Even though we generally suggest upgrading the supplied headphones that come with most phones, we were struck by the single earpiece that came with our review sample, rather than stereo headphones. Rim has since informed us that stereo headphones will be included and the 3.5mm jack plug means it's easy to upgrade though, and there's Bluetooth with A2DP if you prefer the wireless variety.
BlackBerry yoghurt, anyone?
Overall, the call quality was fine and the battery held up very well, faring much better than many of the power-hungry smart phones we've been using recently. It gave us a good two and a half day of moderate use, including extensive Wi-Fi.
Indeed, its battery endurance will no doubt interest business users. Sure, it’s not quite full-featured and sexy enough to attract hardened gadgetistas, but the BlackBerry Curve 8520 does enough, well enough, and cheaply enough to find its way into many a corporate phone pool.
Verdict
The price is down there with the BlackBerry Pearl, but this is a full-fledged Qwerty BlackBerry, which, combined with its email, IM and social networking support, make it an ideal messaging device – although we'd have preferred 3G for when we're out of Wi-Fi coverage. Still, the fast processor, beautifully executed optical trackpad and slim, lightweight body are all worth considering for first-timers entering the BlackBerry world. ®
More Phone Reviews...
HTC Hero |
LG GD900 Crystal |
Toshiba TG01 |
Nokia N97 |
BlackBerry Curve 8520
COMMENTS
HTML
Yeah, HTML emails have been working since device software v4.5 IIRC - got it on my work one since i updated. May also need to be on BES 4.1.6 too, as i updated that at the same time
No 3G....
No 3G, 2.5 days battery life. Simple. Idle mode procedures in 3G sap it like there's no tomorrow... stick with 2G and EDGE if you keep losing your charger like I do :)
forget all that.....
...what we really need to know is, how does brickbreaker perform using the new touchpad?
@ troldman
'That's been the biggest problems with BlackBerries. Trackballs are for playing Missile Command and nothing else.'
Absolute nonsense.
It's also for playing Centipede.
