The pretty old now BlackBerry Curve 8520, launched 3 years ago, in 2009, represents another kind of approach from the RIM company, with that near perfect Bold on the market stealing all the glory. The Curve is the budget option from BlackBerry and this is good news, I always felt like the RIM products are somehow overpriced for what they offer.
The shocking feature of the Curve 8520 are the music keys, this is like honey for the younger audience, who generally is not attracted by the BlackBerry portfolio.
Key features
• 2.46" 65K-color TFT landscape display of QVGA resolution
• Comfortable four-row full QWERTY keyboard
• Quad-band GSM support, Wi-Fi connectivity
• 2 megapixel camera with fixed focus
• 512MHz CPU
• BlackBerry OS v4.6 with responsive track pad navigation
• Hot-swappable micro SD card slot (up to 16GB)
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Decent audio quality
• Nice web browser
• Office document editor
• Smart dialing
• Dedicated music keys
• DivX and XviD video support
Full specs here. http://www.mobilephonedeals.com
It is obvious that BlackBerry made some cuts on the hardware to keep the price down, anyway, if you want a high end device, there’s plenty to choose from. Let’s start the review.
The unpacking of the Curve 8520 is nothing special, the retail box is ordinary and it contains a micro USB data cable, a 1 GB micro SD card, a headset and a charger, nothing out of the ordinary, the accessories are actually pretty decent for a budget device.
The phone measures 109 x 60 x 13.9 mm and weighs 106 grams. It has a full plastic body, the assembly quality is ok, the back panel has a metallic appearance, the display is a 65K-color QVGA unit with a 2.46" diagonal, pretty mainstream stuff, with decent contrast and brightness. The sunlight legibility is ok, nothing out of the ordinary for such a device.
The full QWERTY keyboard is all plastic, the feedback is good and using it just as good as its predecessors, with a four row keypad and the numpad on the left.
Underneath the display sits the optical track pad and around it are the menu and back keys plus the two call management buttons. On the left side of the device we find the 3.5 mm audio jack and the micro USB port, along with a convenience key. On the right side there’s another one, also the volume rocker. On the top, you can find the dedicated music keys, a novelty in BlackBerry devices, they are pretty large in size and hard to press.
On the back of the phone lies the 2 Megapixels camera lens, removing the plastic back cover reveals the 1150 mAh Li-Ion battery and the micro SD card slot. The battery life is impressive, it can last for up to 5-6 days with moderate use.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 runs on OS v4.6 which offers a decent performance, the track pad works like a charm, the RIM fans will not be disappointed, the OS runs smooth enough for a mid range device.
The phonebooks is pretty well organized but it looks somehow creepy, anyway, it gets the job done, it has unlimited capacity but reminded me of an ancient version of Windows.
Telephony is top notch, with smart dial which works very well with the QWERTY keyboard, the signal reception is good and the in call sound quality is decent, with no major issues whatsoever.
The messaging department is taken care of in good RIM tradition, everything from SMS, MMS and email is handled with the BB instant messenger preinstalled, emailing is the best in the business with a BlackBerry Internet Service plan.
The music player is pretty good, remember those dedicated music keys on top of the phone, it looks conservative and has some nice features like sorting the music library automatically by artist, album and genre and you can search your tracks by gradual typing. You can also create your own playlists and minimize the player in the background or adjust the sound with the equalizer presets.
In terms of audio output quality, the Curve 8520 is above average, not the best in class but pretty close to it.
The video player comes with DivX and XviD support, it can also play MPEG-4 and WMV, it features a minimalistic yet efficient interface and watching movies is a pleasant experience.
Camera doesn’t shine, being a 2 MP fixed focus device, you can’t expect miracles, the video recording is in QVGA and the videos are recorded in 3gp format.
Connectivity is not impressive for a RIM product, you don’t get 3g support but at least you have Wi-Fi
The web browser shines, the phone provides a very nice internet surfing experience, pages load fast and you benefit from the great QWERTY keyboard, the track pad makes moving about the page effortless, the speed and ergonomics of the browser are top notch.
The organizer is fully loaded and functional, it gets the job done in style, it comes with Mobile Office preinstalled and you are able to open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. You also get 5 games preinstalled, like Texas Hold’em King 2 and Sudoku.
For final words, I can say that BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a good budget option, it has the essentials a business phone needs, an affordable QWERTY messenger with music keys, it’s simple and functional with a good price tag.
For a good deal, please visit our website. http://www.mobilephonedeals.com
No comments:
Post a Comment