RIM BlackBerry Curve 9350 Review

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Posted: 07 Nov 2011, 07:23, by Brian K.

Categories: Verizon Verizon Sprint Sprint BlackBerry BlackBerry

Discuss6

Performance:

Callers were not thrilled by the voice quality of the curve, complaining that we sounded hollow and “not like ourselves”. On our end it sounded like the mic and earpiece were connected because we could hear ourselves talking, only it was muffled and as if we were in a tunnel. All in all this is not one of the better phones we’ve tested for call quality, with callers rating us a 7/10.

The tiny 1040mAh battery is only rated for 5.5 hours of talk time, which may not be enough to get the heaviest users though a day.

Conclusion:

The BlackBerry Curve 9350 is the entry level device in RIM’s new lineup, but it serves to point out what is wrong with RIM. In the midst of bleeding market share to Android and iOS on the strength of the operating system, RIM has chosen hardware as their new rallying cry. The Curve 9350 is a good entry level phone, but it unfortunately still runs the same basic OS that the Curve 8330 did three years ago, and at $79.99 on contract the phone is well overpriced. This new Curve is fine, but when you strip it down essentially it’s like most BlackBerry devices before it. RIM continues to release the same device time and time again with some hardware and ultimately minor software revisions, while largely ignoring the very culprit for their continued market share plunge.

Software version: 7.0.0 Bundle 1346

RIM BlackBerry Curve 9350 Video Review:

Pros

Crisp display is easy to read
BlackBerry OS 7 runs very smoothly

Cons

Below average call quality
Poor battery life
BlackBerry 7 is more of the same

PhoneArena rating:

User rating:

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Discuss6

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BlackBerry Curve 9350

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1. HTCiscool posted on 07 Nov 2011, 08:27 0

And it doesn't even have a touch screen.

2. kentuckyloan (banned) posted on 07 Nov 2011, 08:41 1

I kinda like the smallness of it and no call quality issues in my area. Probably on the network where they tested the phone, not a blackberry problem.

It compliments my laptop perfectly.

3. Droid_X_Doug posted on 07 Nov 2011, 08:57 1

@HTC - didn't you get the word? RIM is going retro. Touchscreens don't exactly fit in the retro theme.

5. paynekiller posted on 07 Nov 2011, 17:57 0

by retro I assume you mean BACKWARDS

4. jackhammeR posted on 07 Nov 2011, 14:32 2

Not everyone needs touchscreen. There are people who need good qwerty, fast e-mail and that's it.

6. itsius1 posted on 08 Nov 2011, 05:22 0

i dont mind the small size, no touch screen is ok, but battery life only 1040mAh for BBM?? oh please....

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