I have the Blackberry Curve 8330. How cool is that?
Every day computer user, computer literate, not a techie, one who wants to be up to date, computer addict
| Pros |
|
| Cons |
|
SEP
9
2008
I did a lot of research from online sites to strangers on the street before buying my Blackberry Curve 8330. We changed phone plans so the phone, which may cost you several hundreds of dollars, cost me $99.99. I did bring it back once before our 30 days were up and got a new phone. I'm not sure if I thought my phone wasn't working right, I didn't know how to work it, or I just wanted to look at other phones.
A Closer View
I will give you the features that are important to me. You can see all the specifications at www.blackberry.com. I am going to write what I like and what I don't.
Pros
- Blackberry Curve 8330 does everything but wash my dishes.
- Unlike the LG Voyager which was the other smartphone I was considering I don't have to log in with my name or password for my mail.
- It comes in pink (black and silver also). Actually the pink is very light and subtle.
- It has a full QWERTY. I learned that this means it has typewriter keys - a full board rather than looking like a telephone. The numbers are on the left side of the keyboard.
- I like the trackball perhaps because I don't use a mouse on my computer. My husband has no idea how I can use it. Best of all I can make it move faster or slower.
- Although my new car has a navigation system the Blackberry Curve has a GPS and maps.
- I use the calendar all the time and find it very easy to use.
- I love that I can voice dial without having to set anything up. I just press the key on the side and say the person's name and it dials. True today it gave me three names and it was the last one I wanted. Maybe it's my Boston accent.
- The Blackberry Curve 8330 has the capability (for a charge) to act as a modem when we are on the road. I learned that this process is called tethering.
- It has 64 MB of memory and can take a memory card.
- The screen is clear. The sound quality is excellent.
- My Curve is larger than my Motorola V360 was coming in at a little of 4 inches long by 2 ½ inches wide and ½ an inch deep and weights a little over 4 pounds but I don't find it bulky or awkward.
- It takes very good pictures.
- I can select the font I want.
- I can hear a ringtone every time I get an e-mail. I found out quickly that this feature could be shut off since I get a lot of e-mails that was a must!
- The Curve 8330 came with a holster type case which I didn't like but at least you'll have something until you get what you want if you want a case. It also comes with a wall charger.
- It's not a touchscreen smartphone.
- My daughter's Pearl has to be refreshed to get new e-mail. The Curve's e-mail comes in right away.
- My daughter has a Blackberry Pearl. She told me she thought the Blackberry Curve was not right for me and urged me to get a Palm something or other. She said it wasn't intuitive which I take it to mean I'm not smart enough to figure it out. Now there is some truth to that since on my second phone I couldn't figure out (The store did this for me for the first one.) how to put an e-mail icon on my screen. I also didn't know how to make the volume louder.She found it in 10 seconds but really it was buried under options of options. I even went online and found other people having trouble with that feature. The book it comes with is not all that helpful and the online handbook is about 250 pages.
- I'm not sure about the battery life. I'm told that it has up to 11 days of standby time and up to 260 minutes of talk time but I really think that if I'm searching the web and doing e-mail it takes more battery life than just with talk time.
- There is a set up wizard but he or she tells me what to do and that means leaving the wizard. Going from place to place isn't all that easy. The handbook says to press H to go to the home page but I can't get it to do that. I can get to the home page by hanging up the phone symbol. There are other ways but I find that the easiest.
- There are all sorts of shortcuts that you can learn about but then it means memorizing them and since I'm not intuitive I usually take the long cut.
- The keys are not as large as the LG Voyager which are real keys. But the Blackberry's keys are raised which helps.
- I've heard that some phones allow you to see the entire web page. On the Blackberry Curve you have to scroll and scroll.
- I also got a knew phone because I crashed just like my computer does more than once. I was told by the technician and the woman in back of me who has a Blackberry (I don't know the model.) that they've seen the hourglass for up to 5 minutes. The few times it did this I took out the battery. I haven't had this problem on my new phone.
After all is said and done I really like my Blackberry. By the way you can opt not to have your e-mail say "sent by my Blackberry" (or something like that) but why do that when you've spent $300 on a phone and in my case extra per month just because it's a Blackberry.
Last edited on Sep 16, 2008
Blackberry - Curve 8330 Cell Phone is recommended by Jo
 |
Search Amazon.com for Blackberry - Curve 8330 Cell Phone prices |
Comments about Jo’s Review
More reviews by Jo
Herbalife 21-Day Herbal Cleansing Program Review - "Herbalife 21-Day...
Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Review - "Clinique Quickliner for Eyes may...
GoodSense 24 ounce Soup and Salad bowls Review - "The 50 cent GoodSense...RACHEL RAY 4" Basics Paring Knife Review - "Rachael Ray's Paring...
