The BlackBerry 8300 is a quad band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM phone that works anywhere in the world GSM service is available. The SIM card slot is under the battery, and so unfortunately is the microSD card slot, so you'll have to power down the phone to insert or remove a memory card (the 8800's card is not under the battery). The camera lens, LED flash and self portrait mirror are on the back and the battery lives under a door on the back. This means you can use your favorite wired headphones with the Curve, but not your old BlackBerry headset (unless you find an adapter). Unlike most phones, the Curve has the 3.5mm stereo headset jack more commonly used on consumer electronics (phones use 2.5mm). The mini USB sync port and 3.5mm headset jack are on the left side. The right convenience key launches the camera and the left one is user-assignable. Up top you'll find the slightly recessed mute key (press and hold it to put the Berry into standby which is basically keyguard), and on the right side volume up and down keys with a depressed ridge so you can feel which is which. In general, the BlackBerry offers the most expedient UI among smartphones and has all sorts of little features than reduce key strokes, clicks and steps to accomplish common phone and email tasks. As always, you get two shift keys, shift lock, num lock and user-friendly adaptations such as the space bar enters a period when typing a URL and the phone will enter numbers rather than letters when it determines you're in a number-only field. Keys are the standard BlackBerry affair with the shift, ALT and symbols where they always are. Thankfully RIM has returned to white backlighting from the 8830's hard-to-see blue, though the entire key lights up dimly rather than our preferred brightly lit letters as on the 8800. Though the keyboard is a bit narrower than the 8800's, the keys are large, well-spaced and domed- and thus require little if any adjustment if you've been using prior generation BlackBerry phones. The full 35 key QWERTY thumb keyboard is very easy to use, in the RIM tradition. But should you prefer the usual BlackBerry on the hip experience, you'll have to buy a case or holster separately since AT&T does not include one. 0.55 inches), it's still quite thin for a PDA phone or smartphone and it's pocket-friendly. The Curve feels great in the hand, more so than the wider and sharp-angled BlackBerry 88 (the 8830 is the CDMA version of the 8800). The BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry Curve 8300 and the Samsung BlackJack. 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. The 8800 has 300 mAh more battery capacity (a good idea given the GPS) and it weighs 0.8 ounces more than the Curve. 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. It's less expensive than the 8800, is a tad thicker and lacks the GPS. 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 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. In terms of basic specs, the Curve is quite similar to the 8800. It's currently offered only by AT&T in the US who released it at the beginning of June 2007, and they have a 90 day exclusive. The Curve is a quad band GSM phone with EDGE for data and full BlackBerry service capabilities on BES and BIS. But it's small enough that you might just be able to leave that holster at home and tuck it in a pocket. The literally curvy plastic casing and chunkier keys mean the Curve is easy to hold and type on. Veteran BlackBerry users who found the 8800 too angular and the keys too flat should love the Curve, which manages to capture the essence of old time models while still looking good. But wait: it's still fantastically thin, compact, cool-looking and it does all sorts of nice multimedia things. Enter the most recent model, the BlackBerry Curve 8300, which takes a nod at the more plasticy look and rounded keys of the BlackBerry of old. Remember when BlackBerry was a hunky piece of nerdy plastic with no multimedia features? In less than a year, those days have been whisked away so completely by the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry 8830 that owning a BlackBerry is now hip. The current version is the 8310 which adds GPS. Home -> BlackBerry Phone Reviews -> BlackBerry 8300 "Curve" BlackBerry Curve 8300Īlso check out our review of the BlackBerry Curve 8320 for T-Mobile with WiFi
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