BlackBerry Curve 8310 user reviews (titanium, AT&T)

2.0 stars

"Could be great, but has serious issues" on December 22, 2007 by Knightow1

Pros: Light, thin, good battery life, good reception, good email

Cons: No email folders, deleted items gone forever on phone, no touchscreen, no easy text navigation (need to use trackball), synch hostile

Summary: I have long been a TREO user. My 680 had many issues, features that should have worked but didn't. I threw in the towel and bought a 8310 and found many of the "normal" features that my TREOs had were missing! No touchscreen...I really miss it, makes navigation so much easier.

No email folders (I can't create 5 user folders to store emails in for future use, just one "saved items" folder is suggested), No sent items folder either. No deleted items folder, once you delete email it is gone forever...unbelievable.

When writing emails you often need to go back a line and insert/alter text, there are no navigation keys for this you MUST use the trackball which is a large pain. I also miss the quick menu bar that was easy to navigate through.

I also found synch options with the Blackberry were poor when compared to the TREO

I have sent the TREO 680 for repairs, when it returns I will go back to using the TREO, and put the 8310 up for sale, the TREO has faults but still much easier to use than the Blackberry

4.5 stars

"A feminine phone of class and elegance" on November 20, 2007 by ladyslm

Pros: full and compact

Cons: no wifi, battery life questionable

Summary: I have been lurking the review boards for the ideal smartphone with full keyboard, i'm not fond of the intuitive textin'.

I have had an E62 for a year now and while it was a beautiful phone, it was manly.

Since I picked up the curve less then a week ago, I have fallen in love. The size of the phone is a drastic difference to N62 as well as the weight.

It doesn't have wifi, but neither did my 62 and until I can get an E61i up here, wifi is not a big loss.

The overall plus of this curve is the feeling of working with a classy phone that feels like females were taken into account at the design stage of this.

I downloaded google talk, so I am still able to chat with my friends while on the go. I have yet to try MSN on this yet, I will wait abit before I try that.

Truly a worthwhile purchase for any female looking for a smartphone with that wow factor!

4.5 stars

"Even without 3G/video record, one of da best phones yet" on August 30, 2008 by sj10689

Pros: Fantastic call quality, better on speakerphone; video/audio quality is the best you'll ever find on a phone (better than surround sound); good flash 2 MP camera, 5x zoom; receive e-mail from ANY account; state-of-the-art security/encryption options

Cons: No 3G support, though there are rumors of this phone in circulation with 3G (BlackBerry Bold, a.k.a. BlackBerry 9000 will offer it indefinitely when it comes out later this year for AT&T); no video recorder available (ouch!)

Summary: The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310 (AT&T) is perhaps the best phone on the market; however, it relinquishes that title with the loss of 3G support and video recorder, which make this phone a devout underachiever. But with superior call quality (even better on speakerphone!), video/audio quality to die for, handy 2 megapixel 5x zoom camera, the ability to receive e-mail from ANY account, and security/encryption options that will guarantee your phone's security on all fronts, this phone is like none other.

DESIGN

This phone has a really compact design for a smartphone, and it offers many different functions to fit its design. The keyboard is decent (one with big fingers may say otherwise); it comes with a send key, options key (with the signature BlackBerry emblem on it), versatile trackball, back key and end/power off key (left to right). The screen is the right size for a smartphone (320 x 240) and features a beautiful array of 64 K colors. The left side of the phone includes a regulation sized 3.5 mm headset jack (the phone comes with a superb headset that is perfect for listening to audio), a mini-USB connecting port that can fit the battery charger or a USB connector to a computer (it will charge while connected to a computer, more effectively on laptops), and a customizable convenience key (it is very convenient indeed!) On the right side are the volume controls and a right customizable convenience key. The GPS receiver is at the top (represented by a GPS logo) of the phone, alongside a standby key that allows the phone to go into standby mode (press and hold to activate it.) Behind the battery cover lies a relatively small battery that holds a lot of juice (about 6 hours of talk time), and SIM card holder alongside a microSD card holder (but why have the microSD card inside the battery compartment?), both innovative with sliding lock/unlock mechanisms. You can see the awesome speaker at the top part of the battery compartment upon opening the battery cover. Reset button lies at the bottom of the phone. Overall, this phone sports an exceptional design that is a hallmark of BlackBerry technology and engineering.

Rating: 9.2/10

FEATURES

This phone is feature-packed with a very user-friendly interface (although it definitely takes some time getting used to.) So, where do we start? First, with the bad: This phone has no 3G support; otherwise, it would be the hands-down favorite for best phone ever created (perhaps better than the iPhone, in some cases), and no video record option, which leaves a hole in this otherwise perfect device. Now (drum-roll, everyone) with the good (ending cymbal sequence): This phone has excellent call quality that is better on speakerphone (say, what?!), and gorgeous video/audio quality that will give even the most savvy audiophiles and HD-fans goosebumps. The camera on the phone is pretty good with many different camera options (up to 1600 x 1200, super-fine quality, brightness, color effects, etc...) and it comes with flash too! (You can turn it on/off). Perhaps one of the most impressive features is the e-mail setup, which will allow you to retrieve any e-mail from ANY account. I cannot emphasize enough, the reliability and quality of the e-mail inbox features!!! (Up to 10 e-mail accounts!) You can copy/paste text (email and in the browser), use spel chekur (spell checker, I mean), and introduce links to web pages in the e-mails! You can also choose to send and receive e-mails from your phone or ANY of the e-mail accounts you set up seamlessly. Security/encryption is top-of-the-line (perhaps a little excessive), but you can set up which security options you want to enable (i.e. phone lock, enter code upon start-up). Lastly, the phone has its own owner's manual (under help), so you don't have to handle a 280-page owner's manual. (Yes, that whole thing is in English!)

For the premium 3G-quality web-browsing experience, I highly recommend the Opera Mini browser. (It's a must-have!) Go to www.operamini.com on the phone's web browser. With HTML file compression (fast load times because the opera servers loads/renders web pages for you), the lack of 3G doesn't matter anymore. I also recommend the 8GB microSD SanDisk storage card, going for about $70 (great value, you'll need it to store pictures, you'll want it for storing/watching movies)

Rating: 8.5/10 (make it 9.5 with Opera Mini web browser)

PERFORMANCE

The phone is relatively fast with its 312-MHz processor, although it slows down after opening and closing many programs. The GPS receiver is good; best outdoors for a fast fix on signal. Given everything else I have mentioned, overall performance is very good.

Rating: 8.8/10

Overall rating: 26.5/30 --> 8.8/10 (B)

I recommend:
* FREE Opera Mini browser (Download from www.operamini.com on your phone)
* 8 GB microSD SanDisk storage card (for files, utilization for additional RAM to your phone), $70 at Best Buy

Updated on Aug 30, 2008

I would like to correct a typo:

I also recommend the 8GB microSD SanDisk storage card, going for about $70 (great value, you'll WANT it to store pictures, and for storing/watching movies) The phone's memory can hold pictures on its own!

3.0 stars

"A very old feeling smartphone" on July 6, 2008 by seespottype

Pros: good battery life

Cons: no 3g, washed out screen, OS feels dated, keyboard is cramped.

Summary: I own a blackjack 2, and now work has given me a blackberry. What's interesting is that before the blackberry, I wasn't thrilled with the blackjack. But after a month of owning both -- I have come to appreceiate the blackjack far more.

Let's get to the essence of this phone -- it is soley for hooking up to blackberry email servers. If you get the phone for any other reason, you'll be dissapointed -- the phone is crippled without the service. If work is paying for that service, then fine. But if it isn't, I recommend going to Blackjack2 which can synchs up to any pop and exchange server with the most basic data plan and without the monthly toll from Research In Motion's servers.

The phone's screen is bright, but washed out. The keyboard is cramped and relies on shortcuts for frequently used punctionation. It is a big step back from the blackjack2 which is my favorite keyboard to date. But I do love blackberry's track ball. At work, the failure rate for this track ball has been rather high, but this is a new model and maybe the kinks are worked out.

Call quality is ok, but not great. But once I plug in my bluetooth headset, call quality improves dramatically. There isn't a dedicated mute button - this is an awful phone to use while in a car. Blackjack 2 offers a much better call experience.

The memory card slot is behind the battery -- normally I don't mind that -- I mean how many times do you need to access the slot. But on the blackberry, removing the battery is akin to a hard reset, and the bootup time takes *forever*.

The blackberry OS feels & looks so so dated. The fonts look awful. If you have multiple email accounts the system for navigating email folders is klutzy.

If you have choice at work for smartphones, I would recommend looking elsewhere. Windows Mobile 6 is a much better experience, and their email synching ability now keeps up with blackberry services without the blackberry cost.