Research in Motion (RIM), a Canada-based wireless device company, released their first Blackberry in 1999. They were successful with the model, since it was one of the first to integrate Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and email, and other internet applications in one device. Since then, RIM continues to design innovative products to meet the world’s growing need for wireless communication.
In May 2007, RIM proudly introduced one of their latest models, the Blackberry Curve. According to RIM, the Curve is the smallest and lightest full QWERTY keyboard Blackberry to be released by far. It measures 4.20 x 2.36 x 0.61 inches and has a mass of 3.92 ounces. Also known as the Blackberry 8300, this smart phone has a silver and black finish, with soft-grip edges that make it non-slip and comfy to hold. Aside from the fully-functional QWERTY keyboard with spell checker, the Curve is easily navigated with the trackball system. There is also a huge 2.5 inch LCD screen with 65,000 color display and 240 x 320 pixels resolution. The Curve has a light sensor that automatically adjusts the LCD brightness depending on the external lighting conditions.
What else can this sweet thing do? The back of the Curve has a built-in 2.0 mega pixel digital camera with 5x zoom. The camera includes an LED flash and self-portrait mirror. Photos can be shot in three resolutions, even as large as 1600 x 1200 pixels. Sharing of photos can be done by Bluetooth, MMS, email, USB, or microSD card.
For the multimedia-loving crowd, the Blackberry Curve has something in store, too. It supports audio files in a variety of formats, including mp3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, AAC, and others. Videos in mp4, MOV, AVI, and 3GP formats can also be viewed on the Curve’s large screen. You can save these files on the internal 64MB memory, which you can expand with microSD cards sold separately. Audio can be heard over the speakers or on 3.5 mm headsets. The Lithium Ion battery holds for four hours of talk time or two and a half weeks standby time.
Since the Blackberry line is initially designed for the business crowd, the Curve also carries the convenient email and PC sync features busy individuals need. The smart phone is compatible with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, and Novell Groupwise. The phone has an attachment viewer for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, and various file types.
Some complaints about the Blackberry Curve, though. It runs on EDGE packet data, not as fast as 3G, so if you’re hardcore on downloading, it may be a little disappointing. Web pages take a little longer to load, so waiting can be inconvenient. But with the connection, email, messaging, and voice calls still work out great. The Curve could use some Wi-Fi or 3G enhancements, and the digital camera has yet to be capable of recording video.
The Blackberry Curve package comes with stereo headsets, wall charger, user manual, and case. Other features of the Curve include voice dialing, voice memo, calendar, alarm, and to-do lists. The unit is currently available in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It’s available for purchase without a service plan.
Leave a comment