Cell Phone Guru

The Blackberry has long been known for its functionality and as a tool that heightens the corporate executive’s productivity.  With the Blackberry Curve 8320, Research in Motion creates what could be its most consumer-friendly device yet – a smart phone packed with entertainment features but still comes with the revolutionary messaging capabilities that the Blackberry is known for.  

The Curve veers off from the usual Blackberry design in that it sports a sleeker, more stylish look to it.  It is also the lightest and smallest among the Blackberry models.  The Curve 8320 has a full qwerty keyboard that’s easier to type on than the one found on the 8800 series plus a trackball that makes for effortless navigation.

Its entertainment features includes a 2 mega-pixel camera that comes with a flash and self-portrait mirror and 5x zoom lens.  The phone gives you three options each for picture size - 640×480, 1,024×768 and 1,600×1,200 -  and picture quality – normal, fine and superfine.  The Curve also comes with a media player that allows you to listen to MP3, WAV, AAC and MIDI files and watch MP4, AVI, 3GP and MOV video files. 

The Blackberry’s signature enterprise features are of course also present.  The Curve 8320 allows for e-mailing, instant messaging, SMS and MMS capabilities.  Another great thing about the Curve is its Wi-Fi capability.  This allows you to make unlimited calls without being charged as long as you’re within range of a hotspot.  The Wi-Fi connectivity is also fast enough to satisfy most e-mailing and surfing requirements. 

The Curve has a spell check feature for e-mails and memos, although it doesn’t check for errors on text messages.  The call features of the Curve include smart dialing, voice activated dialing, speaker phone, conference calling and speed dialing.  Audio quality for calls is excellent as the Curve comes with technology that adjusts volume in relation to ambient sounds and prevents noise and echoes from interfering with calls.  Other features are the Blackberry maps application, calendar, memo pad, a tasks list, a calculator an alarm.

The main complaints about the Blackberry Curve 8320 are that it doesn’t have GPS and 3G capability.  The operating system that it runs on is also quite dated compared to the ones found on touch screen phones.

All in all though, the Blackberry Curve 8320 is a solid choice for consumers looking to purchase a smart phone as this Blackberry model combines a balanced mix of functionality and entertainment.