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Editor Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
Swelling the Blackberry Curve's already formidable arsenal of telephonic and connectivity tools, the titanium Blackberry 8310 Curve now adds an internal GPS receiver with support for TeleNav GPS Navigator software and push-to-talk (PTT) capability--an AT&T exclusive. An amalgam of the svelte BlackBerry Pearl and the more business-oriented 8800, the 8310 Curve is the smallest, lightest BlackBerry phone that includes a full QWERTY keyboard. And it combines RIM's long-valued push email and messaging platform with a host of advanced multimedia features, including a 2-megapixel camera and stereo Bluetooth (for listening to music via wireless headphones). This quadband phone operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's EDGE network, with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. It also offers global voice roaming in over 190 and data roaming in over 130 countries.

Staying Connected

The svelte, titanium BlackBerry 8310 Curve offers a full QWERTY keyboard, innovative trackball navigation system (placed above the keyboard) and large 2.5-inch screen.

The Blackberry 8310 Curve delivers the legendary BlackBerry email experience. With BlackBerry service plans from AT&T, you can receive emails instantaneously from up to 10 email accounts (personal and enterprise). With BlackBerry push technology, you don't need to retrieve your email. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, allowing you to be discreetly notified as new email arrives. Support is also built-in for viewing email attachments (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and PDF formats).

If your company has a BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed, you can also take advantage of the power of wireless calendar synchronization. Your calendar events are exchanged wirelessly and automatically so that your desktop calendar and BlackBerry handheld calendar are synchronized. All your Outlook meeting requests, changes, and updates are instantaneously synchronized instantaneously with your desktop. Make meeting requests, invite new attendees and more, all on your Blackberry 8310 Curve. Users without BlackBerry Enterprise Server support can manually sync with their desktop calendars and contacts via Bluetooth or USB using the included BlackBerry Desktop Software.

BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) is complimentary with the activation of a AT&T BlackBerry service plan (additional charges apply) and provides customers with the ability to have their personal or work email pushed automatically to their BlackBerry phone from multiple Internet Service Provider (ISP) email accounts. BIS provides automatic wireless synchronization of read, deleted, and sent email from the your BlackBerry phone to their desktop email account. Users with multiple accounts can choose from multiple "sent from" addresses when sending an email. You can also download ringtones and other content via AT&T's popular MEdia Net service or browse the Web using the BlackBerry HTML Browser. Wireless text messaging and multimedia messaging (MMS) are also supported by the BlackBerry 8820.

AT&T Exclusive Features
Among the unique features of the Blackberry 8310 Curve are AT&T's Push-to-Talk (PTT) service and TeleNav GPS Navigator. AT&T Push-to-Talk boasts the largest push to talk coverage area in America. PTT features on the BlackBerry 8820 include "availability" icons, quick group calling, and the ability to easily convert a PTT session to a regular wireless voice call. You can use your 8310 Curve to Push-to-Talk to communicate with individual colleagues or friends, or set up groups for broader communication. The PTT button, on the left side of the device (noted by three raised dots), easily facilitates each PTT call (simply press and hold to talk after the chirp and release when finished). In addition, the AT&T service offers such standard PTT features as call waiting, contact alerts, as well as text, picture, and voice messaging to anyone in their contact list.

You can also take advantage of the TeleNav GPS Navigator software, the full-featured premium navigation application that includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and re-routing options, and 3D moving maps. It comes as a 30-day trial version, and it can be downloaded via the TeleNav web site or via virtual pre-load icon (VPL) after activation.

Phone Design & Features
This 8310 Curve is fashioned in a titanium finish and subtly curving corners. Measuring 4.2 x 2.4 inches, the Curve is just as slim as the Pearl (0.6 inches) and weighs in at 3.9 ounces--just 0.7 ounces heavier than its predecessor. It features a bright 2.5-inch color TFT screen that provides 65,000 colors and a 320 x 240-pixel resolution, and it includes a light-sensing feature that automatically adjusts backlighting for indoor, outdoor and dark environments. Like the BlackBerry 8800, the Curve includes a trackball navigation system located on the top of the QWERTY keypad, and it also features an integrated spell checker with a customizable dictionary to help maintain accuracy while on the go. It has 64 MB of internal ROM memory, and is expandable using MicroSD memory cards. The battery provides up to 4 hours (240 minutes) of talk time and up to 17 days (408 hours) of standby time.

You can snap vivid photos (though no video) using the 2-megapixel camera on the back of the Curve, which also features a 5x digital zoom, built-in flash, self-portrait mirror and full screen viewfinder. It can capture images in up to three picture quality and size resolutions that can be shared instantly by email, MMS or BlackBerry Messenger, or even uploaded to your Flickr account with the Yahoo! Go service. Photos can also be immediately set as a unique caller ID or Home Screen image. You can edit photos and create albums within the Curve using the PhotoSuite application. Pictures can be cropped, rotated and straightened, and flaws can be fixed by removing redeye or changing the brightness, contrast, and saturation levels.

Listen to your favorite music and watch downloaded videos using the included stereo headset, or use an optional wireless headphone thanks to the Curve's support for the Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP). The Curve is compatible with a wide variety of file formats, including MP3, WMA and AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ audio and WMV, MPEG4 and H.263 video. Dedicated volume controls are conveniently located on the side of the handset. You can also subscribe to the AT&T Music service, which includes access to online subscription music content from eMusic, XM Satellite Radio and more.

With the Voice-Activated Dialing (VAD) feature, you can initiate a call just by telling the Curve who to call from your contact list--either via the integrated speakerphone or using an optional Bluetooth wireless headset. Other advanced phone features include advanced sound technology that cancels out background noise and echo, dedicated volume and mute keys, and the ability to customize the Curve with polyphonic and MP3 ringtones.

Vital Statistics
The BlackBerry 8310 Curve weighs 3.9 ounces and measures 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches. Its 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of talk time, and up to 408 hours (17 days) of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Rating : 3.5 point(s) from 25 review(s).

Source : I'd still rather have my pocket pc

I've been using a Sprint Mogul pocket pc running the latest version of Microsoft Windows Mobile. I love this phone. Unfortunately, my new employer has a policy that all consultants must participate in the corporate blackberry program. I was somewhat concerned because I rely heavily on my pda to keep me organized. So I put in my request for my blackberry curve and hoped for the best.

After using this phone for a few weeks, I'm rather disappointed. I still have not figured out how to add a meeting invitation to my calendar. When I got the .vcs attachments in my pocket pc it was easy to add it to my calendar. I cant see any way to do it in a blackberry. Maybe one of the blackberry users here can help me out.

Although I can accept a meeting invite in outlook and it will sync to blackberry, if there is a large amount of data in the note of the appointment, it won't all sync to my blackberry. There must be a character limit of some sort. I didnt have this problem with my pocket pc

Editing word or excel documents was also easy in my pocket pc. I can't find any way to do it in a blackberry. This thing is inferior to a pocket pc in so many ways that I can't understand why they are so popular. A pocket pc does all the things that a blackberry does and more.

The blackberry is also more difficult to navigate. What would take one or two clicks on my sprint mogul takes several more on the blackberry.

The music player on the blackberry is horrible. Also I can't get my blackberry to recognize an sd card over 500 megabytes. I had 4 gig micro sd card in my pocketpc. It held all the mp3s and videos I wanted. Frankly I want a phone that is both a toy AND a business tool. The blackberry curve does neither especially well. I suspect that most of the people recommending the blackberry are people with limited experience with pda phones who are recommending what they happen to have used.

On the plus side, I like the web browser, it is more readable than the one my the sprint mogul. I also like that you can sync your notes from outlook. Thats awesome. I use that feature but it wont sync to a pocket pc using activesync OTA. The size of the curve is also impressive, very small and light. It also accepts a standard headphone jack instead of just the mini usb like many other pda phones. Source : Excellent product and great price

The Curve is Blackberry's best product until the new 9000 Series is released. The price was originally 49.98 but than was reduced to .01 (Yes, one penny)a week later and Amazon provided a refund for the difference. I am extremely satisfied with this purchase.Source : Bad choice. Crashes all the time

It looks nice, but the buttons are very small and hard to press. Besides, they do not look like they will last for 3 or 4 months after using the phone. Does not capture video.. So??
The worst thing is the white screen. Very often, you are talking on the phone, you hang up, and here you go.. Surprise, you get a white screen vertical blue columns.. The phone still works though, but when you get a phone call, you are not able to tell who is calling.. So you either have to reboot the phone, which is long.. Or you have to wait for like 5 minutes..
Nothing like Nokia.. Canadians??? please.. they say thx to the ATM machine.Source : Don't buy this phone!

GPS is $9.99 per month subscription, PLUS a data plan from your wireless provider. You can browse the internet, but again you HAVE to have a data plan, or YOU WILL PAY BIG! Changing your ringtones and SMS message alert tone are DIFFICULT. There is no option menu to do this simple task from; You have to do it from the media folder. I am VERY dissapointed with this phone!

The camera is nice and of good quality. No video recording capabilities though. I upgraded from an OLD nokia phone and regret it.Source : Why such an offer??

As I am not buying, so my "star rating" is meaningless - just to satisfy Amazon's requirements.
This gold box offer has all the signs of a desperate attempt by RIM, et al. to unload product inventory which is about to be made obsolete by some market-busting new technology coming online.
As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is.
Also, a reviewer's point about GPS being a double-edged sword if always with you and turned on, is worth considering.