How Good Is The Blackberry curve 8300

The Good:

1. Technology: The Blackberry curve 8300 works with global GSM frequencies , a convenient feature for overseas travelers. (Note that additional roaming charges from your home carrier generally apply) (score: 7/7)
2. Talk Time: 240 minutes of talking time. It is good enough! (score: 16/20)
3. Stand-by Time: A stand-by time of 408 hours. It is very good! (score: 20/20)
4. Phone Book: It can store up to 8300 phone book entries, which is quite good! (score: 20/20)
5. Memory Expansion Slot: It includes a memory expansion slot MicroSD, a useful way to store more pictures and music or transfer them from and to your laptop computer. (score: 10/10)
6. Speakerphone: It has a speakerphone, which will prove useful in a car or in other situations. (score: 10/10)
7. Full Keyboard: It has a built-in small keyboard. Useful not only when typing text but also when browsing the Internet and adding new phone book contacts. (score: 7/7)
8. Wireless Data System: Bluetooth-enabled, which is an interesting plus. Bluetooth is not really necessary but may be handy if you want to use a wireless headset or transfer data to or from your (Bluetooth-enabled) laptop, for instance. (score: 7/7)
9. Stereo Bluetooth: It supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP). Perfect for music listeners, or even just to be more completely immersed in a conversation. (score: 5/5)

The Average:

1. Weight: A weight of 3.9 ounces is very average. (score: 8/20)

The Not-So-Good:

1. Camera: The (unknown) built-in camera is basic. Useful, but you won't make artwork with it. (score: 3/10)

BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Review

When the Blackberry Pearl 8100 was launched more than two years ago, this smartphone was a revelation. The Pearl 8100 was the first BlackBerry phone to feature a camera, an audio player, and a video player, This made the the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 the first BlackBerry designed for everyday users, not just hardcore business types.

Today, the BlackBerry Pearl 8100has lost some of its novelty, thanks to the availability of devices like the Blackberry Bold and the Blackberry Curve--both of which pack in plenty of multimedia features. But the Pearl 8100 remains one of BlackBerry's most popular phones.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is available from T-Mobile for $50, after a $50 mail-in rebate, and when signing a new two year contract. That's quite a bargain.

(Note: Similar phones in the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series are available from other carriers: The 8110, the 8120, and the 8130 are available from from Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and AT&T respectively. These models all offer slightly different features than the 8100.)

Design

PROS: Available in red and black, the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is a slim, attractive phone. It was the first BlackBerry phone to omit the thumbwheel on the side of the phone in favor of a glowing navigation ball--the Pearl--that sits below the screen. Navigating the phone with the Pearl is quite easy.

CONS: Like the Pearl Flip, the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 uses a slightly modified QWERTY keyboard, which fits two letters on most keys to save space. The Pearl uses RIM's SureType predictive-text software to guess what you're typing. As I've noted in other reviews, some people love this system, but I'm not one of them. No matter how many times I use it, I still find that it dramatically slows down my typing.

Making Calls

PROS: The Pearl is slim and light, making it comfortable to hold during calls.

CONS: Voice quality was mixed; some calls sounded very good, while other times, I noticed muffled voices.

Browsing the Web

CONS: Web browsing is not one of the BlackBerry Pearl 8100's greatest strengths. The 2.25-inch screen looks nice, but feels small when compared to the roomier screens you often find on today's smartphones. The phone also lacks support for 3G data networks or Wi-Fi wireless networks (a feature that was added in the newer Pearl 8120), so browsing the Web can be slow. The Pearl 8100 also runs an older version of the BlackBerry browser, which can make some Web pages harder to view.

Messaging

PROS: Despite its lack of high-speed data access, the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 remains an excellent messaging phone. It will let you access up to 10 e-mail accounts--both business and personal. It also includes access to popular instant messaging clients, like AOL's AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger.

Software

CONS: Unlike the newer BlackBerry phones (like the Bold or Pearl Flip), the Pearl 8100 does not include any productivity software. That means you'll have to supply your own software if you'd like to use your phone to view or edit Office documents.

Multimedia

PROS: The Pearl 8100 was the first BlackBerry phone to add a camera, a music player, and a video player, and it remains a decent multimedia device. You can transfer your AAC, MP3, and WAV files to the phone using an included USB cord.

CONS: The BlackBerry Pearl 8100's camera is a measly 1.3 megapixels, and both the video and audio players are somewhat limited. You don't have access to a music store for downloading songs directly to the phone, and you'll have to supply your own microSD card if you want to boost the phone's storage.

The Pearl 8100 lacks the wow factor of some of today's newer BlackBerry phones. But there's a reason this phone remains available--and popular--more than two years after its debut. It's a good-looking multimedia phone with excellent e-mail features. And at $50, it's quite a bargain.

BlackBerry Curve 8330

You don't need to shell out big bucks for the latest, greatest smartphone to get a great feature set. Case in point: The BlackBerry Curve 8330. This excellent phone includes plenty of features for both work and play. And you can get it from Sprint for $100 (after a mail-in rebate) when you sign a new service contract.

Design

PROS: The 8330 features the same design as past Curves: It is petite, with a slightly rounded design, and sports a Pearl-like trackball directly below the 2.5-inch screen for navigation. The QWERTY keyboard is small, but I found it sufficient for thumb typing. The case of the 8330 is titanium, a slight change from the lighter gray of the original Curve.

CONS: The 8330 features a nice-looking screen, but it pales in comparison to the stunning screen found on the newer Blackberry Bold. Graphics are not as crisp or clear.

Making Calls

PROS: Voice quality is very good; I had no problems hearing my callers and they said the same thing about me. The 8330 is light (it weighs 4.2 ounces) and comfortable to hold during conversations, despite its slightly blocky shape.

Browsing the Web

PROS: The 8330 supports the 3G EvDO network, which helps improve video performance, and made surfing the Web noticeably speedy.

CONS: Some sites can be difficult to view on the 8330's browser, which is an older version of the BlackBerry browser.

Messaging

PROS: Like all BlackBerrys, the 8330 excels at messaging. It supports up to 10 personal or business e-mail accounts; adding one is a snap. The 8330 also adds supports for consumer instant messaging clients, like AOL's AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger.

Software

PROS: The 8330 supports the Sprint Navigation service, which provides turn-by-turn directions.

CONS: Unlike some of the newer BlackBerry phones (such as the Bold or the Storm), the 8330 does not come with a productivity suite. If you'd like to edit Office documents, you'll need to go out and get your own software application.

Multimedia

PROS: The 8330 supports Sprint's TV service, which offers a mix of live channels (showing the same content you'd see on your TV) and content that has been specially packaged for viewing on your mobile phone. Sprint says it service offers access to more than 70 channels. Other features include a 2.0 megapixel camera that can capture still photos and video clips, and a music and video player.

CONS: When watching Sprint TV, I found the video quality was mixed, whether I was watching live TV or pre-packaged mobile content. I had to wait while files buffered, and the picture often looked blocky and sometimes broke up completely. Performance is largely related to network strength, though.

Blackberry Storm or Blackberry Bold - Which One Is Better?

Blackberry has created two great phones that have similar features. They include camera, built in GPS, Media Player, Video recording, maps, wireless e-mail, organizer, browser, corporate data access, phone, sms/mms. Although, they are different in physical appearance they have many of the same features and functions. Consumers will have to really dig when comparing and contrasting them before making a final decision.

For a more in dept look of the two cell phones, I am going to compare and contrast their most popular features starting with the Storm and then the Bold. The display windows of both has transmissive TFT LCD, Font size (user selectable), light sensing screen; supports over 65,000 colors. One however, has a 3.25 inch screen size with a high resolution of 480 x 360 pixel color display and the other has a 2.6 inch screen size with half VGA resolution of 480 x 320 pixel color display.

Next the camera on the first one comes with 3.2mp, auto flash, auto focus and 2x digital zoom. The second one only has 2.0mp with flash but is equipped with 3x digital zoom. Both may require a microSD card to enable the video recording feature depending on the amount of memory available.

The battery life has a slight difference. Stand by time is 15 days and the talk time is 6 hours vs. a stand by time of 13.5 days and talk time of 4.5 hours. Both have a removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell battery.

You will not get lost with either phone because they both offer a built in GPS system and maps. These features allow you to plan and view your trip right on the screen, save a list of favorite places you like to visit and step by step driving directions to any location of your choice.

They both have built in 3.5mm stereo with headset compatibility, integrated earpiece/microphone, speaker phone and Bluetooth ready. However, one has a touch screen keyboard (allows you to type by touch) vs. a QWERTY keyboard (allows you to type on a regular keyboard) on the other. The built in microphone is a great asset to both phones because it allows users to send voice e-mails. This comes in handy when you are in a hurry, donÕt feel up to typing or want to give a message in person but are unable to.

They both have media player which allows you to watch video or audio formatted programs, allow you to edit your Microsoft word or PowerPoint slides (copy and past, adjust font and other formatting) and doubles as an iPod allowing users to create their own playist list for easy listening.

The Blackberry Storm and the Blackberry Bold are very similar with few differences. Overall the Blackberry Storm offers a little more. It offers better picture resolution, more digital camera MPS, a longer battery life and more built in memory. However, if you donÕt like touch screens and prefer the usual keyboard style, the Blackberry Bold offers it. There are such minute differences between the two; one would have to begin to look at styles, colors, prices and services to help them make a choice.
by Caroline Telford

The RIM BlackBerry Bold Vs Apple’s iPhone 3G Battle Of The Smart Phones.

The consumers and companies win with the BlackBerry Bold can sync with a companys BlackBerry Enterprise server and it also supports Microsoft Exchange's push email server. You can also configure the Bold to work with POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail accounts as well. RIM has remained loyal to it’s core customers government and enterprise while dipping it’s toes in the consumer pools. Over the past year the BlackBerry Curve has replaced the BlackBerry 8700 as the BDOC. Meanwhile Apple has only recently made plans to venture into the enterprise market which is where they are hoping to make their next fortune.

Many people consider this smartphone to be the BlackBerry device that is designed to take on Apple’s iPhone 3G in the enterprise environment and even dip into the high tech consumer market as well. Powered by a 624 MHz mobile processor and support for tri band HSDPA and enterprise grade Wi-Fi networks the Bold makes short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering webpages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on board storage memory as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that is conveniently accessible from a side door.

If the battery is running too low, the Bold won't shut down but will disconnect the radio, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antennas, the other features of the phone remaining accessible. However if the phone is put to charge the radio antenna will not be switched on immediately but rather after 10-15 minutes of charge. Battery life was thought to be an issue on the Bold by many but it lasted three days before I decided to juice it up. There is no option to switch from 3G to Edge which I think is a travesty because every other 3G smartphone on the market has the ability to do so.

After few weeks of testing BlackBerry Bold and beside a few minor problems we only have adjectives of approval for it. The Blackberry Bold is RIM's next generation full size Blackberry that will have the latest cutting edge technology built in including a new larger keypad, 802.11 WiFi, 3G HSDPA wireless, Bluetooth, as well as a GPS chip for location based maps and services. Microsoft and Apple promote the lack of third party involvement as a security advantage but I'm not convinced that's how it will appear to the companies that have learned to trust and rely on the BlackBerry.
by Christoper West