy to read and navigate. I also use it as a tethered modem to my laptop when I am on the road. Great media player and sound also excellent battery life. The back lite screen adjust to your lighted environment so fumbling through menus to adjust.
Cons: No WiFi, no 3G and you have to take the battery out to access the mirco SD chip. Trackball also sticks occasionally but hey....anything is better than the jogger wheel on the side of a phone.
Seeing as though my partner and I use high end technology and we are both very difficult to please in this area, I highly recommend this device over anything currently on the market.
Truly Satisfied!
I used to own the Blackberry Pearl so I absolutely love the Blackberry Curve! It's just as I imagined after reading extensive reviews on this site/other sites. The Curve definitely keeps my life organized.
Pros:
+lightweight
+sound quality/reception (AT&T)
+very intuitive
+great organizational features
+high resolution screen
+decent 2.0 megapixel camera
+trackball easy to use
+QWERTY keyboard for texters
+battery life
+media player
+EDGE decent
+email capabilities
+expanded memory (mircoSD)
Cons:
-no embedded GPS (but not a huge deal)
Awesome
All I can say is the same as all the previous reviews. I was considering the iPhone but with all the cost involved with the data plans and the price of the phone. No Way!
Get the Curve, Blackberry Internet plan is cheap and you get unlimited data.
Simply the best device i've used!
I've previously used the follow devices
-Pearl
-HTC 8525
-Pretty much every nokia released in the US and several that weren't
-Sony w810i
-Samsung Sync
-LG cu500
This device, my precious, trumps them all. Can i just say the media player is amazing?!
3.5mm headphone jack, YES!
Streaming music!
The most simple and efficient organizer
Battery life, amazing
Simplicity in syncing
And best of all, it runs how its supposed to, when its supposed to, every time!!! (no resets, freezing, dropping connections/applications)
You won't regret picking up the CURVE
Great, just great.
This is only my second Blackberry, and I always dismissed people that said, "Once you go Blackberry you never go back." But now I am a believer. I just switched from the BB Pearl to the Curve. The Pearl was excellent as well, but I really wanted the bigger screen that came with the older BBs but not the huge size. The Curve really fits the bill. The extra screen real estate is nice, and its not like holding a refrigerator to your ear, which is how I viewed the older BBs. The speaker phone is nice and loud - a good bit louder than the Pearl which is another reason I switched. It was a breeze getting my email accounts switched from the Pearl to the Curve. The pros are basically all of the same ones already mentioned, and I really can't think of any cons - at least none that I won't figure out how to solve later. RIM really thinks of everything for their devices; the quality is evident. Highly recommended!
Best BB Ever!
I am an Blackberry Admin for a major hospital systems I.S. department and have owned and extensively tested every BB device since the 957. I also research, recommend, and test all convergent devices/PDAs/Phones for the system.
I have three words and one statement concerning the 8300. OMG! Buy it now!
Best of the best
I am a phone freak, I get a new phone about every 3 months, and the most recent phones being Moto Krzr, Moto V3xx, Blackjack, Cingular 3125, Sony Ericsson w800i...I guess there are worse addictions to have. I have never owned a blackberry, I was always intimidated by them, but I sold one to a customer when it came out a few weeks ago, and wow, I was impressed. The look and feel alone attracted me at first, but that didn't even compare to the operation...WOW.
Pros:
*Reception is the best I have ever had with any phone, I have been selling phones for 12 years, and where I live it is kind of spotty service, but not so with the 8300, it's great.
*Media Net with at&t works great, the display is nice and bright, and the pages load quickly, even without 3g.
*Camera is really good, which is really important to me with my phones. The flash is automatic, and nice an bright.
*Messaging is AWESOME.
*The music player is really easy to use and in my opinion, sounds better than my ipod with the included headset, I haven't tried my stereo bluetooth with it yet. Also, you can use your music on your micro sd card as your ringtones, which is cool.
Cons:
*Video camera, not one on this phone, but I can live without it, I hardly ever used that feature on my other phones anyway.
I think I may use this one longer than 3 months....
WOOOOOOO WEEEEEEE AW YEAH
Cons: hmm. I have no cons. I have had this device only 1 day. Blackberry user for years. Talk about impressed. WooooooooWeeeee.
This is what I'm talking about. Having the time of my life. Couldn't have chosen a better device.
This item Rocks. Way to go.
THE BEST PHONE ON THIS PLANET!!!!!!!!!
This is my first time ever owning a Blackberry! And all I can say is WOW!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!! IS THIS WHAT I WAS MISSING!!!! I only had the phone for a couple of hours and I can't put it down. Now I understand why they call it "CRACKBERRY". This is the best phone ever. And I only purchased this phone because of this forum and you guys!! Fantastic site!!!! I will be recommending this site and the phone to everyone!!
Blackberry Curve
I am an official Crackberry head. I used to have an 8703e with Verizon and when my contract ended I swtiched to at&t to get the Curve and couldn't be more happy. At&t and VZW have the same coverage in my area so I haven't noticed any difference in reception, dropped calls, etc. Even though the EVDO on VZW was faster that EDGE on at&t, for what I use my Berry for the difference is negligible.
Overall, I believe that this is the best device that I have owned yet with either company (albeit it's only my first with at&t, and I don't like the iPhone). Everything works like it should, no glitches that have annoyed me yet.
I know that there is an 8310 and 8320 on the horizon for those of you who would like WiFi or LBS, but for me it doesn't really matter.
The only thing that did bother me is that the first one I purchased was scratched but it was kindly exchanged for another one with no issues.
In conclusion, I really do like this device a lot. It does everything I need it to do and more. While I have never had a perfect device (and probably never will) this is as close as it can get for me.
