The Curve 8900's keyboard is similar to the BlackBerry Bold's. Though it's smaller, we still found it easy to use.
On the left side, there’s a single user-programmable shortcut key (launches voice dialer by default), while there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, a MicroUSB port, and another customizable side button (assigned to the camera out of the box). The camera and flash are located on the back, and behind the battery cover are the SIM card and microSD expansion slots. We would have preferred that the expansion slot be on the outside for easier access, and we also weren’t huge fans of the little plastic piece that held the card in place. It felt flimsy, so we worry if it’ll hold up over time. Finally, while not immediately visible, there’s a mute button and a lock key on top the unit.
T-Mobile ships the Curve 8900 with a travel charger, a USB cable, a 256MB MicroSD card, a wired headset, a protective case, a software CD, and reference material.
The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 runs BlackBerry OS 4.6.1.114 so aside from the aforementioned updated user interface, you also get new functionality and improved applications. For example, unlike the Curve 8300 series, you can now edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, thanks to the inclusion of DataViz’s Documents to Go Suite. Like the Bold and the Storm, only the Standard Edition is preloaded on the smartphone so if you want the ability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 also ships with a number of personal information management tools, such as a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more. There’s quite a catalog of applications available for BlackBerrys, whether you’re looking for new games or software for your job. Be aware, however, that if you have third-party applications on an older BlackBerry model, they may not be compatible with the Curve 8900. T-Mobile includes some suggestions and direct download links on its mobile site.
One of the most-needed improvements was in the area of Web browsing, and the Curve 8900 delivers. You now get a full HTML Web browser with support for RSS feeds and streaming media, including YouTube clips. Browsing and navigating sites is made better by the Page and Column view options and onscreen cursor. There are also zoom in/out functions. The experience hardly matches the Web experience on the iPhone, but it’s a definite improvement from previous versions of the BlackBerry browser, which was pretty much atrocious. Baby steps, right?
To get connected, you have two options: Wi-Fi or T-Mobile’s EDGE network, which is all well and good but what’s more newsworthy to us, is what’s missing: 3G support. We realize that the addition of a 3G radio affects battery life and size, but still, T-Mobile has finally rolled out its 3G network and could use more 3G smartphones (currently, the T-Mobile G1 is the carrier’s only smartphone to offer 3G). Admittedly, we found that surfing the Web on the Curve 8900 over EDGE wasn’t that bad but even so, we still would have liked to see the inclusion of 3G.
Fortunately, you do get Wi-Fi as an alternative, and the other upside of the integrated Wi-Fi is UMA support. This means you can make and receive unlimited calls over a wireless network and not have the minutes deducted from your cellular plan. The caveat is that you will need to sign for T-Mobile’s Unlimited HotSpot Calling plan, which starts at $9.99 per month on top of an existing T-Mobile plan.
Other voice features of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is limited only by the available memory (the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts) with room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, work and home addresses, job title, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign each contact a photo, a group ID, or a custom ringtone.
Like most of the carrier’s handsets, the Curve 8900 supports T-Mobile’s MyFaves service, giving you unlimited calls to five contacts, regardless of carrier. Individual plans for MyFaves start at $39.99 a month. You also get Bluetooth 2.0 with support for mono and stereo Bluetooth wireless headsets, hands-free kits, and dial-up networking.
GPS is built in, using both satellites and cellular triangulation to find your position. You can get maps and text-based, turn-by-turn driving directions with applications such as BlackBerry Maps, which is preloaded on the Curve 8900, and Google Maps for Mobile, but if you want any real-time tracking and voice-guided instructions, you’ll have to use a location-based service like TeleNav GPS Navigator.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900′s built-in media player can play various music and video formats, including MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA20, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, and MIDI music files, and MPEG4, WMV, DivX4, DivX5/6 (partial support), XviD (partial), and H.263 video clips. There’s a search function, playlist creation, shuffle and repeat, and you get a full-screen mode for video playback. The included software CD also contains a copy of Roxio Easy Media Creator, so you can create MP3s from CDs and add audio tags as well as the BlackBerry Media Sync application so you can load your iTunes library. The Curve has 256MB onboard Flash memory while the expansion slot can accept up to 16GB cards.
The 3.2-megapixel camera takes admirably sharp photos, even in low light. But you’ll need to be patient: you experienced delays of up to 2 seconds while the camera focused, and you couldn’t find any way to disable autofocus. In camera mode, you get a choice of three picture sizes and three picture qualities. There are white balance settings, and you can add various effects to your photos, such as black and white, and sepia. The video recorder takes smooth but slightly over-sharp-looking videos at 240 by 180 pixels and 15 frames per second. The phone has only about 120MB of available onboard memory for pictures, music, and data, but you can store your data on a microSD card, which slips into a slot under the back cover (the phone ships with a 256MB card). Fortunately, you don’t have to turn the phone off or remove the battery to swap out cards.
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Picture quality was good, as long as we were snapping shots in well-lit areas. Even with the flash or in night mode, we had a hard time getting a photo that didn’t look dark or completely blown out by the flash. We also noticed a bit of shutter lag, so be sure not to move to quickly away from the scene after pressing the capture button. Video quality wasn’t the best as clips looked pretty grainy, but you can still make out the objects and scenery so it’ll be fine if there’s a moment that you absolutely must get on film and don’t have access to a camcorder. Next