We'd done the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 phone a few months back. It was a sleek model, which apparently didn't appeal to many hardcore users due to its half-QWERTY keyboard. The BlackBerry Curve is currently one of their higher-end series with a full QWERTY keyboard. We test-drive the Curve 8310 model today. Bundle - BlackBerry 8310 smart-phone - Battery charger with conversion sockets - miniUSB data cable - Earphones with microphone - Belt Pouch - Software CD and Instruction Manual

As with most BlackBerrys, there's no microSD card bundled in the package. <__PAGETITLE__Intro and Bundle __/PAGETITLE__> Specification Sheet

The lack of 3G support didn't really bother many of us before. Now since we know that it is just around the corner, you'd want to have it if you are planning to make this a long-term investment. <__PAGETITLE__Specifications __/PAGETITLE__> Design and Construction The BlackBerry 8310 Curve , as the name suggests, has somewhat curved edges probably for better ergonomics and a striking appeal. It's available in two shades; the typical grey one that we've got and a bright red version. The phone's looks aren't very catchy; it looks like yet another business phone. The metallic edges of the Pearl series have been replaced here with rubbery sidings for a better grip. The phone may look a bit large but is quite light. The build quality is pretty good.

The ambient light sensor is placed top-right. Below the screen are the two stars of the show; the Pearl Trackball and the QWERTY keyboard The screen portrays content in good quality and is readable even under direct sunlight. The ambient light sensor changes the screen brightness according to external conditions and even lights up the keyboard backlight only when it is needed. You can turn the sensor off. Below the screen is the Pearl TrackBall found in many of the BlackBerry models nowadays. I would say this is one of the best modes of navigation I've seen. It makes scrolling through long e-mails and webpages very easy. Below that is yet another wonder, the QWERTY keyboard. As you can see, the keys might seem a bit small but they designed very well. Typing heavily does not prove to be strenuous. Also, the accuracy was surprisingly good considering the small dimensions of the keys. It didn't take me long to type on it really fast. Texters are definitely going to be satisfied with this keyboard.

The volume keys is to the right and below it is the camera shutter button. The left consists of the 3.5mm headphone jack, a miniUSB port and a voice command shortcut button. A mute button is placed at the top along with the speaker grille. The In-call microphone mute button also acts as a play/pause button while playing songs. The mute button is recessed into the body, which makes it a little difficult to press without using the fingernail. The microSD card slot, unfortunately, is placed below the battery. The camera sensor along with a photo-assist light and a self-portrait mirror are placed above it. <__PAGETITLE__Design and Construction__/PAGETITLE__> User Interface

The interface hasn't gone through major makeovers in quite some time.

The Google Talk app is very good. It maintains the style of the desktop version. The browser doesn't support multiple pages at one time (tabbed browsing). Setting up push e-mail is as simple as entering your e-mail address/password and clicking Finish! That's right. The interface figures out the Outgoing/Incoming mail servers and ports automatically for most of the addresses. Even though it doesn't have standalone applications, the mail app can let us view image, MS word and MS excel files.

One can use Google Maps for basic navigation or purchase 3rd party Turn-by-turn navigation tools like the MapmyIndia Navigator (shown above). Even though the 8310 is advertised for its GPS feature, the default BlackBerry Maps application does not have India-specific maps. Thus one will have to purchase 3rd party applications to use the phone for navigation. Ideally, they should have bundled Maps along with the phone. The overall speed of the OS was OK; it wasn't very snappy. Opening multiple applications would cause a minor lag. But I don't think this should be of great concern. Like every BlackBerry, a Desktop Manager software is included with the phone that helps the user sync data from the phone to the desktop.

<__PAGETITLE__User interface __/PAGETITLE__> Performance Call quality and reception: The voice quality on the BlackBerry 8310 was clear. Network reception was above average. There were only a very few times when the phone dropped calls. GPS reception was decent. The EDGE reception was above average too. Even though current wireless data speeds are slow for stuff like streaming videos, they're pretty sufficient for the core usage of the phone like sending and receiving messages, chatting via Instant Messengers etc. While testing, I'd linked my e-mail account with their push-mail service. On an average, the mail got delivered to my phone in just a minute after it was sent. The longest it took to deliver an e-mail once was 9 minutes. Still I'd say I was satisfied with their service. For people who wish to communicate via e-mail wherever they are should definitely consider this service. The loudspeaker was loud enough for voice conversations and music as well. Multi-media: Audio quality via the bundled earphones was above average. But thanks to the 3.5mm jack, one can plug in a better pair, which improves the quality considerably. Videos played smoothly. The on-board camera gives decent quality images - nothing to write home about. The version that we got didn't support video recording; but newer firmware available now includes it. Transferring 100 MB worth data from the PC to the memory card took around two-and-a-half minutes. That's an above average data transfer rate for a mobile phone. Battery Life: In test one, the phone was used to do everything else but for phone-calls and SMSs. I played music via the wired earphones for 2.5 hours, chatted on GTalk for 2.5 hours and surfed the web for 15-20 minutes. Lastly, I used a GPS navigation app for a little while too. With such usage, the phone manages to live for three days. In the second test, with around half an hour of phone calls, the phone managed to survive for more than two days. Like all BlackBerrys, I have to say that the battery life is good. The phone will not let you down. <__PAGETITLE__Performance __/PAGETITLE__> Conclusion The BlackBerry Curve range consists of three models - the 8300, the 8310 (the one we reviewed) and the 8320. They are very similar in appearance and features except for a few minor additions. The 8300 doesn't have Wi-Fi and GPS, while the 8310 has GPS but no Wi-Fi and the 8320 has Wi-Fi but no GPS. For those still confused, please reread the previous line carefully. Unfortunately, there isn't a BlackBerry Curve that has GPS and Wi-Fi. The BlackBerry 8310 Curve from Vodafone is available at Rs. 25,000. The grey market unlocked version which sell on ebay are considerably cheaper (approx. Rs. 18,000). The grey market prices for the 8300 model are Rs. 15,500 and Rs. 23,000 for the 8320 respectively. These models can work on any carriers in India that provide the BlackBerry Mobile Connect service (you have to fork out 900 bucks per month as of today). Comparatively, we can see that the official versions of the Curve are overpriced. Now, the BlackBerry Curve 8310 is a fine phone that does the task it is supposed to do wonderfully. It is a great messaging device and a good tool for business professionals. Comparatively speaking, you can get the latest Nokia E71 for around 19k. It has more connectivity options (like 3.5G and Wi-Fi) in a sleeker package among other things. But Nokia has removed the BlackBerry Connect support from the E71 (the earlier E61i had it). Thus it would be a situation of comparing apples with oranges. Bottom line, the Curve is a good buy; only if the missing 3G support doesn't bother you. Plus, you'd also have to pay extra to buy 3rd party applications in case you plan to use GPS on it. If you are not so keen on GPS, I would say the 8300 model would do just fine. <__PAGETITLE__Conclusion __/PAGETITLE__>