Otaku Gadgets

The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the model that comes after the Curve 8900. It is a lot like the 8900 with some of the features missing. Physically the design of the Curve 8520 looks a lot like the Curve 8900 but the former has enough new features that set it apart.

The Curve 8520 being a lower-end model makes for a perfect starter for someone who is just entering the smartphone category and does not need all the bells and whistles that usually come with higher-end models. But that does not mean that this phone is limited. You can still do all the major things you want to do with your smartphone and connect your company’s BlackBerry Enterprise servers. Sounds like a solution you have been waiting for? Read on.

The Curve 8520 and 8900 actually measure the same (4.3-inches by 2.3-inches by 0.5-inches) but the 8520 is a tad bit lighter. The Black 8520 model has a soft touch finish that keeps the phone from having too plastic a feel.

The 8520 does not have a same rich display as the 8900. In its place the 8520 has a TFT display that is capable of displaying only 65,000 colors and a mere 320×240 pixels. So it is understandable that the 8520 doesn’t have the same clarity and sharpness as the 8900 but the display is still quite usable. The backlight timing and brightness level can all be adjusted from the settings area on the phone.

Next comes the optical touchpad, which is something that the 8900 does not have. It is placed between the talk and end keys and the menu and back keys. The touchpad replaces the old familiar trackball that was introduced by RIM in the BlackBerry Pearl. The trackball is something that is intuitively familiar to long term BlackBerry users but the time has come for a change.

According to reviewers, the optical keypad does not feel all that different except for the fact that the touchpad is a flat surface over the trackball’s curvature. The touchpad has been tested as very responsive. The responsiveness can actually be tweaked and set from the settings area of the phone. The touchpad can also be clicked in order to select an item on the screen.

On the top of the smartphone are dedicated media keys. There are buttons for navigating through files and for play/pause. The play/pause button also acts as mute while on calls. The buttons work for both audio and video files but you cannot use the media navigation keys while browsing through photos. Another major up in the multimedia department is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone port that is located on the left side of the device.

The left side also has the Micro-USB port and a user-assignable key.  The right side has another user-assignable key and the volume rocker. These buttons are not your usual buttons as in they do not stick out of the body as is usual. Instead they sort of rise out of the body and are smoothly integrated to look like something has crept underneath the skin of the phone. Just take a look at the pictures.

The camera is on the back and so is the micro-SD cad slot. The card slot is located behind the battery, which is a problem because each time you want to change your card you have to lose all the settings on your phone. Not a very appealing thought.

The full QWERTY keyboard on the 8520 is more or less the same as the one on the 8900. The only real difference being that the keys are more closely set on the 8520. Testers have reported however that the difference is not much of a hindrance and they were able to get up to decent typing speeds in no time. The number keys are as usual made to share keys with alphabets and are towards the left side of the keyboard.

One main lack in the 8520 that will turn a lot of people off is the absence of 3G-support. 3G is the new standard for mobile Internet and it will be hard to convince people to buy something that lacks it. Another feature that it lacks is GPS, which won’t be missed by as many people.

The Curve 8520 comes with speakerphone, voice dialing, conference calling, speed dial and quad-band GSM world roaming. It has text and multimedia messaging. The Bluetooth 2.0 on the 8520 lets you use standard stereo and mono Bluetooth headsets. You can also use the Bluetooth as dial-up networking, audio source, serial port and audio/video remote control.

The address book depends on the memory available on the device plus the SIM card will hold the usual 250 contacts. Each entry can have multiple phone numbers, emails, addresses, etc.

The phone also supports calls over Wi-Fi networks but it depends on who your carrier is. The Wi-Fi really comes in handy because this phone is limited to EDGE speeds.

Being a BlackBerry, this phone supports the BlackBerry Enterprise server along with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and also Novell GroupWise. Through the Curve 8520 you can have access to up to 10 POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts. It also supports popular IM platforms including Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Windows Live and also ICQ.

The integrated attachment viewer helps you view the attachments that come with your emails. You can view a large number of file types with it including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, JPG, GIF, PDF, etc. There’s the usual host of personal management tools like calendar, alarm, reminders, etc. There’s desktop suite for Windows and it is coming for Mac users this September. Till then there are other third-party applications.

You can get apps for popular social-media and social-networking sites from the BlackBerry App World that comes preloaded.

The camera is decent but photos lack vibrancy in the colors. The media player supports most of the common formats plus some of the less common formats like AMR-NB and eAAC+.

Testers have reported good call clarity on both ends during normal calls. If you can live without 3G and GPS and want an affordable smartphone, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 can serve you well.