BlackBerry Curve 8900 (Javelin) Review

BlackBerry handsets are great. They match unbeatably good email delivery with decent features and increasingly stylish design. Most are quite wide, but the joy of the first BlackBerry Curve was that it was narrower, managing to squeeze a perfectly usable QWERTY keypad into a much more hand-friendly size. This width saw earlier BlackBerry devices relegated to being secondary devices: just too big to hold to your ear for phone calls so you needed a separate handset for that.

Of all the models in the range, it was the Curve which was most popular – beating sales of other BlackBerry handsets put together.

This new Curve, the 8900, is the perfect balance of size and accessibility. It’s nattier than earlier Curve models for a start, using the gleaming chrome frame which made the Bold and Storm look so good. More than the dowdy plastic frames of earlier BlackBerry devices, this looks more like the gorgeous, shiny Nokia E71.

Speed is the key

The keyboard is good for speedy typing, though perhaps not as easy to use quickly as the more expansive Bold one. There’s a neat pressure-sensitive ridge on the top which hides the keyboard lock and mute buttons, a design feature also lifted from the Bold and Storm handsets.

Unlike the Storm, which lacked Wi-Fi - partly due to space constraints and also because Vodafone wanted its network to be used for all data, this phone has an efficient wireless connection, which is particualrly good for downloading larger files, like videos, and even more useful on a model that lacks the same high speed network data services as the Bold and Storm.

Video playback shines on the high-resolution screen, though the landscape format limits image size when viewing photographs.
The screen looks great, by the way, not least because it uses the same technology as in the Bold and Storm, where the screen is fused to the outer surface, instead of being separate from it, as on most phones. The result is the same richly coloured screen that made the Bold stand out.
To prove you can’t have everything, the lack of 3G is the price you pay.

BlackBerry’s manufacturer, RIM, came late to 3G because it’s a North American firm, and 3G is not so widely deployed over there. But if you travel to Japan regularly, you need 3G, so this phone won’t suit. It’s a shame 3G doesn’t come as standard on all phones now, but especially on handsets where web browsing is a major feature. Downloading email over GPRS or EDGE using GSM is very quick, thanks to the fact that your mail goes through a separate server before getting to the device, but the web is always going to be slow. On the plus side, 3G takes more power, so its omission helps with battery life.

That’s good, because this phone has built-in GPS, which will certainly sap your battery. The BlackBerry Maps function is not as slickly realised as Google’s version on the iPhone and T-Mobile G1, however, and like both of those, can’t easily replace a standalone GPS unit.

Other features include a reasonable music player that is easy to set up and use. Music has its own menu icon, though there’s also a Media button which is where to find the video files you’ll want to show off to friends. Not to mention the photos you’ve taken on the 3.2-megapixel camera complete with flash and autofocus (again, beating the Bold).

BlackBerry also has an excellent Facebook application, making it exceptionally easy to upload captured photos to your profile. MySpace is now supported too as a plug-in.

The Curve doesn’t feature the Applications Centre that the Storm proudly boasts, but perhaps this will change in future updates. It has its own, slightly quirky, operating system, with menu navigation subtly different from any other brand of phone. Once you’re used to it, there’s a logic that makes sense, but there’s a learning curve to be climbed.

VERDICT

Overall, this is a great phone. It has that one big omission, namely 3G, but it keeps the price down and battery performance up. If email is of prime concern, you'll barely notice the difference. RIM has found ways of delivering email quickly using GSM for years, so it won’t be slow – it’s just browsing where you’ll notice the speed drop. However, this is the most comfy-to-use keyboard equipped handset from RIM yet, thanks to its slim size, but with room to squeeze in GPS, a decent camera, acceptable media player, Facebook and more.

RATINGS (OUT OF 5)

PERFORMANCE: 4
FEATURES: 3
USABILITY: 4
OVERALL: 4