RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G for Verizon Wireless Review

Introduction:

It has been two years since Verizon introduced its BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone, which was then followed by the Curve 8530, so we’re glad to see a newer model has made its way out; the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330. This new Curve model closely resembles its predecessor, instead of bringing anything new and exciting to the table. Needless to say, the Curve 3G won’t have Android users jumping ship, but is it enough to keep BlackBerry users onboard?

Included in the retail package is the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 smartphone, 1150mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, and user guides.

Design:

For those of you looking for a fresh design, you may be disappointed, as the BlackBerry Curve 9330 closely resembles the appearance of the Curve 8530; though it does come available in two color options: charcoal gray and fuchsia red. Its overall plastic construction is light weight (3.7oz) and feels durable, utilizing a rubberized back and sides. Due to its compact design, the Curve 9330 is comfortable resting in the palm of your hand, and can be inconspicuously slipped away in your pants pocket.



You can compare the RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The display remains unchanged, coming in at 2.4” with a resolution of 320x240 and 65K color support. Because of its low resolution, images and text (especially in web pages) are quite pixelated and must be zoomed in to be legible. So naturally we would have preferred a higher resolution display here. Below it is the standard optical d-pad in the middle, which works well when navigating through the menus, and on either side are the send, end, back, and menu keys, all of which are smooth plastic.


At the bottom is the familiar BlackBerry styled QWERTY keyboard, which performs quite well. Although the button size can be regarded as tiny, especially for those with large fingers, they are raised up to provide some distinction from one another. Moreover, they offer the same tactile response we're accustomed to experiencing with the Curve series. On the left side of the phone is the 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, and convenience key (that can be assigned to a number of actions), on the top is music player controls and the external speaker, and on the right is the volume control and another convenience key. The unchanged 2MP camera is found at the upper left corner on the rear. Finally, removing the back cover is a pretty simple process requiring you to just yank it off, but once that's done you'll have access to the microSD card slot and battery.