BlackBerry 8310

Editor's Review of the 8310

The stylish Blackberry 8310 is housed in an attractive casing that is characterized by smooth curves on its edges and is clad in a metal finish. Weighing only 111 grams, the Blackberry 8310 is said to be the smallest model in the line-up of smartphones that includes Blackberry 8300 and Blackberry 8320. The handset has dimensions of 15.5 x 107 x 60 millimetres, making it convenient to hold, use or carry.

The Blackberry 8310 features a 63.5-millimetre LCD screen that displays over 65,000 colours at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, which highlight those vibrant screensavers. Moreover, ringtones in MP3, MIDI and polyphonic formats are supported by the Blackberry 8310.

Users will find that inputting text through the Blackberry 8310 is fairly effortless with its QWERTY keyboard which has individual keys that are radiated by a colourful backlight. Exploring through the menus and internal features of the Blackberry 8310 is easy using the trackball tool. For full protection purposes, the Blackberry 8310 allows users to create a password and lock the keyboard when the handset is not being used.

As a quadband mobile phone, the Blackberry 8310 covers GSMs 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 that makes it handy for frequently travelling owners. The handset supports full network coverage depending on the user's network operator.

Getting connected with other compatible devices is not a problem with the Blackberry 8310. Transferring files to or from a printer, a computer or other mobile phones is possible with the Blackberry 8310's full support for USB connectivity. Those who want wireless transfers may also opt to utilize the Bluetooth wireless technology that the Blackberry 8310 supports. The handset also allows users to connect to the Internet using its pre-installed HTML Web browser or an embedded RIM wireless modem. The mobile phone is powered by GPRS and EDGE technologies, which results to more efficient downloads and data transfers.

Text or SMS messaging and MMS or multimedia messaging services are fully supported by the Blackberry 8310. The on-device Internet access also allows wireless sending and receiving of emails with attachments in customary formats, which can be viewed through the Document Viewer feature of the mobile phone. The Blackberry 8310 also supports instant messaging for those quick online chats.

In addition, the Blackberry 8310 is built in with a GPS navigation technology that offers directions for users' destinations. Optionally, the Blackberry 8310 can also support Blackberry Maps, which availability depends on the network provider of the handset.

The Blackberry 8310 has easy-to-operate everyday features that include a calendar, a to-do list, an alarm clock, as well as a vibration option for those urgent calls or text messages that users need to be alerted on. For a highly convenient mobile call experience, the Blackberry 8310 comes with a speakerphone and has full support for voice dialling.

The Blackberry 8310 is best known as a business-oriented smartphone. However, as entertainment is also priority, the handset has incorporated exciting features for its users. For one, the mobile phone is equipped with a 2-Megapixel digital camera that has zoom and flash features for a better photo quality, and a viewfinder display for easy snapshots. For users who want results to be customized or personalized, photo shots can be tweaked using the adjustment system offered by its advanced camera settings. The Blackberry 8310's digital camera also flaunts a host of video capabilities, including recording, playback and storing of video footages right on the mobile phone.

The Blackberry 8310 is also feature-rich when it comes to its music aspect, as it houses a convenient media player that supports all popular audio formats. The handset also allows downloading of online games.

Photos, contacts, music files and other data can be stored in the 64-Megabyte storage capacity of the mobile phone. Using a microSD memory card, the memory of the Blackberry 8310 can be conveniently expanded. Users of the Blackberry 8310 can utilize the mobile phone for a talk time of 4 hours. It also offers about 408 hours of standby time.

While downright good-looking with fairly useful functionalities, the Blackberry 8310 lacks better video and photo features, according to observers. Some meticulous users find that the handset's QWERTY keyboard does not pass as a convenient way to input text or dial contact numbers.