RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330

User reviews and rating

10 Sep 2009 Anonymous

9.3 out of 10

First time BB owner.  Had it for almost two months and so far pretty happy with the phone.

Pros

Smart phone

Cons

A little delay when answering phone.
Ring then Vibrate, not Ring and Vibrate

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Happy 8330 User

15 Aug 2009 brittnhamm

9.7 out of 10

I've had the device for a couple of days and I love it! I used to have Pearl and this is a nice step up from that. The keys are small, but usable. The call quality and battery life are pretty good. I'm on mine all day and get home at six and still have one battery bar left. I have the pink one, not crazy about the silver.I would definetly reccomend this phone!

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2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Solid performing BlackBerry at an affordable price!

10 Jul 2009 tango57

7.3 out of 10

I've had my 8330 Curve for about a month now and overall I'm very pleased with what it can do.  I'll start with the cons I've encountered with this phone.  I'm on the Sprint 3G network (Tri-State area) and I usually enjoy the fast browsing speeds although I think it should perform better but it's probably due to the network quality in my area.  This is one of my biggest gripes but again it's most likely due to the Sprint network area I'm in cause there are times when my phone signal will be at 5 full bars and then it'll drop down to 1 or revert to 1xRTT while I'm in the middle of browsing or surfing.  One time I was at the mall on route 1 in a business district and I could only get a roaming signal.  Also this phone lacks WiFi support.  Another drawback to this phone the keyboard.  The keys are quite small and plastic with a slippery feel to them which makes the unit look kind of cheap and toylike.  I don't have very big hands and I find myself having trouble typing and texting on them.  Your fingers can easily slip or press an extra key by accident since there's not much space in between the small keys.  The trackball works very nice however and allows for easy maneuvering of the cursor on the screen back and forth in between menus.  Another feature I really disliked is the ambient light sensor that's built in.  What this does is sense the amount of direct light on the screen and adjusts the brightness of the screen how it chooses to on its own.  Let me emphasize that you have no control over this sensor.  Turning off the auto dim backlight feature only works with applications or using the phone, it does not affect how this sensor functions.  In bright direct light such as sunlight it will brighten the screen to its fullest whereas in darkened areas it will dim the screen to about 60% or so.  It's kind of irritating if the light conditions in the area you're in keep changing since the screen will keep brightening and dimming back and forth and I've read numerous other BlackBerry users complain of this feature as well.  I prefer to just have a fully brightened screen while I'm actively using the phone all the time regardless if it will save me a few minutes of battery time or not.  Another negative aspect I had with this phone was the voice call quality was not as good.  Most of the callers I spoke to said I seemed muffled or like I was talking from cardboard box so voice quality was not as clear as I hoped for.  The phone also feels sluggish at times like the processor is always playing catchup with what you're trying to do.  Sometimes applications can take up to 5 seconds to start but usually they start in about 2 to 3 seconds.  If the phone hangs you can do an instant soft restart with alt+right capslock+del.  The boot up time of this phone seems way to long though.  It normally takes 2 to 2.5 minutes to reach the main screen from the time you reset or turn on the phone.  My computer boots up faster than that.  I try to leave about 30 MB of ram free and I notice my applications run a lot smoother so the point is to try to not install too much stuff on it, only what you need.  The other features of the phone are superb though.  I love the Sprint Navigation.  I used it while driving 12 hrs. one way back and forth to Toronto through 3 states and while in Toronto it gave me spot on directions to where I needed to go.  The music and video player are more than adequate.  You can watch full movies saved to your SD card in MP4 with decent quality like say if you're on the plane or waiting for something.  BlackBerry users also enjoy excellent application support.  There are thousands of applications to choose from.  Overall despite the nuances, it's a solid performing phone if you want to do it all such as surf the web in 3G, call, text, email, listen to music, watch videos, etc.  It will definitely get you by and at a very affordable price it's one of the best values out there right now.

Pros

3G capable.
Nice colorful and vivid screen.
Sprint Navigation for data plan users.
Wide variety of application support.

Cons

Voice call quality a bit low.
Keyboard a bit cramped and small keys.
Processor feels slow running apps.
Ambient light sensor can be annoying.
Lacks WiFi support.

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3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.