Blackberry Curve 8320 review

The width of the Curve 8320, while potentially a challenge for your pocket, is precisely what allows it to accommodate an impressive Qwerty keyboard

We review the Blackberry Curve 8320 - the latest stage in RIM's transition of the Blackberry brand from a business tool to a consumer-focused smartphone

The BlackBerry Curve made its first appearance in the middle of last year. It was a revelation at the time, taking what had previously been a somewhat oversized and very business-looking device and turning it into something smaller, cooler and, well, dare we say it, just that bit curvy.

The BlackBerry Pearl, with its non-Qwerty keyboard and more phone-like appearance had already made a splash in consumer circles and now it was the turn of the full Qwerty.

Since that first appearance, as the Curve 8300, there have been two more Curves, perhaps rather unimaginatively named the 8310 and the 8320. They are available from various UK operators, with the most recent, the 8320 exclusive to Orange as we write.

The three versions of the Curve have slightly different specifications in relation to some of their capabilities. If you want a built in GPS, for example, you need to choose the Curve 8310 as the other two don’t have it. If you want Wi-Fi then your choice has to be the 8320. The original Curve 8300 has neither of these.

In other respects, though, the three Curves are quite similar and much of what we say can be applied to them all. For example, they are all equal in size and shape. Weighing in at 111g the Curve won’t stretch your pocket downwards too much, though its width of 60mm might make it a tight fit in some cases. At 15.5mm thick and 107mm tall it is similarly sized to other smartphones and many candybar design mobile phones.

The width of the Curve 8320, while potentially a challenge for your pocket, is precisely what allows it to accommodate an impressive Qwerty keyboard. The Curve’s keyboard is one of the best front-facing efforts we have seen on any smartphone. The keys aren’t especially large, but they are spaced well apart from each other and raised a long way from the fascia into which they are embedded.

This makes it relatively easy to find and hit individual keys as they are easy to feel separately under the fingers. You aren’t going to be touch typing on this keyboard, but the chances are you could type as quickly as it is possible to do on a smartphone.

This matters a lot as the screen is not touch sensitive making the keyboard your only way of getting text into the BlackBerry Curve 8320. Since its main aim in life is to provide you with mobile email, a dogdy or difficult to use keyboard would be tantamount to the device shooting itself in the foot.

Under the screen is a set of controls that will be very familiar to BlackBerry users. The white ball is there for you to roll under a finger and in doing so move around on the screen in order to make selections. You just press it to choose whatever is highlighted at the time.

To its far left and right are Call and End keys, and closer in you’ll find a back button and a menu key. The menu key calls up menus which differ depending on which of the many built-in applications you are running at the time and which allow you access to features and settings. It is a simple, intuitive system that is consistent across the device.

On the left and right edges of the Curve 8320 are two keys with no markings to indicate their functions. They are unmarked because you can set them up to do whatever you like. Called ‘Convenience Keys’ they are a feature of many of the BlackBerry devices. You can configure them to launch applications or services such as the call log or profiles changer.

The 64MB of built-in memory isn’t particularly generous but you can add to it with microSD cards. You’ll need to remove both battery cover and battery to get to the card slot, though, as it sits next to the SIM. This isn’t the most user-friendly location for a memory expansion slot, and we’d prefer to have seen it on one edge of the casing.

There is a camera on board. Once upon a time no self respecting BlackBerry would ever have integrated such a consumer-oriented feature, but since the company's more mass market positioning they are much more common.

It is not, though, as capable as cameras you’ll find in some other smartphones. It shoots stills at resolutions up to 2 megapixels and has a self portrait mirror and mediocre flash. It takes ages to save pictures, and there is no capability to shoot videos.

In a further bid to entice consumers there is a media centre where you can control your music, videos (downloaded or copied to the device, not shot with the non-video capable camera), ringtones and photos. Where music playback is concerned the standard 3.5mm headset socket is a real boon. You can also create playlists of favourite songs. But don’t expect the sophistication of Nokia’s top end S60 smartphones.

There is a Web browser and the wide format screen means you are not squinting at content as you can find yourself doing with some candybar style smartphones. But the browser is less sophisticated than some others you’ll find these days. It works well enough for occasional use, but if you are a big mobile Web user you might want to consider a smartphone with a better browser.

Mobile email is the stock-in-trade of the BlackBerry range, and here the Curve 8320 performs as well as you would expect. You can set it up to collect emails from up to ten POP3 accounts and it does so automatically. This isn’t a 3G device – it is quad-band GSM with GPRS. But even without a 3G speed boost it grabs email attachments quickly enough in our experience.

In the end the Curve 8320 starts from the mobile email end of things and adds in some nice extras. If you like your mobile blinged up with stacks of multimedia goodies then it might not be what you are looking for. But if mobile email is your main thing, it is easy to set up, easy to use, and has some good additional features.