The BlackBerry 8520 Curve
Written by Tinahe Ncube | Tuesday, 18 May 2010 16:11
First Impressions
This Easter I found myself in the market for a new phone something trendy and sophisticated 
enough to allow me access my e-mails and social networks on the go, over and above the usual calling and texting. When I was called by MTN and offered the BlackBerry 8520 Curve on contract, I thought why not? The BlackBerry 8520 Curve doesn’t have 3g, but I can check my mail, check Facebook and all the like when and as I need to. Features The camera is only has a 2 megapixels resolution and I expected a bit more in terms of that, but I settled as it was better than not having a camera at all. The best thing the phone has going for it is its shape, the rounded edges made it very appealing to me over the corner shape of the Bold. This shape made it easy to slip in and out of my skinny jeans and handbag.
Usability
While using the BlackBerry 8520 Curve a few things appealed to me, the touch pad in particular as it was simple to use to navigate the phones interface, I always found the roller ball a bit intimidating cause of the possibility of dirt getting stuck in it. With regards to speed the BlackBerry 8520 Curve may also sometimes need a little time to load its applications and pages - another sign of the basic functionality of the phone. With regards to downloading third party applications I found it to be very easy to use and managed to download all the applications I needed very quickly and effectively. The Blackberry 8520 Curve also has a good operating system that allows me to run applications concurrently and allows me to switch between them at the touch of the button, I love this feature cause I could not do this on my old phone- I had to minimize one and then locate the other, rather than pressing a button which enables me to switch between application to application as and when I please. The initiation to using a BlackBerry is not complete until u start using Blackberry’s own messenger is also quite an interesting feature as now I can connect with people I have never been able to convert to get onto other chat programs like my mom this is definitely a plus!
Price
The curve is very competitively priced for the features it comes with, probably because it lacks all the advanced features of a smart phone like 3g and GPS navigation, but in comparison to the bold, I found the key pad a little bit tougher on the finger, but easier to locate letters over all. For someone looking for a cheap affordable business phone where they can check their emails I think the Blackberry Curve 8520 the best introduction into the world of smartphones.
