BlackBerry Curve 8300 (silver, AT&T)

Pros: Initial review - a good phone

Cons: None yet...

Summary: After my contract expired, I decided that I would jump into the "hybrid" phone market. I wanted something to replace my IPAQ (especially since I lost all my data!!) and cell phone. After reading reviews on cnet and other websites, it was down to the Curve and the Samsung Blackjack. I decided to purchase the Curve (based on the reviews) and jump ship from another carrier to AT&T.

Since I've only had the phone for less than a week, my review is far from comprehensive. This is only an initial impression. I'll break down the functions that I've used and review them briefly:

Phone calls: Since I'm using the phone primarily for phone calls, call quality was important. At first, I hesitated on the Curve as I've read reviews complaining of the "hollow" sound. I haven't had that happen yet and am pleased with the overall quality. No dropped calls yet either, so that's a good thing!

Email: Accessing email away from my computer wasn't of high importance in deciding to buy a new phone. But, I have to admit that being able to view messages is convenient. Sending messages is easy as well.

Keyboard: I'm still getting used to it but so far, it's pretty easy to use.

Calendar and contacts function: I haven't used the calendar yet, but from what I can tell, it should be fairly easy to use. Like my old pda, the Curve has multiple views (daily, weekly, monthly). I haven't sync it yet with my Outlook. Hopefully, that won't be a problem.

Adding new contacts has been pretty simple, so no complaints there.

The Curve is working out to be a good fit for me. I like that the Curve is both a phone and pda in one gadget. It may not have features that a business person might need (wi-fi, ability to edit Excel, Word, etc) however. But, for a "regular" consumer, it might be a worth a look when buying a new phone.

I hope to give a more thorough and updated review down the line. Good luck!