RIM

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330

Ah, the joy of a BlackBerry Curve. One of our favorite smartphones ever, the Curve just works—and that goes for Alltel's model too. It's a great buy for anyone who wants a terrific phone with unparalleled messaging, excellent media features, and a bit of Web thrown into the mix. One complaint, though: Alltel could have done a little more to set its model apart from the pack.

The Alltel Curve, in sober gray, looks like a darker, handsomer version of Verizon's model. For a basic rundown of the Curve's design and features, check out PCMag's review of the Verizon or Sprint.

On Alltel's network, the Curve sounds as beautiful as ever. Reception is excellent, and volume is pretty much perfect, with no distortion even at the top level. And the speakerphone is loud and clear. Curves are among the best voice phones we've tested, and this one is no exception. This Curve also got particularly stellar battery life, with over 6 hours of talk time.

Specifications

Service Provider

Alltel

Screen Size

2.5 inches

Screen Details

320x240 65k color screen

Camera

Yes

Network

CDMA

Bands

850, 1900

High-Speed Data

1xRTT, EVDO

Processor Speed

312 MHz

Like other Curves, Alltel's has a 3.5mm headphone jack for phone or music headsets and works with mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets. Oddly, I could trigger the VoiceSignal voice dialing with our mono , but not our stereo Plantronics Pulsar 590 headset.

Alltel lets you use the Curve as a modem for your PC (but not for a Mac) on Alltel's EV-DO Rev 0 high-speed network. The carrier provides easy-to-use software that enables a one-click connection—it was a snap to set up. Speeds were slow for EV-DO, though, at around 400 kilobits per second down, but this seemed to be a problem with Alltel's network—our other smartphones ran even more slowly in modem mode.

So what does Alltel bring to the table? In terms of software, the carrier's model falls somewhere between Verizon's sparse offerings and Sprint's richer ones. You get Google Talk and Yahoo! Messenger IM clients but no AIM. The free Google Maps for Mobile uses cell-tower triangulation to get a rough location fix, but there's no bona fide GPS (unless you pay for additional software). Buried under an odd icon marked "Axcess Shop" is an information app, which gives you news headlines, weather, stocks, and traffic information.

You can also buy software for the Curve, and this is where things get interesting. Alltel's MobiTV-based streaming Axcess TV ($9.99 per month) is available, along with Garmin Mobile ($9.99 a month) for true GPS capabilities and DynoPlex MasterDoc ($49.95), which provides enhanced attachment viewing. Shape's IM+ ($49.95) adds MSN, AIM, and MySpace IM to the Curve's list. There are also plenty of games to be had, among them Guitar Hero.

RIM's forthcoming BlackBerry OS 4.5 will include support for Microsoft Office document editing through DataViz's DocumentsToGo program, and Alltel will offer a free upgrade to Curve owners. That combined with the standard Curve features, such as the great camera, including video recording; the terrific BlackBerry messaging, including both SMS and MMS; and the new PC software, which helps transfer music and videos over from Windows XP and Vista PCs to the phone, makes Alltel's Curve 8330 as much a winner as its Verizon and Sprint cousins. We think it's the best balance of smartphone functionality for Alltel subscribers.

·         Pros

Excellent voice quality. Easy to use. Terrific keyboard.

·         Cons

No AIM or GPS apps.

·         Bottom Line

Sprint's model is still the best of the Curves, but this BlackBerry will satisfy Alltel users looking to stay connected.

BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 (Verizon Wireless)

·         Pros

Now ready for BlackBerry 6. Spectacular keyboard. Smooth messaging. Reliable.

·         Cons

Screen looks really low-res nowadays. App selection still behind the competition.

·         Bottom Line

The BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 is a minor spec bump designed to make the popular Curve ready for the new OS 6

 The new BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 is almost exactly the same as the previous Curve 8530, with one critical change: a new 512MB RAM chip that makes the device ready for a BlackBerry 6 upgrade. The new BlackBerry 6 OS brings a much better Web browser, better media features, and potentially better third-party apps to the BlackBerry line. To see how it runs on another non-touch-screen BlackBerry, check out our review of Sprint's Black berry 9670 ($99.99, 3.5 stars)

The upgrade isn't ready yet, but various BlackBerry forums have shown leaked versions of the code, so we're confident it will come pretty soon. For now, though, the 9330 looks and behaves almost exactly like its predecessor (although the new model comes in a striking fuschia color.)

As this is such a minor change from the previous model, we're not fully reviewing or rating this product. Instead, please check out our review of the Blackberry 8530  (free, 3.5 stars). Even though the 8530 is currently free with contract, we'd strongly recommend paying the $50 more for the new model so that you don't get left behind as the BlackBerry world moves to the new OS.

Comparing the Curves 9330 and 8530

BlackBerry Curve fans got good news earlier this year when they learned that RIM would release a 3G version of the device. The Curve has always been a second-tier device in terms of power and display, and on GSM it had the further handicap of an EDGE radio. From the Bold on up, GSM BlackBerry devices have had a 3G radio. That didn’t change when RIM introduced the Curve 8520 last summer. About a year later we finally got the 3G GSM Curve, the 9300. But we also heard rumors of a 9330 for CDMA carriers. Since then I’ve wondered what it would bring to the table. CDMA BlackBerry devices, of course, are all 3G, so that doesn’t bring much of a change. I’ve asked for input, but have yet to hear from anyone. So today I’ll take a look at the differences between the 8530 and the 9330.

Blackberry Bold 9700 – Review

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is like a classically-tailored suit: elegant, predictable, practical, and easy to slip into, but not visibly innovative. It advances the state of the art without making unsettling changes. In some ways, this is good; the Bold is fast, clean, and a great messaging and media phone. But BlackBerry’s slow Web browser, lack of consumer-level Exchange support, and aging interface are starting to look weak next to the competition.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 looks like the original Bold mated with a BlackBerry Tour 9630 and produced something slimmer and smaller, with a more compressed keyboard than the original Bold and a more compact 2.4-inch, 360-by-480 screen. At 4.3 by 2.4 by .5 inches (HWD) and 4.3 ounces, it’s very pocketable and compares well to the BlackBerry Curve. The only real design misstep is that the microSD card slot requires you to remove the battery to replace the card.

The most shocking change from previous high-end BlackBerry models is that the trackball has been replaced by an “optical mouse” that’s basically a tiny touch pad. Trackballs are fun to use, but they’ve had horrible reliability problems; I know people who have had to replace their trackballs six or seven times. The new touchpad is much twitchier than the trackball, and it will take some getting used to. I kept overshooting my marks. But I’m confident that it will work fine with a little bit of practice.

The Bold is a pretty solid voice phone on the regular cellular network. The 9700 uses global GSM 2G and UMTS 3G networks. RIM lets you boost the bass or treble on your calls, and I found the bass boost created a very pleasantly rounded sound. The speakerphone was nice and loud. Transmissions from the phone sounded crystal-clear, with a bit of background noise but not enough to occlude voices. I couldn’t complete our full battery test in time for this review, but the Bold easily has more than five hours of 3G talk time. Like most BlackBerrys, I expect it will go at least two days on a charge.

The Bold runs BlackBerry OS 5.0, which isn’t as impressive as its brand-new version number implies. The most notable changes dramatically improve Javascript performance in the still-sluggish browser. While I didn’t see much difference in Wi-Fi page load times between the Bold 9700 and Bold 9000 with JavaScript turned off, with JavaScript turned on, the Bold 9700 was up to 30 percent faster. The Bold’s 624 MHz processor, coupled with OS 5.0, makes this the fastest BlackBerry yet in our Java benchmarks, meaning apps will run well on this phone.

The Bold’s 3.2-megapixel camera is one of the best of its kind, and a noted improvement over the Bold 9000’s 2-megapixel shooter. The new model takes sharp pictures, even though they’re a touch overexposed in bright areas. The video mode records smooth, but somewhat compressed-looking 480-by-352 videos at 30 frames per second. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 isn’t as radical or innovative – but it does offer you better voice quality, the ability to use voice and data simultaneously, and faster web browsing. The Bold 9700 mostly holds up and for its excellent performance, we consider it a good choice for Etisalat’s users.

The advantage of upgrading your BlackBerry

While our main goal here is to help you best use your current BlackBerry device, we also love to see new devices in use. RIM has satiated us to that end, releasing a handful of models each year. That creates a conundrum for users, though. Do you want to buy the current model, knowing that RIM will release an upgrade in a year?. That’s because the question is of a personal nature. No one guideline can inform your decision of whether to upgrade now or wait for the next model. We can lay things out, though, and perhaps make the decision a bit easier. Today we’ll do just that, looking at the latest releases.

Pearl 9100

We’re not far from the release of the BlackBerry Pearl 9100, RIM’s first Pearl model in quite a while. The device upgrades in all the right ways. While you could get either WiFi or GPS on the original Pearl line, the new version provides both. It’s also the first 3G GSM Pearl, so that’s another major upgrade from the previous incarnations.

Reasons to upgrade:

·         Better display. The 9100 features a 360×400 pixel screen, while the old generation was at 240×260.

·         3G connection, compared to EDGE for old devices (EVDO, though, for the 8130).

·         Better operating system. The older generation Pearls top out at OS 4.5. The 9100 will start with 5.0, and will almost certainly get a 6.0 upgrade.

·         Faster processor. The 9100 has a 624 MHz processor, while the older generation runs about about half that clock speed.

·         Tons more internal memory, 256MB. Because of the better OS it can also support larger SD cards.

·         WiFi and GPS, as opposed to WiFi or GPS, was were the options with the 8110, 8120, and 8130.

·         Trackpad over the trackball. Fewer moving parts means the pad should last longer.

·         Better camera. It won’t take professional quality photos, but you’ll surely get better snapshots from the 9100′s 3.2 megapixel camera than the original Pearl’s 2 megapixel one. It improves the resolution to 2048×1536, as opposed to 1600×1200 on the original.

With all of these upgrades, and with such a gap between releases, it seems like a no-brainer to get the 9100 if you 1) like the original and 2) are eligible for the subsidy. The 9100 is superior in just about every way, which is exactly what a new model should be.

BlackBerry Bold 9650

For a while, RIM appeared to be a bit slower than once a year with its major CDMA devices. The 8830 World Edition hit shelves in 2007, but we didn’t see the next upgrade, the Tour, until mid-2009. This was good news for 8830 users, who wouldn’t have to wait long, if at all, to upgrade. But by the time the Tour hit Verizon and Sprint, RIM already had an upgrade in the works. Rumor was we’d see the 9650 as soon as February 2010, a mere seven months after the original. That got pushed back, though. Sprint was the first to release the 9650, just about 10 months after the original Tour.

This presents a few problems that the Pearl didn’t face. For instance, much between the Tour and Bold 9650 didn’t change. It got a few upgrades, but it’s not such an overwhelming case that hardcore users must upgrade. Mostly, it’s an annoyance to Tour owners who aren’t eligible for an upgrade (apparently both Verizon and Sprint have programs whereby you can upgrade every year), because it presents a tough case. To spend the extra money or to stick with a slightly inferior device?

Reasons to upgrade:

·         Inclusion of WiFi. It has become standard fare on most modern smartphones, and the CDMA carriers have just started adding it to their devices. The Tour lacked it, but the Bold 9650 has it.

·         Trackpad over trackball. The Tour was unique in that you couldn’t remove the trackball in order to clean it. You can use paper strips to clean your Tour trackball, but even that won’t help if the trackball malfunctions mechanically. The trackpad is the superior option.

·         Slightly faster processor. The 9630 clocked at 528 MHz, while the 9650 is at 624 MHz. That’s not quite as fast as the GSM Bolds, but still faster than the Tour.

·         Double the internal memory. The Tour has 256MB, while the 9650 has 512MB.

Yet many of the features have stayed the same, including:

·         Operating system. The Tour has a 5.0 upgrade available, while the 9650 figures to ship with that OS installed. Both will almost certainly be eligible for OS 6.0.

·         Same camera, 3.2 MP.

·         Same 480×320 pixel display.

·         Similar battery consumption.

There are certainly some substantial upgrades, ones that will benefit many BlackBerry users. But is it enough to warrant an early upgrade?

Is it worth it?

Again, this is not for me to answer. Each BlackBerry user has his or her set of needs, and a new device might better satisfy them than an old one, even the old one was released less than a year ago. Other users might be completely content with an older model. That allows them to wait for the right model, at which point they can use the carrier subsidy to make it a bit cheaper. We’ll keep running these comparisons as new models come out. Hopefully it helps make the decision a bit easier.