BlackBerry Curve 8900 Review by PocketBerry
by The PocketBerry Team
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the second generation of its older brother 83xx. It is still currently a full QWERTY keyboard phone, holding similar dimensions as the older model. Most of the physical features come from the older one as well but still gives that warm new feeling of a whole new device. Here at PocketBerry we were able to review hands-on with the device from T-Mobile to fully better understand it with its new attributes.
The dimensions were not as shocking as it weights 3.9oz and 4.3″ x 2.4″ x 5″. We can all agree that it is pretty much the same frame as the older Curve, although this one does seem a bit thinner, and it really is in a convenient way. What did we see completely new? A completely black trackball! Forget getting your pearl ball completely dirty. At first it may seem harder to use than the native trackball as it is a little bit stiffer. But it does get looser and easier to handle overtime with usage. Just one of those things that new phones have out of the box.
The screen is 480×360, giving it a bigger display than its older brother but smaller than the 9000 Bold series. This wasn’t that big of a deal as the Bold is a lot bigger in size than the Curve 8900. More surface on the device has been covered due to the screen size which completely exemplifies that there is not much wasted space on it.
The sides of the device are comfortable in hand as they are rubber which is greatly appreciated (far more than the cheap chrome around the Bold). The rear cover seems to be a little unstable as it shakes a little bit when the device is in your hand but we aren’t that suprised after seeing the Bold’s frame squeek left and right.
This device is also equipped with the UMA service which allows you to make voice over IP calls (VoIP). The clarity with and without UMA was very crisp and we are very satisfied with the speakerphone as it has been upgraded to be louder and clearer. MyFaves is of course still on the screen, and we have seen it display on all the dummy phones and picture advertisements. The talk time is estimated to be six hours while stand by is supposedly up to nineteen days.
The actual core of applications is very similar to those from the Bold as it is equipped with the same OS version 4.6. The messaging service is of course at best given that BlackBerry has never failed us in the messaging services. Contacts are clear, visible, and very easy to navigate as well. What do we want to see in this device? Possibly a 3G connection to go well with the Wifi and GPS. Would doing so make a Bold 9000 pointless to release for T-Mobile? Maybe. But overall we are satisfied with the phone and strongly beleive it is the best T-Mobile BlackBerry available.
