It has been my dream for so long but only recently I had the opportunity to own a Blackberry. Being a loyal Windows Mobile user for over 5 years, I’m always tempted to try the push mail technology by Research In Motion (RIM), the company that owns Blackberry. Even though my existing phone comes with email feature, but I’m still not satisfied because it is not as instant as Blackberry mail. I’ve got to constantly check the mailbox by refreshing it to ensure a new mail is fetched by my phone.
Just recently, I saw this ads in a local newspaper of an offer by a Blackberry service carrier. With a monthly commitment of $73 for 1 year contract, I am eligible to purchase the Curve 8520 at only $176. The ads really catched my eyes and I thought this is a good deal for a secondary phone, so I went to the Vodafone dealer to sign-up.
Although this model is considered as an entry-level and labelled as a cheap phone by Gizmodo, it has almost the common features of a modern mobile phone. It comes with 2.0 Megapixel of camera (I don’t bother about camera actually, after all I’m not really gonna use it) along with video capabilities. It has 256Mb built-in memory but not to worry as you could expand the storage using the MicroSD card (mine comes with 2GB MicroSD).
Wireless features such as WiFi and Bluetooth also incorporated into this model like any other latest phone in the market. Other standard features such as organizer, browser and multimedia player are also included.
It’s sleek design with the rounded corner compared to it’s predecessors really attracted my eyes. It also slightly smaller compared to Blackberry wannabe, Nokia E71 although the E71 looks more solid and less plastics. It’s 320×240 pixel screen displays over 65,000 colours, giving users a satisfying experience when watching videos.
Don’t be surprised to find a future feature of Blackberry in in the middle of it’s face – The trackpad. Just move your finger on the surface and the cursor moves. I prefer this trackpad compared to the noisy trackball on Bold and other models.
Personally, I am satisfied with the Curve 8520 although it doesn’t come built-in GPS. However, the Blackberry Maps uses AGPS (Assisted GPS) which provides the estimated location by the information broadcasts by the Local Base Station (LBS) of the cellular service provider. It is considered a worth buying Blackberry for those who wish to own one as their second phone.