Mini Review BlackBerry Curve 8520

What’s this?

You know the 8520 right? Its supposed to be very multimedia friendly, slim and sexy. A mini BlackBerry on steroids if you will. And the best part is that the bottom’s dropped out of its price making entering the BB world a whole lot cheaper.

So what? Lotsa cheap cellphones around..

I bet none of them have an optical trackpad, a vibrant screen, a full QWERTY keypad, a robust email delivery system and the sense of calm that the BlackBerry OS offers. And cheap phones might not give you any distinct feeling but this one feels rock solid thanks to its rubber lining among other things. Did I mention battery life? This thing will easily do a full day on a single charge, throw what you want at it.

Will it play my music?

Its got a 3.5mm jack and a sweet music player that’ll play most audio and video formats. In fact, the screen is wide so watching movies on it is fun. Say goodbye to turning phones round and round. The audio output is clear enough to make you junk your iPod. I’ve always believed that there is an inverse relation between the number of devices you carry and happiness. In the modern world, convergence and not ignorance is bliss.

Is this phone so Zen-like?

The keypad could have had some more feel and the camera could have been better had it been accompanied with a flash. Also, overloading the phone with redundant apps in the background can send the phone into a tizzy. But every darn phone has its flaws and and for the price, everything is forgiven. We know phones that are twice as pricey but don’t pack in Wi-Fi; this one does.

Is this a good gifting idea for Valentines?

Entirely. If your partner takes email/social networks seriously, you cannot go wrong with it. No one has ever gone wrong with a BlackBerry for that matter, look where it took Obama.

[xrr rating = 4/5]

Price – 13,900 on Airtel / Vodafone with BlackBerry services starting from Rs. 299 a month

Test unit provided by Edelman PR. We tried pitching this phone against the Samsung Omnia Pro B7320 but they did not respond.

Tagged as: 8520, blackberry, curve