BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330

The BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is the CDMA version of the popular BlackBerry Curve smartphone series. It features a somewhat attractive design (for a smartphone) and enough features to make anyone working in the corporate world think of this phone as a necessity. Unfortunately, there are a few underlying problems with this phone that really limit it from getting in the hands of the average consumer – but those working for large enterprises and, to some extent, those looking for a device with a lot of features, will be completely blown away by the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330.

The BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is a dual band CDMA phone, so it can only be used in the United States and a few other places in the world. In other words, do not expect to be able to take the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 on a trip overseas and have it keep working. On the positive side, since the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is a CDMA phone, it takes advantage of 3G data transfer speeds over the EVDO rev.0 specification.

Measuring in at approximately four inches by two and a half inches by half an inch and weighing 113 grams, the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is a large and hefty phone. This is the perfect device to throw into the briefcase instead of the pants pocket.

The battery life with the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is rather short, but not too bad. Expect to get approximately four and a half hours of talk time or 264 hours of standby time on a single charge. This won’t be winning any battery life awards, but it is long enough for a phone with so many features.

The front of the BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is graced with a large 320 by 240 pixel screen, though it only displays 65k colors. However, it does have a light sensor to adjust the brightness and contrast of the screen automatically depending on lighting conditions.

The BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330’s camera leaves something to be desired. It only packs in 2.0 megapixels, though it does have video support, 5x digital zoom, and a flash.

Multimedia features are plentiful for a corporate phone. There are plenty of video and audio formats supported, and there’s also microSD card access for even more storage space for your media files.

Other features include a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth support, a huge phonebook capacity, an alarm, a calendar, a notepad, a to-do list, a calculator, a variety of voice commands, and email support.

Pros

• Long list of features
• 3G support

Cons

• Not particularly attractive
• Decent battery life

Overall

This may be the perfect phone for BlackBerry fans and those working in corporate environments, but not for anyone else. The BlackBerry RIM Curve-8330 is not entirely attractive, and although it has a lot of features, those which average consumers care about (such as built-in media capacity and high camera resolution) are lacking. Worth a look, but definitely compare this to other devices before you buy.