Blackberry Curve 8520: An Incredible Base Model

Posted: Aug 27, 2009 | Views: 266 |

The Hardware

The Blackberry Curve 8520 has a 109 x 60 x 14 mm body (not the smallest Blackberry but close to it) and weighs a very light 106 grams. It has a full four-line QWERTY keyboard, and has the standard look of a Blackberry (which is usually sleek and modern). Also, RIM (Research in Motion) has also extended the protective cover of the LCD.

It has a 320 x 240 resolution display on a 2.46" screen and a 2.0 megapixel camera (w/o a flash) that provides for decent quality photos and videos. The quality is decent but the camera seems a little underpowered (even as an entry-level phone, it could have done better). Some have argued that this resolution and size is a bother when browsing the Internet and it might have some deficiencies in that aspect but still, it is a good enough display since it is bright, clear and relatively detailed.

The Blackberry Curve 8520 also has a plastic cover (high-end models have a metal cover) that houses a 1150mAh battery, and microSD slot but fortunately, one does not have to move the battery to access it.

The biggest move RIM made was dropping the traditional Blackberry physical trackball and replacing it an optical trackball. Suffice it to say, the Blackberry Trackball will not be missed. The Optical Trackball is very easy to use and is very responsive. Plus, one can even manage the speed of the Optical Trackball, if one finds the pre-set speed a little to fast. But its biggest benefit is the increased durability for the smartphone since the new Optical Trackball features no moving parts.

The Software

The Blackberry Curve 8520 has a built-in capability for Email or instant messaging and set-up is pretty straightforward. It also supports Hotmail, Windows Live, Gmail, ICQ, Yahoo, AOL and BlackBerry Messenger. You can even have around 10 email addresses in an account.

It is also preloaded with social networking tools including a Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr apps, as well as TwitterBerry, which is very quick and very easy to use, as it should be.

There are also more apps available in Blackberry App World site (but the variety and number still has a long ways to go to be at the same level as the App Store of Iphone). It also comes with Blackberry Desktop Manager, which handles the syncing of data with Windows. And for Mac users, a Desktop Manager will be launched sometime in September. Internet Browsing is pretty fast (due to the fast processor) and the media player handles a lot of different formats.

An Impressive Base Model

The Blackberry Curve 8520 is only a base model. That is, it is not a high-end device but rather a lower level handheld created to fill a niche and take full advantage of an opportunity (the niche here being the Edge-only market). There are some problems with the Curve 8520 since it is a lower-level handheld but since expectations for base models are lower; these problems are mere annoyances but not necessarily deal-breaking limitations.

Yes, it is only a base model but what a base model it is. If this is the quality that base models have these days, then high-end devices should really step-up their game.

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    A lot of people who see the specs of the Blackberry Curve 8520 will immediately be put off by the fact that it has no 3G and it is only an Edge device.

    By: Simon Drewl Technology> Cell Phonesl Aug 27, 2009

    The Blackberry Curve 8520 is only an entry-level smartphone, which means it will not match up to the same performance level as the more beefed up smartphones that currently is flooding the market.

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