BlackBerry Curve 8300

BlackBerry 8300 Curve is the smallest, lightest BlackBerry phone that includes a full QWERTY keyboard. Adding a fashionable touch to Research in Motion’s formidable arsenal of telephonic, PIM, and media tools. This amalgam of the svelte BlackBerry Pearl and the more business-oriented 8800 combines RIM’s long-valued corporate email and messaging platform with a host of advanced multimedia features, including a 2-megapixel camera and stereo Bluetooth (for listening to music via wireless headphones). Available in the U.S. exclusively from AT&T, it communicates over GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks and offers global voice and data roaming in over 130 countries.

Key features at a glance:

• Automatic delivery of enterprise or personal email
• Easy-to-use intuitive trackball navigation; integrated spell checker with user-customizable dictionary
• Full PIM organization capabilities, including calendar, tasks, address book, and memo pad
• Connect to instant messaging networks using a variety of applications
• Speakerphone, conference calling, and voice dialing
• Noise-cancellation technology to offset background noise
• 2.5-inch TFT display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution
• 2.0 Megapixel camera with flash and 5x digital zoom
• Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo headset support; USB 2.0 connectivity
• Micro SD memory card slot

BlackBerry Curve 8300 Price

mobiletechreview.comIn terms of basic specs, the Curve is quite similar to the 8800. It has the same Intel XScale 312MHz processor, a QVGA color display, microSD card slot, Bluetooth and RIM's new trackball which replaces the jog wheel on old school BlackBerries. Wondering which BlackBerry to choose: the Curve or 8800? The Curve is aimed at small business owners, anyone who needs to stay connected to email and can take a camera phone to work. It's less expensive than the 8800, is a tad thicker and lacks the GPS. The 8800 is for corporate users who can't have a camera phone at work, need a full GPS and perhaps want the utmost in smartphone style. The 8800 has 300 mAh more battery capacity (a good idea given the GPS) and it weighs 0.8 ounces more than the Curve. While both have capable music players that can pump out good sounding music through the included stereo earbud headset, only the Curve has A2DP Bluetooth stereo for wireless music-listening.

pcmag.comThe first two new-generation BlackBerrys, the Pearl and the 8800, targeted very different audiences. With its cute look, camera, and a keyboard descended from text-messaging devices, the Pearl was shooting for a younger crowd who may never even have considered buying a smartphone. The 8800, meanwhile, served as the latest all-business BlackBerry for 2007, with a big screen, traditional keyboard, and no camera.

itreviews.co.ukAdd in a camera that shoots stills at up to 2.0 megapixels and a microSD card slot for expanding the built-in memory and the Curve is a more consumer-focussed device than ever before. With all the other stuff on board, from Web browsing to instant messaging and the aforementioned contact and calendar management, it is something of an all-rounder.

pcworld.comIt's a world phone, with support for all four GSM frequencies (800, 850, 1800, and 1900 MHz). If only it supported broadband, too... But alas, the Curve's data transfer rates top out at 2.5-G EDGE speeds; lack of Wi-Fi or HSDPA support are among the device's few weaknesses. Pricing information is not yet available: AT&T, the largest GSM carrier in the United States, says only that it will offer the Curve to customers later this spring.

BlackBerry Curve 8300 User Guides