BlackBerry Curve 8900

Editor's Review of the Curve 8900

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a Smartphone and is also called the BlackBerry Javelin 8900. It joins the BlackBerry Curve line-up of sophisticated handsets, such as the Blackberry Curve 8300, the Blackberry Curve 8310 and Blackberry Curve 8320.

Clad in a stunning casing, the Blackberry Curve 8900 has a solid design with a size wider than standard mobile phones. It weighs 110 grams and measures 109 x 60 x 13.5 millimetres. On top of these physical capabilities, the Blackberry Curve 8900 is equipped with a TFT LCD wide screen that measures 6.96 millimetres and supports 65,000 colours on a 480 x 360-pixel resolution display. The handset allows users to choose from a number of ringtones in MP3 or polyphonic formats.

Working on a Blackberry operating system, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 offers its users versatility and convenience. The handset enables users to utilize different font sizes according to their preference. Situated below the large display screen is a trackball key for easier interface navigation. The Blackberry Curve has a QWERTY keyboard complete with backlight which provides speedy text and numeric inputs.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 operates on quadband technology. It works over GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900. The mobile phone has a full HTML browser which supports Wi-Fi for instant Web connectivity in various hotspots or via local WLAN. Transferring data and files with other compatible devices such as a computer, a laptop or a printer is easy with the Blackberry Curve 8900's support for wireless Bluetooth and USB systems. The Blackberry Curve 8900 is powered by GPRS and EDGE technologies, which assures users of speedier file and data downloads and more efficient transfer rates.

Like any typical mobile phone, the Blackberry Curve 8900 offers the standard SMS or text messaging and MMS or multimedia messaging services. Owing to the Internet connectivity that it offers, the Blackberry Curve 8900 allows onboard access to their emails. Users can compose, receive or send emails through the handset, which is otherwise possible only through the Web connectivity that a computer offers. Additionally, the handset supports online instant messaging for users to chat and instantly connect with their friends and family.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 allows users to organise their tasks or schedules through its organiser features, including a phone book for storing contacts, a calendar, a clock with an alarm option and to-do list features. The handset also comes with sleep mode and vibration alert options. The Blackberry Curve 8900 also supports a GPS navigation function with AGPS, as well as Blackberry Maps application that provides directions to its users in various locations.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 comes with a 3.2-Megapixel camera for users who enjoy taking instant snapshots and capture memorable moments. The handset's camera has a viewfinder display and an autofocus feature to capture subjects better and generate more defined photo outputs. Its flash feature also creates better lighting for otherwise dull environments during photo shoots. Photo shots can be tweaked for enhanced outputs through a set of camera settings that the Blackberry Curve 8900 offers. Besides taking still pictures, the camera also allows recording of videos and streaming of movie clips in MPEG4, XviD, DivX, H263 and WMV video formats.

Users can enjoy their favourite music through the Blackberry Curve 8900's integrated media player that supports popular audio formats. Users will also be able to transfer songs or albums right onto the mobile phone, as well as organise their tracks with the media player's music management features. The Blackberry Curve 8900 also has a built-in microphone that allows sound and voice recording, which can then be stored in the handset's internal storage system. As part of its entertainment features, the Blackberry 8900 Curve also enables users to download games from the Web and play them right on the mobile phone.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 comes with an onboard memory of 256 Megabytes, which can be expanded to up to 16 Gigabytes through flash and MicroSD memory support.

Some observers complain of the Blackberry Curve 8900's lack of an integrated FM radio and a more powerful camera. However, with its quintessential features and good physical looks, the Blackberry Curve 8900 adds a dash of excitement to the mobile phone market.