BlackBerry Curve 8300 User reviews

By Alex Kidman on 13/08/2007

More RIM reviews , RRP: AU$749.00

The good:

  • Eye catching design
  • Good camera
  • Excellent keyboard
  • Quad-band GSM
  • Bluetooth

The bad:

  • No Wi-Fi
  • No HSDPA
  • Average battery life

The bottomline:

The BlackBerry Curve takes both good and bad factors from the Pearl and 8800, making it an enticing phone -- but we're still waiting for the ultimate consumer BlackBerry

Buying choices:

Editors' rating:

8.3/10

Users' rating:

7.4/10

Tags:

2-megapixel | 8300 | blackberry | bluetooth | curve | pda | qwerty | smartphone

Edwina
03/09/2008, 02:13 PM

rating
3/10

I have had two software error issues with the handset and as a result it has not been able to turn on.

I also have an ongoing problem with my contacts. When a contact calls me only their number is displayed, no name appears

Pros: keyboard and camera

Cons: contacts not displaying

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Jan
22/12/2007, 01:21 AM

rating
8/10

great improvement on the Pearl - probably the ultimate

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DarrylG
21/11/2007, 01:48 PM

rating
6/10

For context, I am a long time MS Windows / Applications user and my last phone / PDA was an O2 XDA Mini II. I was looking to move to a less bulky handset with better software reliability after having reached the limit of the O2's memory capability. Using the device mainly for business purposes, I was particularly keen on synchronising with MS Outlook and was hoping to maintain or improve phone reception quality. In summary, because remote emails are not overly important to me, I feel that I could have chosen a better device.

Pros: - Phone setup was pretty straightforward
- Remote email access is handy
- Handset is slim and light
- The jury is out on trackball & QWERTY keyboard vs touchscreen

Cons: - Synchronising with MS Outlook works, but is comparatively awkward
- User interface for access to key applications and so on is cumbersome
- This device does not have the same reception range as my O2, despite having the same carrier - Optus; I dropped out in places that had never been a problem before
- Maybe I've set things up incorrectly (although I don't think so), but I am getting copies of emails to both my email area and message area. This is unnecessary and annoying
- There is a very basic alarm system (again, compared with the O2) which only seems to allow you to set one alarm which goes off every day - as opposed to selecting the days of interest. I didn't make this part of my criteria as I assumed that it was fairly fundamental. I was wrong.

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lucmobile
13/09/2007, 03:22 PM

rating
8/10

It certainly isn't perfect, but I am totally in love with this phone.

Pros: Just the right size;
gotta love the trackball;
excellent typing features;
nice sound quality of phone and media player;
really smart/straightforward approach to everything.

Cons: Only contemplates Windows - Mac and Linux users are totally left out in the rain;
memory card sits under battery, and the phone takes forever to boot up;
won't save Office document attachments;
the camera is not bad, but not good either;
low volume and not enough controls in media player.

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shellbell
19/08/2007, 07:25 PM

rating
8/10

Firstly, it's cute! But function wise it is still pretty good. The qwerty keypad looks difficult and small but is very easy to use, surprisingly. Great screen and sound seemed pretty decent to me.
(Am a little bit in love with the scroll wheel!!!)
All in all, a good device that could do with some extra features, but has come quite a way!

Pros: Scroll wheel
Standard headphone jack
Good sound
Takes good pictures
Easy to transfer to and from with usb cable

Cons: Due to issues with my provider, haven't been able to test email functionality
Would like to be able to customize home screen a little more
ptionsBluetooth-not as many sending oi available as other devices

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Daniel Gara
17/08/2007, 03:03 PM

rating
10/10

Absolutely awesome, Daniel Gara

Pros: everything!

Cons: can't think of any

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Robert Hunter
31/07/2007, 02:08 PM

rating
9/10

Wicked, this PDA is so good, I had a 8700g and this is the perfect upgrade, has some really good features. finding a cool case was hard, but thanks Terry "blackberrydownunder.com.au" is great. Got a car kit there too.

Pros: Got it all..

Cons: uummmm....

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