RIM BlackBerry Curve 9360 Review

Introduction:

Trying to own the recent BlackBerry Bold 9900 for T-Mobile can literally zap your wallet out of all your money, especially when it’s priced exorbitantly at $299.99. Similar to what we find in the past, that’s where RIM’s beloved Curve line comes to mind as it bears all of the wonderful functionality found with its brethren – while being priced on the affordable side. Continuing the trend, the BlackBerry Curve 9360 packs all of the typical incremental upgrades over its predecessor, but will it be able to establish itself now that we’ve spoiled by some of RIM’s current generation smartphones?

The package contains:

• RIM BlackBerry Curve 9360
• Stereo headphones
• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Safety and Product Information

Design:

Retaining all of the design characteristics that are akin to the long standing line, it’s undeniably a Curve device from a cursory look. However, what’s new and surprisingly refreshing about it all is that it sports a considerably thinner chassis at 0.43” thick – thus, making it compact in form. Even though it still utilizes a glossy plastic exterior, which easily scratches in the rear, we do like the subtle refinement of it offering a spiffy looking gunmetal bezel. Additionally, its choice of materials allow it to feel extremely lightweight in the hand. We can’t help but think about the Curve 8900, with its good looks and all,  but the Curve 9360 manages to take the cake with its razor sharp appearance.



You can compare the RIM BlackBerry Curve 9360 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Seeing the first visual improvement right away, it features a slightly larger 2.44” TFT display with a higher resolution of 480 x 360 – versus the QVGA resolution of the Curve 3G. Combining its size and resolution, it results in 246 ppi, allowing it to produce plenty of details to make fine text easily visible from a good distance. Furthermore, colors are crisp and deep in tone to perfectly complement its already nice looks. Throw in some good viewing angles and high brightness output, it’s more than equipped at lighting up the room.


Faithful to its siblings, we find the optical track pad and BlackBerry buttons below its display. Needless to say, navigation is easily accomplished with the use of the trackpad, however, the physical buttons are a bit too stiff for our liking.

Unmistakably, it’s easily established from afar that it’s a Curve handset of some sort due to the distinguishable keyboard it’s using. As usual, we’re greeted with the same layout used by its predecessors, which also consists of those tough plastic buttons that are rather tiny in size. Overall, its cramped confines and stiff response definitely limits our rate – though, some patience can eventually make the experience tolerable. We’re definitely more conscious on our typing compared to the Bold 9900. Not only are buttons smaller in size, but we’re required to firmly press down a key in order for it to register. Again, it’s not entirely bad as long as you have some patience.


On its sides, we find a microUSB port for charging/data connectivity, 3.5mm headset jack, stiff feeling lock button, right convenience key, and volume rocker. Meanwhile, there’s a 5-megapixel snapper in the rear along with its LED flash nearby as the “Curve” branding and speakerphone notch sit squarely in the middle. Finally, pulling off the plastic rear cover provides us access to its SIM card slot, tiny 1,000 mAh battery, and microSD card slot.