The BlackBerry 9330 - new Curve 3G

The reworking of the 8500 means along with a, much needed, facelift we are given enhanced memory and a brighter more vivid display.

How it Looks

The BlackBerry Curve 9330 is a far better design that the 8500 series and feels a whole lot more solid. The new addition of having a chrome bezel makes the device slightly heavier but this just makes us feel that the device is more secure in our pockets and not likely to break if it takes a knock.

The rubber lining across the back side of the device is fantastic for grip and makes the 9330 a pleasure to hold.

Keyboard/Trackpad

The trackpad is another noticeable improvement, it isn’t too recessed like it has been on previous models and actually pops out a little bit, and as its firm it stops the trackpad from wiggling around annoyingly when you try to use it.

The keyboard is much of the same from BlackBerry and that’s good, QWERTY layout, this means any old users will feel right at home from the moment they pick up this handset. The keys feel a little harder than those in the Torch family, but we found this didn’t have any effect on our ability to tap out emails or send messages.

Juke Box

Not only is the 9330 Curve a fantastic music player it also has really good video functionality which is handy for watching any youtube clips that may help you with your business. BlackBerry have supplied buttons dedicated purely for music and video so playing and skipping songs is as easy as you want it to be and having them on the top of the phone feels perfect.

The media player feels enhanced with its new ability to scroll through albums as well as songs. Besides album scrolling, you are also given the ability to select artists and then see all tracks by them in a listed format.

One of the stand-out features of this model is the fast picture load, which means when your are surfing through your photo albums you don’t have to wait for pictures to render or load, which we have found annoying on other handsets. No loading screens or freezes which have been famous among BlackBerrys of the past, one skip to the left or right and you’re on to the next picture, no hassle.

Summary

So BlackBerry have upped their game and provided an improved and working version of the Curve 8500 series. This looks elegant and feels fantastic in your hand with its use of chrome and rubber.

The camera is perfect for taking quick pics and uploading onto any social networking site, or for personal use. We believe that this is the best BlackBerry yet for people who have never used one of RIM’s phones before as it’s just not as complex and feels both fun and intuitive to use.

So it’s not always the easiest to determine which BlackBerry is better to the other, especially when we get into more basic introductory devices such as the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330.  So up against what we had originally (8530), this is a huge step in the internal hardware with the doubled up memory, the more elegant look and chrome, solid feel, and more importantly BlackBerry 6 OS compatibility. 

For those just starting with BlackBerry and looking for that one to start off with, the Curve 3G is the best way to go at a very minimal cost.

Features:

• BlackBerry OS 5.0, upgradable
• SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
• HTML
• A-GPS support; BlackBerry Maps
• MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/FLAC player
• MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
• Organizer
• Voice memo/dial
• T9

Specifications:

• 109 mm
• 60 mm
• 13.9 mm
• 104 g