Even with all of the work that I do on this thing, the battery lasts a full day while putting the phone to work with videos, internet, texting, web browsing and talking. Believe me.. I do put it to work and have become a blackberry crackhead just like I never thought I'd be. The included SD card leaves enough room to be really productive with multimedia storage and you can upgrade the storage capacity to 8 GB! Because of this large storage capacity I've found myself leaving my Ipod at home and using my phone for an mp3 player as well. The Curve is the closest thing to a laptop that Sprint has to offer. I've tried the ridiculous Palms and even the ridiculous touch screen Palm with windows operating system on it. What a big mess that was.
But smart Phones aren't for me?
I never thought these smartphones were for me because of their small keyboards that appeared to be more of a needless hassle then a tool for productivity. To my suprise the keyboard is very easy to use and even after a month I'm almost as quick typing on the phone as I am on my computer. The QWERTY keyboard is better than others I have used where the keys are right next to each other. Its nice to have them separated allowing me to text message with one hand.
Texting and Driving - Cut it out.
Texting while driving is really a bad idea but you know you can't resist. Drinking and driving is probably a better idea then looking at a small screen, reading and typing when you're supposed to be watching the road. I use Vlingo. Reply to texts by voice using Vlingo it's free. Just speak your texts and have them automatically typed out for you. Sure beats getting into an accident because you couldn't resist being connected. It's a free download.
Internet
For web surfing I prefer the Opera browser over Blackberry's included browser because you can surf websites exactly how they appear on the computer and zoom in to specific areas of the website that you are searching for, allowing you to get the same work done on your phone that you would do on the computer. It includes WIFI which I haven't really found the need to use yet since I find internet surfing to be quick enough just using Sprint's network. I have noticed that I never miss incoming calls when internet surfing, even when I'm on youtube watching videos. My old multimedia phone caused me to miss a great deal of calls when on the internet which was very annoying. What's the point of using your phone for the internet if it's no longer a phone when you use the internet? The blackberry curve is great because even with all of it's bells and whistles it realizes it's priorities. Calls first, toys second. Afterall this is a telephone right? To my knowledge I've never missed a call yet when surfing the web.
Email setup is very quick and blackberry's included software makes it very easy to backup all of your media files or synch your blackberry with your computer for Outlook integration and backing up your contact list.
Camera
The 2.0 mexapixel camera with 5X zoom and camcorder are very easy to use and I've found myself updating twitter, myspace and facebook with pictures and even uploading youtube videos on the go.
Some Negatives
It's annoying that websites with Flash can't be viewed on cellphones. This is a problem with all cell phones not just the Blackberry. There aren't any flash viewers or players for the Blackberry that I've seen so far. I don't think there are plans yet in the making for Flash support on the Blackberry or any other smart phone because it would be too demanding on the device resulting in very slow internet surfing. Seeing as how more and more websites use flash on their websites without flash support it can be limiting to your productivity. I've also found Bluetooth to be pretty difficult to use on the Blackberry Curve.
Bluetooth is either a bit buggy or I have too much ADD to thoroughly read the manual to figure this one out.
All in all the Blackberry Curve 8330 is more reliable then other smart phones and very easy to use. Blackberry has a wonderful community for support and even 30 days later I find a great deal of free software add ons that still make the device fun. For example I just downloaded a guitar tuner for my Blackberry curve. More and more I find myself leaving behind other portable devices getting my technology fix through the Blackberry alone.
Features Available
Wireless email
Organizer
Browser
Phone
Camera
Video Recording
BlackBerry® Maps
Media player
Corporate data access
SMS
MMS
GPS 1 1 1
Push to Talk (PTT)
Size and Weight
Length 4.2"/107mm 4.2"/107mm 4.2"/107mm 4.2"/107mm 4.4"/111mm
Width 2.4"/60mm 2.4"/60mm 2.4"/60mm 2.4"/62mm 2.4"/62mm
Depth 0.6"/15.5mm 0.6"/15.5mm 0.6"/15.5mm 0.6"/16mm 0.7"/18mm
Weight 3.9 oz/109g 3.9 oz/111g 3.9 oz/111g 4.02 oz/114g 4.8 oz/135g
Data Input/Navigation
Trackball yes yes yes yes yes
Keyboard QWERTY QWERTY QWERTY QWERTY QWERTY
Keyboard backlighting
Voice Input/Output
3.5mm stereo headset capable
2.5mm stereo headset capable
Integrated earpiece/ microphone
Built-in speakerphone
Bluetooth® technology Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, and serial port profile supported. Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP) Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, and serial port profile supported. Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP) Bluetooth copy to: Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, and serial port profile supported. Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP) Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, and serial port profile supported. Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP) Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, and serial port profile supported. Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP/AVCRP)
Rating for hearing aids (PDF) M3, T3 M3, T3 (in cellular bands only) M4, T4 M3 (in cellular bands only)
Display
Font size (user selectable)
Color display
Backlighting
Light sensing screen
Notification
Polyphonic/MIDI ringtones
MP3 ringtones
Vibrate mode
LED indicator
Approximate Battery Life
Standby time Up to 408 hours or 17 days Up to 408 hours or 17 days Up to 408 hours or 17 days Up to 11 days 168 hours or 7 days
Talk time Up to 240 minutes or 4 hours Up to 240 minutes or 4 hours Up to 240 minutes or 4 hours Up to 260 minutes 4 hours or 240 minutes
Memory
Expandable memory – support for microSD card
Flash memory 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 96 MB 128 MB
Modem
RIM® wireless modem
Tethered modem capability
Email Integrations
Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for Microsoft® Exchange
Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for IBM® Lotus® Domino®
Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for Novell® GroupWise®
Integrates with an existing enterprise email account
Integrates with existing personal email account
Integrates with optional new device account
Accessories Included
USB cable
Wall charger
Device Security
Sleep mode
Password protection and keyboard lock
Support for AES or Triple DES encryption when integrated with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
FIPS validation FIPS 140-2 Validated FIPS 140-2 Validated FIPS 140-2 Validated FIPS 140-2 Validated FIPS 140-2 Compliant (FIPS Validation in Progress)
Optional support for S/MIME
Wireless Network
Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g
800 MHz and 900 MHz band device, iDEN® RF interface only
Tx: 806 to 825MHz, 896 to 901MHz
Rx: 851 to 870MHz, 935 to 940MHz
Dual-band 800/1900 MHz CDMA2000 1X Ev-DO networks
North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks
North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
EDGE networks
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