Excellent all-in-oner (Blackberry Curve 8900)

Member Name: bluescott567

Product:	Blackberry Curve 8900
Date:	05/10/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does a whole host of things you need from a multimedia phone

Disadvantages: perhaps a more polished looking o/s

I bought this phone to replace my Sony Erricsson W800i. Although not a like for like phone, I bought the curve with the intention of making more use out of the multimedia features of a phone and also getting to grips with accessing email and internet on the move more freely.

The phone is on an orange contract, and whilst the review is about the phone, my only gripe with orange is that they don't have an unlimited email and internet option, which means I have to monitor how much time I spend on the internet.

The phone itself is of good build quality. excellent use of plastics, and although some people comment on the back panel of the phone, this has never been an issue for me. An all over black finish with chrome detailing around the edge and on the side buttons, ensures the phone is discreet enough and looks professional also.

I've had the phone since July, and the buttons have shown no signs of wear and the trackball has not given me any problems to date, although there has ocassionally been the need for a reboot to get the trackball working as normal, it's not enough to cause concern. The battery isn't the greatest, and if I didnt turn off the phone at night, I almost certainly need to charge the phone every day.

When friends ask what the phone is like, the first thing I say is, it's not an blackberry version of an iphone. if you want an iphone buy one. The blackberry curve is good enough that you judge the phone on it's own merits and not as a pretender to apple's offerings.

I've had at least a dozen mobile phones over the years, and each one has been simple enough to come to grips with; Blackberrys software is good, however it did take me initially take a little longer to navigate around when I first got it. An example of this is the common one-touch approach most phones have to begin writing a text message, which the curve does not have.

The software has been designed so that it is more of a pda type phone than a bog standard mobile phone, which I have come to prefer because of the many functions the curve offers. Once I got used to the software, I soon rated this as being one of the best I have used yet in a mobile phone, because of it's versatility and ability to change so many options within the phone.

The screen on the phone is impressive, offering a crystal clear picture. The camera, whilst only being of 3.2 megapixel standard portrays a quality of that much higher than the specification would suggest.

I have used the music feature occasionally, enough to say that the quality of the sound is good and would suit anyone wishing to put a load of music on to the phone, however as I prefer to use an ipod for that instance, I rarely use it.

Email is easy enough to access through configuring into your phone. My phone is not mated to an outlook type email address so I have a gmail account, and 2 hotmail accounts which gives me access to my inboxes. One small thing which would be good is to access other folders within the inbox rather than the immediate inbox, which is what you are restricted to.

The internet is excellent and I frequently use wi-fi to connect to internet for speed and mainly because it's free. this is easy enough to do and should take any novice less than five minutes to get through. The data is displayed really well I find myself browsing for up to half and hour on the phone, when not near a laptop/desktop computer.

The apps store is good, however not a match for the beast that apple has managed to amass. I have downloaded a few apps, both free and paid, with the use of paypal and I find it to be easy enough to do.

All in all, I find the phone to be excellent, off all the phones I've had the most versatile, and able to serve many purposes, particularly that of creating, accessing and broswing multimedia on the move.

Perfect for finding that balance of organising your professional activities and personal life.

A phone you would not hesitate to recommend to friends and colleagues alike

Summary: Excellent phone on it's own merit, but don't buy expecting to get an iphone alternative.