*INSERT FRUIT RELATED PUN HERE* (Blackberry Curve 8310)

Member Name: Gingaro

Product:	Blackberry Curve 8310
Date:	28/01/08 (1138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: wireless email, phone, calendar, diary, camera, maps, easy to personalise

Disadvantages: can cost up to £300 when bought alone

Being a firm convert to the BlackBerry smartphone revolution I am lucky enough to receive courtesy of my employer an upgrade each year. The last twelve months have seen me dazzled and impressed with the BlackBerry Pearl, a device I didn't think it was possible to make any better as it was small, compact, jam packed full of useful tools and software and incorporated a digital camera along with lots of other functional tools. It was with heavy heart that I was informed over a month ago of our IT departments intention to replace any Pearl models with the Curve 8310. This was an upgrade I neither needed or wanted but after only a few days of owning the Curve 8310 I was once again as in love as it is possible to be with a piece of hardware.

Incorporating the usual BlackBerry features of wireless email, personal organiser, contacts directory, digital camera, alarm and mobile telephone the Curve 8310 incorporates new and exciting features that were sadly lacking from earlier models, even the Pearl. Included within the basic software package, the Curve 8310 now has BlackBerry maps, the ability to store and play MP3 files and a more responsive speakerphone/voice activation unit. All things considered, the new additions to the model and tweaks made to existing features have made the Curve 8310 a very handy piece of equipment that I just could not be without when working from home or attending external meetings.

The inclusion of more software, an upgraded battery and much more functionality has resulted in the Curve 8310 being larger in than the mobile phone sized Pearl that was in my opinion unsuccessfully aimed at conquering the mobile telephone market. Even though it is larger than the Pearl, its dimensions are still not overly cumbersome and the curved sides make the unit very easy to grip which in turn assists when using the trackball navigation tool to access menus. The actual dimensions are 10.7cm in length, 6cm wide with a depth of only 1.55cm. The total unit weighs only 111g putting it on a par with the Pearl and several leading Nokia mobile phone brands. Originally seeing the increased size I thought I was going back to the days where my pocket would be weighed down but this I discovered was unfounded. Issue number one being the weight and size were therefore alleviated meaning that as long as it performed to the same standard as the Pearl I would be very happy indeed.

Synchronising the software on the Curve 8310 with my PC was really easy and it was simply a case of installing the software from the disk provided, giving my device a name and hooking it up via the USB connector. The PC then detected the device automatically and began to copy across my email inbox, contacts and calendar. The entire process took no more than 30 minutes from removing the device from the box to it being full functional and ready to go. Obviously the battery did require charging fully but as I needed the device immediately a little charge was put on the device via the USB. 30 minutes of charging gave it enough life to last or around 3 hours the first time I used it. The main principle of being equipped with BlackBerry devices is so that we can work away from the office as and when required. In the past with other BlackBerry models I have experienced massive delays in receiving emails on the actual BlackBerry. I can be sat at my desk looking at emails on my PC that have not yet arrived on my BlackBerry. This made life very uneasy as in theory I could be missing emails when away from the office that required an immediate response. Since upgrading to the Curve I have found that emails appear on the device before they even show up on my PC which gives me an added peace of mind. Overall, the email function is spot on and cannot be faulted at all. The text on the screen is bright, colourful and very easy to read. When typing using the QWERTY keyboard (shown in the picture above) the message keeps up so there is no need to wait for the software to catch up. With previous BlackBerry models I had serious issues with the size of the keys and the actual layout. As the Pearl has a mobile phone layout where each key was assigned three letters I found typing to be a very time consuming affair and with the 7100v has keys that were just too small which meant frequent spelling mistakes in messages. Using the Curve 8310 is simply a joy. The keys are a perfect size, are set out brilliantly and due to the shape of the entire unit, enable the use of two hands when typing making it much faster than before to type messages.

Email is the primary function for my BlackBerry but it also serves perfectly as a mobile phone. The call reception and call quality is second to none, every word spoken is picked up by the built in microphone and the adjustable volume means that callers can be adjusted from a whisper to literally ear drum splitting volumes. The loudspeaker is also very handy and much better than any of the loudspeakers I have previously used on mobile phones. There is no feedback or static and ever word is repeated with crystal clear clarity. As with mobile phones, the Curve 8310 also allows the sending of SMS and MMS messages which are typed in the same way as emails. The 2MP digital camera takes pictures of a reasonable quality. I won't be rushing out to put my Kodak EasyShare on eBay but it does pick up the depth of colour in shots and has a decent focus on it. Should you feel the need to take a picture of something on the spot you won't be disappointed but really, they is no need for the device to have a camera other than to appeal to the general mobile phone market. No real upgrades have been made to the web browser, it is still relatively fast and the pages load very quickly when the device has a strong reception signal. All of the pages load in full colour and there is still the ability to store favourites and bookmarks. I find the browser to be a useful little feature when trying to resolve arguments in the pub about who starred in what film, or who died when. It is a handy tool, but ultimately one that I find I use very infrequently. The most use the browser has been in the time I have used the Curve 8310 is to download new screen savers, wallpaper and pictures to personalise the device and I'm very happy with both the download speeds and storage capacity.

One of the newest features is the installation of the BlackBerry Maps software. Essentially this converts the Blackberry into a very basic satellite navigation system. Once you have inserted your starting point and end point, either by using a post code or street name a map will show you the fastest route to your destination using coloured arrows to guide you. As the Curve 8310 has a built in Global Positioning System the maps are accurate to I have found a few feet and as you turn a corner on foot the map refreshes and continues to give precise directions. I use this feature quite a lot when wandering around central London and find it to be much easier than finding and printing off several maps from websites or flicking through an A-Z.

RIM, the makers of BlackBerry have in their infinite wisdom altered the way in which the menus are navigated. Instead of the old style wheel on the right hand side, the Curve uses a trackball located in the middle of the device. At first I found this really fiddly, but only because I was used to the old style. It took a few days to really get the hang of reaching onto the face of the device and wheeling around going up, down left and right when previous models only allowed movement from left to right. The ball is incredibly responsive, so even the slightest of touches sends the cursor flying off across the screen. The sensitivity can be altered and after playing around I found the setting for those of us with heavy hands! Accessing features and functions from the main menu is as you would expect very simple. Each feature has its own icon and is selected by moving the cursor over it and clicking. Each icon is brightly coloured, the icon relevant to the feature and brightly coloured. For even the most simple of users BlackBerry even inserted a large text at the bottom of the screen identifying which icon you currently have selected making it 100% foolproof.

The Curve 8310 uses the standard BlackBerry lithium cell battery which allows according the published specifications up to 17 days of power on standby, and up to 4 hours of talk-time. After charging the battery fully on a Monday morning I find that with continued use of email, SMS and the mobile phone the battery lasts for around 3 days before being totally drained. As it can be charged using either a standard plug adapter or charged via the USB cable I have never got to the point where it totally runs out of life. As a nice touch, it gives off a little warning message to let you know when you have 2 hours of standby power remaining.

Overall in terms of user friendliness, ease of use and functionality, the Curve 8310 is simply the best RIM BlackBerry product I have had the opportunity to get my hands on and test over a prolonged period of time. Not only does it enable me to stay connected with what is happening in the office I can now work from home without the need to connect remotely to our servers which cuts down on a lot of stress when they are down. On top of this, there are lots of quirky little bits that just add to the delight of users. The ability to personalise the device in every way imaginable is fantastic. As I no longer own a mobile phone of my own I can assign emails, SMS, MMS and telephone calls with there own tones, using either the pre-set polyphonic or MIDI ringtones so that at weekends I know to ignore emails which will invariably be work related but pick up text messages or telephone calls from friends and family.

With previous BlackBerry models I did on occasion experience some software errors or times when the SIM card would not register which resulted in the need when emerging from the Underground or no signal areas to reboot the device. To date I have experienced none of these issues and despite downloading numerous pictures, screensavers, games and wallpapers, the processing speed has not deteriorated in the slightest. After a few months of heavy use I am very pleased with my upgrade and would highly recommend it to business users both young and old.

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Thanks for taking the time to read.


Steve :o)

Summary: kicks the BlackBerry Pearl into touch......