The BlackBerry Curve (8320) is the first smartphone that supports the HotSpot @Home UMA network on T-Mobile. The device is light, powerful, durable, and may just have me purchasing my first BlackBerry device.
You can add a HotSpot @Home router for free, after US$50 rebate.
The BlackBerry curve comes in a compact box with HotSpot @Home promotional ads.
You will find a BlackBerry User Tools CD (I found PocketMac on it), Get Started Poster, Tips & Tricks Card, and Reference Guide.
The T-Mobile Dash, T-Mobile BB Curve, and Palm Centro all have thumb keyboards and offer some of the BEST in their respective operating systems.
The Curve fits very well in my hand and is much lighter (3.9 ounces) that I thought it would be.
There is a rather large battery (capacity not published) that keeps the device going and going for days.
You will find both of these slots under the battery with secure holders to keep them in place.
The keyboard is very nice and I am able to enter data quickly. I do wish the keys were a bit less slick and were constructed of a more rubber-like material rather than hard plastic.
I really like having a left and right shift key on the Curve, which most QWERTY thumb keyboards do not have.
Send, end, menu, and escape keys surround the now popular trackball. I have gotten quite used to the trackball and find it to be a great navigation controller.
The volume controls are located towards the top with the right convenience key (set to the camera by default) about midway down the right side.
There is a 2 megapixel camera and flash. I found the flash to work better than almost every other cameraphone flash I have tried with it almost on par with the amazing Nokia N95.
It was very nice to see these standard ports on the curve (3.5mm headset jack and miniUSB for charging/syncing). There is also a left side convenience key (set to launch voice dialing by default).
A mute key is the only hardware button along the top. There are two small openings for the speaker as well.
The Curve supports the T-Mobile MyFaves functionality as well as the @Home service.
You can connect to your home router (@Home or other) and T-Mobile HotSpots for free calling. Access points with web logins are not supported.
The right corner status/icons change to UMA when connected to a compatible WiFi access point. It switches to EDGE/GPRS when using standard T-Mobile service.
There are lots of applications provided out-of-the-box and since it is a BlackBerry there are lots of 3rd party apps available for you to install as well.
As wonderful as the device is, some aspects still look quite basic and outdated. Email functionality is great and I just wish it had a better looking UI.
The Calendar is a bit basic compared to Windows Mobile and Palm devices. I understand there are 3rd party clients for this too.
I am now using IM regularly from my mobile phone due to the inclusion of all these native apps and the easy keyboard text entry.
You can watch video, view photos, and manage your ringtones with the Media application. The display is great for video content and the 3.5mm headset jack and A2DP don’t limit your listening device selection.
I am going to test more video content and battery life, but the Curve may be perfect for watching video content on an airplane with the long battery life.
The camera application allows you to select from 3 image sizes , manage white balance, and change color effects (normal, black and white, or sepia).
There is a mapping client included with the Curve and you can connect with a Bluetooth GPS for navigation.
Google Maps runs well on the Curve and lets you connect with a Bluetooth GPS while also providing traffic status.
I loaded up Google Maps, Gmail, Mobipocket, WorldMate, Opera Mini, and more to try out on the Curve.
I shot this quick shot of the mess under my desk with very little light. As you can see the flash did an excellent job and the picture looks good.
I shot this photo in a completely black room of a painting my daughter created. Great job with the flash RIM.
The colors appeared quite clear in this photo taken with the flash activated.
Image gallery 1
Image gallery 2
