I bought my very first BlackBerry Curve a little over four years ago, and I loved it. After making a jump up to the Tour, I have written off the “cheaper” feeling of the Curves and Pearls and decided I would stick with RIM’s higher-end devices from then on. Last week I received a Verizon BlackBerry Curve 3G, and my mind has somewhat changed. I’ve been carrying a Torch for about a month now, and I love it, but it isn’t perfect. One of my gripes is the size, weight, and the sliding hinge. One thing the Curve 3G brings to the table is a lightweight, slim feeling, and it doesn’t exactly feel all that cheap.
I have never been a fan of the 8500 series, at all. They were cheap, felt cheap, and had a lot of build quality issues like loose keyboards, wobbly trackpads, etc. I’m pleased to say, RIM has stepped up their game some with the 9300 series, and they actually feel like they were made with quality in mind. I wasn’t uber excited when I got the 9330, but it’s made me reconsider how much I actually like the Torch and made me want to go back to RIM’s standard front-facing QWERTY, wafer style device.
I’ve always love the Curve style keyboards. The fret-style keyboards on the higher-end devices are great, but the letters are all smushed together. With the Curve, you have letter separation and a more “clicky” keyboard, which I’m fond of. With these keyboards, you get more feedback and I used to have a lot less typos when I was using one. Having the Curve 3G for a while made me miss my old keyboard from my 8330.
With the updated hardware, there is now ample on-board memory for applications and no need to pull your battery every couple days to free up unused memory. I didn’t really experience a whole lot of lag either while I was using the device, but that’s subject to change over time and prolonged use.
I love the build quality, size, and weight of the 9330. I was skeptical at first, seeing that the 8500 was a flop in the design sector. The 8500 and 9330 have the same body style and look almost identical, but the 9330 feels like it was made out of more dependable material. The back and sides of the 9330 are rubberized which gives you better grip on the phone and helps against bumps and drops. The dark chrome bezel gives the Curve 3G a much more luxurious look and feel, and I’m really digging the colors that they’re coming out in. It narrows the gap between the Curve and Bold series, and gives the Curve a little more professional look rather than toyish. I also love the texturized battery cover. Anyway, the Curve 3G is easily pocketed and barely noticeable in the pocket. My Torch is large and clunky. It was nice to have a barely noticeable device for a couple days to relieve me of my pocket weight.
What’s bad
As you would expect, the Curve only comes with 512MB of internal flash memory (storing pictures, videos, etc.), which is fine in combination with a memory card, but if you want to store music or videos on your 9330, you’re definitely going to need that extra storage space. My problem with this is that RIM obviously wants to direct their Curve series devices towards media players as well. They offer the multimedia buttons on the top edge of the device, but only give you 512MB of built-in storage? I know they’re trying to keep cost down on the devices, but flash memory isn’t exact the most expensive thing anymore.
I also don’t understand RIM’s mentality behind leaving the Curve 3G’s camera at 2.0MP. Even messaging phones have better cameras than your low-end BlackBerry devices, and that should be. The camera doesn’t even have a flash either. You would hope RIM would at least want to match 3.2MP considering their devices are going to require a data plan anyway (pictures taken with 3.0MP and greater will use data rather than picture messaging plans on most US carriers).
The 9330 on Verizon will ship with BlackBerry OS 5. The device is BlackBerry 6 ready, but in my personal opinion, the device should have launched with BlackBerry 6 to begin with. From my experience in wireless sales, over half of the people with a phone never hear about OS updates and remain frustrated with their device. Some may eventually get inquisitive and look it up, but it’s more likely than not that they will remain on 5.0. RIM is in a tough spot right now and can’t afford to be making decisions like this one.
The browser on the 9330 is just as horrifying as we’ve all grown accustomed to. BlackBerrys (right now) are not great tools for browsing the internet unless you’re in a bind and absolutely have to. Nothing has changed in this department on the 9330, but once BlackBerry 6 is released for it, it will sport the new, shiny WebKit browser. The new browser on BlackBerry 6 is somewhat better, but it isn’t exactly the greatest available. If you’re a first time buyer and looking for an internet browsing device, steer clear. This device can do it, but sometimes it’s more trouble than its worth.
The battery life on the 8500 series was less than desirable, and such is the same with the 9330. It isn’t horrible, but BlackBerry is known for its excellent battery life. I made it through a day with the 9330, but just barely. I have always been a heavy user, especially with being such a Twitter fiend, but I seemed to cripple the 9330′s battery pretty quickly. I didn’t have a whole lot of time with the device, and I’m not sure whether I just need to use some of my techniques to prolong the battery life, or if it really wasn’t that great in comparison to what I’ve grown used to with my Tour and 9700.
Conclusion
If RIM had bumped up the camera a notch, given it a flash, and given it BlackBerry 6 out-of-box, the 9330 would have been nearly perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the device and would definitely recommend it to someone seeking a cheap smartphone on Verizon, but if you’re looking for a great experience out of a device rather than an okay experience, I would suggest the Bold 9650 or waiting patiently on a Storm 3. There is a huge gap between the higher-end devices and entry level BlackBerrys. Of the lower-end, the 9330 is the best I’ve seen yet and I expect it will be much better once BlackBerry 6 is released for it. If you already have an 8530 and you’re looking to upgrade, I say wait. Right now you’re not going to notice really any true difference beyond look and build quality. Once BlackBerry 6 is out for it, you will be entering a new world of BlackBerrys.
If you’re just coming to BlackBerry for the first time, the 9330 may be for you. It’s affordable, looks great, and does just what BlackBerrys to best, BBM and email. If you’re interested in getting a BlackBerry Curve 3G through Verizon, you can expect to pay $29.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. For a full spec-sheet on the 9330, click here.
