On the eve of RIM’s highly anticipated announcement for its new BlackBerry 10 devices, we’re getting a look at its latest smartphone for T-Mobile – the OS 7.1 running BlackBerry Curve 9315. Essentially a variant of the Curve 9310, it’s priced to sell for $49.99 on-contract, but the question that remains is whether you’ll want to pick one up knowing what’s on the horizon.
Design:
The Curve 9315 for T-Mobile is identical in design to Verizon’s model in the Curve 9310. Compared to its predecessors, this is arguably one of the most compact Curve models to date, but we have to admit, it definitely feels rather cheap in feel with its all-plastic construction.
You can compare the RIM BlackBerry Curve 9315 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
Around its trim, we spots its lock button, volume control, shutter key, speaker grill, BBM button, microUSB port, microphone and 3.5mm headset jack.
In the rear, there’s a paltry sized 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash, which has a maximum video capture resolution of VGA (640 x 480). Sliding off the rear casing, we’re given access to its 1,450 mAh battery, SIM slot, and microSD card slot.
Display:
Ouch! Our eyes writhe in pain trying to view anything on this poor excuse of a screen. To be specific, its 2.44-inch QVGA 320 x 240 LCD display is painfully agonizing to view! Not only does it lack in the details department, but when you combine its poor viewing angles and low contrast, it doesn’t particularly handle too well with outdoor usage.
Keyboard:
Paying homage to the Curves of yesterday, this latest model is staying true by featuring that classic Curve keyboard we all know and love – though, it’s still not quite as good as the Bold series keyboard. With its slightly raised buttons and responsive feel, we’re able to type away merrily without much hassle. Meanwhile, it’s a bit alien to once again go back to using an optical trackpad for navigation, but it still works well for the occasion.
RIM BlackBerry Curve 9315 360-degrees View:
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard
Space to zoom in/out.
Drag the picture in the desired orientation to rotate the phone.
Interface:
Oh boy! It really makes us wonder why RIM decided to bring out an OS 7.1 running device, knowing what’s coming very shortly. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what the Curve 9315 is running, but to tell you the truth, it’s undeniably antiquated by today’s standards. Even worse, it’s tough trying to navigate around the UI seeing that it’s not enabled for touch – so it’s a tedious process!
Processor:
Armed with a single-core 800MHz processor with 512MB of RAM, it’s not something that’s going to instill fear in some of the high-end devices out there. However, for a device of this caliber, it’s effective in providing a mostly quick response with most actions.
Internet:
Can it be any more tedious? Seriously folks, the web browsing experience with the Curve 9315 is a perfect example of antiquity at its best. Not only is it painfully slow in rendering images and text on the fly, but the slow navigational movements when scrolling makes it more infuriating.
Camera & Multimedia:
If you have a dedicated camera, you’ll want to use it over the BlackBerry Curve 9315 for those precious moments. Quite simply, it lacks the modern convenience of auto-focus, which means that it never delivers the sharp photos we crave. Instead, it’s lacking with its details and handles poorly under low lighting conditions. Likewise, its VGA recording quality seems muddy and filled with plenty of artifacting elements.
RIM BlackBerry Curve 9315 Sample Video:
Hardly an eye candy filled music player, it’s pretty much as generic as they come on the Curve 9315. Luckily, the audio quality out of its speaker is decent at best.
Already, we’re not too thrilled about the poor quality display it’s boasting. Therefore, knowing that, it doesn’t surprise us that it’s not the ideal thing for watching videos. In fact, it’s able to play videos at the maximum resolution of VGA, which is hardly a pencil pusher.
Call Quality:
Putting out a reasonable output with its earpiece, we’re able to comprehend voices relatively well – with minimal distortion. On the other end of the line, though, our callers say that there’s a hint of hollowness with our voice. Meanwhile, the speakerphone emits some crackle at the loudest setting.
Battery:
With nothing more than a 1,450 mAh battery, it’s enough to get us through a solid day of normal usage – though, we were kind of hoping for a little bit more.
Conclusion:
In the greater scheme of things, $50 might seem like a dandy deal for the Curve 9315, but when the platform experience is outdated, combined with the handset’s cheap feel, it doesn’t make it a prized possession against other comparable smartphones. At this point folks, unless you’re firmly in love with the old platform, you’re better off waiting for RIM’s next-generation BlackBerry OS 10 devices. And honestly, even though it’s an aged device, you’re still better investing your money in something else like the Bold 9900.
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