BlackBerry Curve 8900
Average Ratings
Solid and Sleek
Blackberry 8900 v4.6.1.114 on T-Mobile
Owned for 6+ months
Last 5 phones used: BB Bold 9000, Blackberry Pearl 8110, Blackberry Curve 8310, iphone 3G, iphone (OG), Samsung Blackjack II.
What can I say about this phone that hasn't already been said? If you've ever had a BB before you'll know that RIM makes, arguably, the best and most functional business phones on the market. The curve takes this world-class business phone know-how and packages it in an undeniably sleek and sexy wrapper with enough media functionality and power to challenge the recent flood of "smart" phones.
PROS:
I count myself as a fan of the original Pearl design for it's combination of functionality and pocket friendliness. This Curve is barely wider and yet still finds enough room for a comfortable full-qwerty thumbboard and high-res widescreen. Battery-life is excellent (phone spends half it's day in UMA) and the phone is snappy when navigating menus and browsing media as well as opening email/attachments. Camera quality is above-average compared to most other phones I've used; speakerphone/audio quality is excellent as well-- almost on par with my BOLD and much better than any of the iphones I've owned.
CONS:
The Curve 8900 was released before RIM went to the optical touch key now used on the Curve 8500 series and Bold 9700-- and that's a shame. While the trackball is easy-to-use and responsive it is also a point of failure on previous BBs I've owned and only time will tell if this version fares any better. Stranger is that the 8900s replacement, the Curve 8520, which HAS the optical mouse is actually a step DOWN in features!
The only other complaint I can level against the 8900 is it's lack of 3G. While I personally don't miss this function for my use (and based on the Bolds performance, chose to avoid it on my current BB) I can see this as a deal-breaker for most. Especially considering you pay the same data rate as those customers with access to the extra bandwith.
perfect phone for me
pros:
1. battery life is excellent.
2. keyboard is accurate and ergonomic. this is a matter of personal preference. but, i don't like touch screen keyboards, they have all disappointed me. give me chiclets any day.
3. display is brilliant and crisp.
4. uma and wifi work great even using wpa2.
5. has a professional appearance so i can use it at the office without appearing to have a toy, i.e. iphone, g1.
6. edge performs reliably and is plenty fast, i have no problems watching videos on youtube or anywhere else i visit.
7. excellent camera, the auto focus works very well.
8. blackberry os is very intuitive and customizable with plenty of available apps.
9. feature set is very rich. you name it, 8900 has it.
cons:
1. is not 3g. but, that is negated by reliability of edge and benefit of wifi + uma.
SWEEEEEEET!!!
I've had alot of phones, LG's, Motorola's, Nokia's, Kyocera...alot. They've always been pretty I never saw the point in having a blackberry because they seemed to confusing and I didn't really have a need for a phone like that.
I was with verizon for about three years and decided to go with AT&T just because alot of my friends have it and verizon couldn't keep up with my demand for phones haha.
With college coming up I figured why not go with a blackberry with the deal they were offering me. ITS GREAT!!!!!!!!
Pros:
1.Very nice looking, not heavy or bulky like others.
2.Does everything you could think of! really...if you get the data plan it's worth it...email, web surfing, everything a PC does this can do in the palm of your hand.
3.3.2 Megapixel camera, with FLASH!
4.EVERYTHING
If you buy this phone it is well worth the price, it may be a little prices but you had the world literally at your finger tips with this phone.
blackberry 8900
cant complain about this phone. it does everything youll need it to do.also the cam on this phone is the best 3.2 mp cam ive ever seen. great phone.
I'm addicted to Crackberry
I have so much fun with this phone! The only complaint I have is the volume of the ringer. On the loudest setting, I can still barely hear it. Any suggestions?
BB's Keep getting better and better
After having several blackberrys this one is by far the best , i love the OS . This phone also holds a charge forever . Love it
Smoother than Smooth
I have found what I have been looking for. Having toyed with the G1,the Behold, Pearl Flip, Black Dash, MotoZine, and Sidekick 2008 I am finally at peace. This phone is gorgeous inside and out. The browser is amazingly fast as if I were in a 3g market. I was amazed at how defined the browser was and allowed me to view such pages as tagged and boxden. The speaker on this device is loud, clear and crisp. I was pleased to find out that this phone supports a 16gb.
Pros:
-Camera is very nice. Nicest camera I have seen on a phone since the Zine.
-Battery life is amazingly
-Speaker is clear and crisp
-Form factor is sexy.
Cons:
NONE
Another Winner for BB.
I've had this phone for about 3 weeks and I absolutely love it! Upgraded from my BB Pearl 8100. The new OS is very modern and the phone is very responsive. Lack of 3G is rather inconsequential as enhanced EDGE seems rather speedy in NYC. I really like the feel of the phone as compared to the Bold, which is a bit on the bulky side.
Pros:
- Screen is gorgeous!
- Calls quality is very good in NYC.
- UMA is great for areas where the wireless signal is weak.
- HTML emails! Finally.
- Plays DivX files.
- Camera takes very sharp photos, albeit with a bit of a delay.
- Love the new Lock button.
- Keys are bigger than 8300 and have a nice "click" to them.
- Google maps works great with the GPS, and Latitude is a fun new feature.
- Spell Checker is great. It checks as you type in most apps. Great new feature!
Cons:
- There is a lag when opening up media applications, including camera and photo viewing. The phone also cannot render DivX video fast enough resulting in video lagging behind the sound.
- Not a fan of the new Folder layout, but it's a breeze to move items to the main menu.
Other:
- Battery life is very decent, with WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS turned on and regular use, it lasts me 2 days. Heavy use drains the battery in a day and a half.
- The new browser is definitely HUGE improvement over the old one on 8100 running OS 4.2. It's still no iPhone or even G1, but it's very usable and renders pages as they would appear on a computer.
- Copy/paste is available on any and all text/pictures in all programs that come pre-installed (Browser, Messages, Calendar, Google talk, BB Messenger). However, Google omits this feature in Gmail app, which is why i don't use it.
Overall, I think this phone is as close to perfect as they come! Setting up was a breeze - synced with my mac and transfered my contacts, downloaded google sync and synced my calendar, inserted my old micro-SD card with all my ringtones and wallpapers... And I was ready to go.
Curve II (8900) - G1 Alternative
The phone I had prior to this was the G1. The New Blackberry Curve 8900 is the Best Blackberry to-date (period). One of T-Mobiles Top 3 High-End Phones (my opinion).
*Pros: -
-WiFi & GPS (fast)
-3.2MP w/auto focus & Video Camera (clear)
-3.5mm Headphone Jack AND Stero Bluetooth (most of t-mobiles smartphones [all?] dont have this feature)
Thats the basics. Default browser works fine (fast) but I like the layout of the Opera 4.1(2) better. Opera (& all other apps) have downloaded onto my phone flawlessly (using my SD card memory not my phone memory like the G1). Texting is problem free and easy. All the messengers work without delay and the email services is as all BlackBerrys are, fast... The screen and camera resolution is crisp. 3D-style Wallpapers look amazing. My 8900 on EDGE is faster then my G1 on G3. Actually, to be honest, other then Touch-Screen, the G1 fails on everything next to the 8900. When tested side-by-side the ONLY thing the G1 did faster was Google Related Apps (Gmail, google talk, ect). Anything else NON-Google releated took an average of 6 secounds longer to load on the G1. I wont go back.
Most Favorite Pro: Stero Bluetooth
*Cons: -
-Blackberry OS: not a con if your a current BlackBerry user but for NON-Blackberry users it could take some time to learn.
-Customizing: Customizing can be a chor if your not currently a Blackberry user. What you want to do seems simple enough but isnt (to change the font for example, can only be done through the use of Themes which are very limited ATM).
-Battery Cover: seems to be using hand-me-down hooks to hold shut cause its the only thing on the phone that feels cheap.
-MicroUSB: My SteroBluetooth Cardo Headset uses MiniUSB (v3), so Im travling with 2 chargers.
-SD Card- behind the battery cover and not real easy to access.
-No 3G Network: NO!
Thats about it really. A few more personal dislikes but over-all this is the best phone TMobile has ATM.
Least Favorite Con: MicroUSB
Solid choice
I will list a few things that i noticed about this phone:
-Micro usb I'm not a fan of, now i have to carry 2 charger types around since my bluetooth headset is mini usb.
-Comes with 256 mb Micro SD. Laugh
-Speaker on the BACK of the phone vs vented to the TOP of the phone makes it harder to get the desired clarity and volume if you set this phone down, also for play back of music etc it doesnt sound as good as the previous curve models.
-Speed is drastically better, even with 8 gigs full of music and videos.
-Video issues when playing back various formats. AVI seem to play fine, but most other formats cause errors or dont work at all, please fix this.
-Same key layout, shortcuts etc. on the left side of the phone its one lonely button i use for notepad, would be nice to see another one or 2 added for other shortcuts.
-Camera delay is terrible. Upon snapping the picture you could wait as long as 2-5 seconds depending on the lighting and its ability to focus. This has in turn cause most of my pictures to not be captured as i had hoped, please fix this.
-Video cant be sent via MMS, and limited in email format
-Call stability is much better, in particularly using the hotspot or UMA function.
- Love the Birthday feature under contacts, shows up on your calender with a bold #
-Lock & mute buttons at the top are easy to miss and are more like mouse buttons now instead of buttons that stand out, makes for a stealthy look.
-Came with 5 good games brickbreaker, Word mole, Texas hold'em kings2, Soduko & Klondike
-Browser sux , still but blame tmobile not blackberry.
-Playback of streaming video : you tube videos and such dont work very well, if at all
-Only 2 themes to choose from was pretty lame, tho they both are very nice.
-GPS built in is a major ++
-Backs up pictures and contacts online which is also handy on occasion.
I do love this phone, with the few minor issues resolved you couldnt ask for a better phone overall.
