The BlackBerry 8520

The new BlackBerry Curve 8520 - is blazing a trail for RIM into the consumer and small Business markets - and it should definitely cause a ripple or two. Without doubt you'll soon be burning up the Social Networking scene online with your phone while sitting in the waiting room & also sending Business texts thanks to its Qwerty keyboard and solid apps!

It's a great phone that does everything well. The 8520 should give all Blackberries a real boost, thanks to it’s excellent value for money price. It features the same basic form as the original 8300 series devices and is roughly the same sized as the more expensive Curve 8900.

Goodbye TrackBall - hello Trackpad!

The biggest difference between the 8520 and all the other Blackberry devices is its new TRACKPAD

The Trackpad has replaced the old trackball that we all knew and loved. Whether scrolling through those longs lists or merely navigating through a web page, it is generally easy to use and a better solution than a d-pad or joystick. The Trackpad has a flat surface that responds to your touch. In our test we found that isn't quite as accurate as the trackball - but it's very good, and as an extra perk it that the phone is now easier to pop into a pocket. RIM report that the Trackpad will be a feature on most new BlackBerry models - so it's great to see this innovation making its official debut on such a great value phone.



QWERTY - for those that love top type

The 8520's real strength lies in its Qwerty keyboard and messaging features, which make it a great phone for social networkers. You can set up as many as ten email accounts, and, because the phone supports 'push' email, you'll get messages as they arrive, rather than waiting for your inbox to update itself.

Core Functions

Call audio quality on the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is great and the speakerphone functions very well. RIM rates the Curve 8520 for 4.5 hours of talk time or up to 17 days of standby time (which is a fair bit less than what the Curve 8900 offers). Both speed dialling and speaker independent voice dialling are also available on this unit. Contact management on the Curve 8520 is also very good, and the ability to search for contacts merely by typing a first and/or last name from the home screen is definitely very handy. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 functions on any of the four major GSM/EDGE network bands, but please note that it lacks 3G connectivity completely. However itís WiFi access will mitigate that omission for some Business people.

Multimedia / Applications

Here for such a cost effective phone - the BlackBerry Curve 8520 holds its own. The performance of the "fixed-focus"

2 megapixel camera impressed. The user interface is pretty simple to use, and makes sending a photo off via email quite a quick task. The great news is that the phone is also capable of recording video clips that match its QVGA screen resolution. The web browser on the Curve 8520 is technically capable, but proves to be more than the low-resolution QVGA display can handle. It makes a valiant effort at formatting complex sites well, but fonts end up looking jagged far too often. It just isn't pretty, though it can still get you to the information you are seeking. There is no native flash support in the browser, either.

The phone is also equipped with organizer apps, like a calendar, that can be synchronized with a personal computer over USB or to a corporate BlackBerry server. There are a ton of other apps available for the Curve, and many of them can be purchased or downloaded for free from the built-in BlackBerry App World, which is now at version 1.1.

For the Music Lovers

On the top - things changed up a bit compared to other BlackBerry models. There is no lock button any longer (thank god as we never used it) and instead we now have dedicated next and previous track music controls. A 3.5mm headphone port is also located at the top of the left edge of the phone, just above the micro-USB charger and data connector. Thanks to the dedicated music controls and the 3.5mm headphone port that are located on the top of the phone, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 does pretty well with music.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 turns out to be both an excellent smart phone and a pretty darn good deal. It's a great Business phone that’s great for typing on and a phone that does everything well.

Features of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 include: