Business with pleasure

The BlackBerry (BB) Curve 8300 is the littler sibling of the BB 8800, which we tested in August 2007. Most phones from RIM are business-centric, but the Curve incorporates multimedia features.

Silver tones make for a cool, refined look. The slim profile means the Curve 8300 is very comfortable to hold and carry around.

It’s full-QWERTY  keys are small yet well-spaced out. Tactile response is brilliant.

The 2.5-inch 320 x 240 screen is adequately large and the image is crisp—good enough for the intended use: primarily as a PDA-phone. The 2MP camera gave us good results in daylight, but in low-lit conditions, the images were washed-out. The flash tends to over-saturate the subject to some extent in close-ups.

The mini USB port doubles up as a charging point. You can use the device for mass storage and access the 64 MB of internal memory; memory expansion is possible via the micro SD slot. The micro SD slot, being under the battery compartment, isn’t hot-swappable.

Media Manager, based on Roxio software, comes with the BlackBerry Desktop Manager suite. This allows RIM to integrate multimedia technology and capabilities like ripping audio CDs to the phone, managing playlists on it, and more. BB 8300 Curve comes with the personal manager and organiser apps that most smartphones come with. Synchronise the calendar, memo, task-list, etc. with your PC via Bluetooth or USB, or even with your corporate network if your company runs a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

The speaker-independent voice dialling application called VoiceSignal works really well. The 8300 performed well in our network reception test, with very few call drops. There is no Wi-Fi or 3G support.

Priced at Rs 24,990, the BB Curve 8300 is a good buy for those who demand executive features (PDA functionality) and a bit of multimedia; however, lack of Wi-Fi should be noted.

Specifications
Dimensions: 107 x 60 x 15 mm; Weight: 111 gm; Quad-band, Display: 2.5-inch, 320 x 240, 16-bit; Expansion slot: Micro SD; Camera: 2MP; GPRS; EDGE

RATINGS
Performance :  3.5
Features : 4
Ease of use : 4
Value for Money : 3.5
Overall : 4

Contact : Research in Motion
Phone : 9892577010/9920055666
E-mail : blackberry.mumbai@airtel.in
Web site : www.blackberry.com
Price : Rs 24,990