BlackBerry Curve 8900 review

Sharing or downloading content can be done over Wi-Fi, GPRS or EDGE but, disappointingly, there's no 3G, which we think is a major fault. We did manage to download and use the 8900's Facebook app and Yahoo Messenger on the go without too many problems but, when it came to using Google Maps and getting a map to load quickly when we were on the move, that was a far less enjoyable experience.

On the back of the 8900 is a 3.2-megapixel camera

On the subject of Google Maps, the 8900 comes with built-in GPS so, once your map is loaded, you can find out exactly where you are. You can use either BlackBerry Maps or Google Maps but, as we mentioned before, the lack of 3G prevents a smooth experience. As for the GPS performance, it was satisfactory, but we found it occasionally took longer than expected to pick up satellites, although that may be due to our review unit or the areas we tested it in.

Performance
Battery life is superb, lasting for over two days with regular use. Call quality was less impressive, with calls sounding slightly fuzzy at times. It's not that volume during calls isn't high enough, it's just that audio quality is not as crystal-clear as on certain other handsets. The loudspeaker is loud but, as expected, sounds tinny if turned up too high. The 8900's interface was fast and snappy and we felt it performed well when running apps, with no noticeable lag when going in and out of different sections of the menu.

Conclusion
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is well designed, and handles both email and videos competently, but, when you pick up a phone like the 8900, you want it to do everything, and we can't ignore the fact that it doesn't have 3G. The lack of 3G affects many of the services that make the 8900 an attractive phone, but it does mean you get more battery life.

If you can overlook the lack of 3G, then you have an excellently designed phone that offers email and a pleasant media experience, and will keep going for days rather than hours.

Edited by Charles Kloet