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I came to Blackberry Curve from Nokia E61, before going into details let me Just brief my review by saying that Blackberry curve is an excellent email machine, its the best actually in Market today to offer email on the go, but as a Phone it is so and so.forBattery life, it is very resonable and convinient but you have to remember to exit the GPS navigation, bluetooth and the WEb Browser when not in use otherwise the Battery will be drained in less than half day with the normal number of calls.charging the Battery by the USB cable from my laptop is a great advantage too,The Voice quality is excellent, loud and clear, one of the best phones in the market.Google Maps, Gmail work great and free to download,Built in Browser is not that great, I downloaded Opra Mini for free, it has little improvement but still far behind the Nokia Browser which displays Web Pages as just a micro laptop screen.No Wi-Fi , who cares, when you have unlimited Blackberry Data Package including International Roaming, so the Wi-Fi, is not needed.One of the most important missing features in the BB which annoyed me a lot compared to Nokia, is that you can not send a Contact (business card)to some one by SMS, the only way to do that is by attatching a Vcard to an email message, I don't think my friend somewhere is waiting Contact I need to send while he is away from his email. additionally I did not find a way how to store (save) the recieved VCards in my email into my address book.Calls Logging, address book management in BB is far behind Nokia and not a user friendly as Nokia.Finally it is the Best email machine but maybe not the best Phone.
Big bummer.8.Download free games (backgammon, chess, etc) from the web.-- BB Curve: Could not find anything for free yet.9.Built in wifi.-- BB Curve: No. This is especially true when riding on a train or other times when you can only use one hand. Expensive 3rd party software available.5.View PowerPoint files.-- BB Curve: Not included. Must purchase application for this (Not cheap).3.Sync a folder of documents.-- BB Curve: Not available (as far as I can tell)4.Read PDF files.
The Curve's pictures are large in size, but far from a digital camera replacement when it comes to quality.21.A thumb keyboard.-- BB Curve: The Curve's keyboard is excellent. I also have used a friend's iPhone many times and never liked the on-screen keyboard. I am posting this here since the Verizon phone is not offered by Amazon.Here is a list of functions I had on my Axim that I hoped for on the Curve, and how things turned out:1.Sync tasks, contacts, and calendar with Outlook.-- BB Curve: Yes2.Read, create, and edit Word and Excel documents.-- BB Curve: Not included. You must pay for Verizon internet service.10.Access the web through desktop's activesync when no wifi is available.-- BB Curve: No (but I could be wrong).11.Browse the web a decent browser, or the ability to download a third party browser (Opera for Pocket PC is terrific(). The BB navigation does the trick.The following are things not available in my Axim that I hoped to get in a Smartphone:19.GPS locator (for use with maps, and hopefully with a "location reminder" app).-- BB Curve: Has a built in GPS navigation, but the Neanderthals at Verizon disabled it, so that you can use it ONLY with VZ Navigator and ONLY if you pay $10/month.20.A camera that takes pictures worth looking at.-- BB Curve: The camera is good for a smartphone.
I tried the Nokia N95 5-megapixel camera, the Samsung FlipShot 3MP camera phone - they all take giant pictures, but with poor quality. Expensive 3rd party software available.6.Read e-books (MS Reader or comparable) with dictionary-- BB Curve: There is Mobipocket, but I don't know much about it.7.Use Microsoft Money (or Quicken) and sync with desktop version.-- BB Curve: There are apps to buy, but none that sync with Money or Quicken. - next best thing to the iPhone)-- BB Curve: Browser is very limited, even by PPC's internet exploder standards.12.Ability to copy & paste text in most applications.-- BB Curve: Yes, but not as easily as with the PPC.13.Log into home desktop using LogMeIn (Awesome PPC application)-- BB Curve: LogMeIn does NOT support Blackberry.14.Use a decent music player.-- BB Curve: Yes15.Expansion slot for memory card (Axim has two slots).-- BB Curve: Yes16.Ordinary (3.5mm) headphone jack-- BB Curve: Yes17.Voice recorder-- BB Curve: Yes (.amr file format)18.Touch screen-- BB Curve: No. Extremely comfortable in your hand.
I am a Dell Axim x51v (the best PDA ever) just bought the BlackBerry Curve 8330 from Verizon. Don't expect any smartphone to take pictures as good as a mid-to-low range digital camera. Trust me, I've done the legwork. I never liked the PPC's on-screen keyboard after 5.5 years of using it. From my 5 ½ years as a Pocket PC user, I can tell you that despite the flexibility of a touch screen, it is not as convenient as a good 5-directional control button. - Uses ordinary USB cable to sync/charge. -- BB Curve: Not included.
No need to dish out money for a phone-specific cable.I knocked off one star for it's limited application capabilities, and other limitations that go with these proprietary stuff. However, I find that I do well without a touch screen. I always wished the PPC's center button had more range capabilities so that I would need to touch the screen less. There's just something about feeling the keys with your fingers that helps you type quickly and accurately.22.Wireless synchronization with desktop via internet.-- BB Curve: Available only via subscription from 3rd parties.More points:- Battery life is excellent - beats the Axim by far.- Call quality is great.- Very slim and small. As much as I hate Microsoft, you have to give them credit for the Pocket PC which has such a wide range of capabilities (when the system doesn't crash, of course).
I can organize my calendar on Office, and then sync it to the Curve so that all my assignments, appointments and things to do are neatly organized and ready to inform me when they're due. I like the flash option too. It has been a great phone so far, with very usable features that keep me informed on everything that I need to keep up with. It sure is. I upgraded to this phone when my AT&T contract was up for renewal. Make sure to get a MicroSD card so you can store extra pictures and music. The images are very sharp and "un-phone-like". It's awesome to be able to get directions based upon your current location.The camera is very high quality.
Not anything major, just a little annoyance. With this feature, my phone lasts an average of 4 days per charge after owning it for about 3 months. I got it because I used my old phone to remind me of EVERYTHING, and I figured that this Blackberry would be even better at just that. I wish there was a video mode like my old LG CU500 (great phone too, by the way).Overall, it has been a durable phone that I feel will suit me very well until I am up for another renewal.The only downside I have is that there is a bit of dust underneath the lens of the phone that I will have to open up the phone to remove. I especially like the "auto-on/off" feature, as it saves valuable battery life and also prevents anyone from waking me up at night. The GPS is great, especially when paired with the Google maps app. Also, the rubber siding is great for absorbing bumps, but not so great for pulling the phone out of your pocket (it sticks).But the Curve comes highly recommended from me. Well worth the money.
Just the right size and thickness. else how will we ever push America's productivity higher and higher :)The voice is CLEAR both on and off the speakerphone. The 2 MP camera works great and it has a flash too. Though I use the phone for work, I like to have a camera in the phone. This is one of the greatest features a phone should have - that is what a phone is meant for anyway, to hear the voice clearly. I rarely have to use my personal email on the desktop as anyway most of it is junk ().
Tactile feedback is great for those who text or email from the device; especially while breaking the law and doing so while driving. I don't have a choice as my company doesn't pay for the device. In contrast, the iPhone's speakerphone quality (that of the first generation) left me much, much to be desired. The keyboard is QWERTY which is great and has each letter on it's own key. The wireless sync is magical as I see my email on the device even before it appears on my Outlook client.
The keyboard is obviously small for my thick fingers. Feels just the right weight in the hand and doesn't feel like slipping away. I don't use my device for this, so it doesn't matter to me. The construction is just right - weight, form factor, display, keyboard. and I can clear it from my device.Worth every penny I paid for it; you should get a deal where you don't pay for the phone. Have to do it - right. The browser is so-so, but again I don't use it that much. The voice quality will differ from the service provider I guess.
The Blackberry curve is a solid, reliable phone. I was also considering the Samsung Blackjack, but heard that the Windows mobile devices create a LOT of data traffic if you use emails. If you are travelling international and not on a unlimited data plan, you might want to consider just this fact alone in choosing the Blackberry.Viewing Microsoft documents though is not that very useful. I don't snap pictures, but in an emergency such as an accident, having a camera handy will be of a great advantage. I do hear flakiness or tin-like quality in the voice sometimes which I think is due to the service.The signature email service is just the best on the planet. You should download Google maps onto the device; it is very, very useful if you are travelling. The display is adequate though I like the bigger screen area of the iPhone that my wife has. The AT&T maps that came on the device is okay; go Google.I haven't exploited it on the device.
My wife just doesn't use the iPhone's speakerphone at all. No company can beat this feature. I too some pictures at Citizen's park during a Phillies game and it turned out great. Only once did it reset by iteslf, otherwise, loving it so far.
After reading the reviews for the BB Curve, I took the plunge and have been very pleased for the past 8 months. I'm not one to review products, but I relied heavily on other's reviews before buying the Curve. I had followed some of the latest fads (i.e.- RAZR) with my last couple of purchases, and was incredibly disappointed with their performance. I rarely lose calls (that are on my end) and the clarity is excellent. I had used a separate PDA before, and while the BB doesn't have all of the functions, the idea of not having to carry two devices far outweighed the negatives.All in all, I am very pleased with the Curve, and would highly recommend it.
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