Review: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300

With the introduction of the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, RIM launched itself beyond its business roots and into the mainstream consumer market. The Pearl was a great first effort, and it sold very well. Now RIM is trying to apply the same treatment to its bread and butter crop of QWERTY smartphones. The 8800, which we recently reviewed, was a mostly aesthetic update to the lineup, but the new Curve 8300 is the real thing. It can compete head to head on features with most consumer oriented smartphones, all the while offering the full BlackBerry Push Email experience.

Physical Aspects

RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8300 is a full QWERTY keyboard equipped device that is significantly more compact than the firm's 8800 series of devices. It is ever so slightly thicker than an 8800, but is both narrower and shorter, coming in at 111mm x 61mm x 16mm (4.4" x 2.4" x .63"). At 110g (3.9oz), it is also a full 24g lighter than an 8800. The Curve 8300's compact design seems to mesh with its QVGA display far better than do the larger 8800 series devices, which use the same display. The display itself is generally bright and readable, even in direct sunlight. It even has an auto-brightness mode that boosts the backlight's power beyond its normal limit for when the phone is used in bright conditions.

For me, the highlight of the Curve is its impressive keyboard. The keys are evenly spaced and very readable regardless of the keyboard backlight status or the light levels in the room. On top of that, the keys have a fantastic feel that I really have come to love. It is true that the ALT key on the keyboard has to be used to access the period/full stop character, but RIM's software provides a simpler way: entering two spaces in a row will automatically covert the first space to a period. Capital letters can be entered using the traditional shift keys, but are more conveniently entered by long pressing the key in question. The 8300's AutoText function will automatically change words like "dont" and "cant" to "don't" and "can't". The combination of physical design and software make the Curve 8300's keyboard my favorite on the market today.

This is not to say that the trackball navigation device that was first seen on the BlackBerry Pearl is not also impressive, because it is. It offers the best features of both a scroll-wheel and a d-pad in one space saving package. The control cluster that surrounds the trackball consists of the red and green call buttons, a menu key, and a back (escape) key. All four are large and provide good tactile feedback.

There is little else to the front of the 8300 apart from the small LED used for indicating service and new message status. The right edge of the device has a simple volume rocker control and a configurable feature button that defaults to activating the camera. Similarly, the left edge has a feature button that by default activates Push To Talk on the AT&T version of the 8300. I reconfigured the button to bring up my email inbox since I had no use for PTT. A miniUSB charging/data port and a real 3.5mm stereo headphone jack are also located on the left edge of the 8300.

Curve 8300 and 8800

Curve 8300 and 8800

Curve 8300 and 8800

The back of the device is where the 2 megapixel camera is located, next to its flash and self-portrait mirror. The back cover of the 8300 can be easily removed to expose the battery. The SIM and microSD slots are both located under the battery, which means that the device has to be powered off when swapping memory cards. The multipurpose Mute/Standby/Music key is located on the top of the 8300. There is no dedicated power key like on the 8800 series devices. Instead, the red call end button deals with that task.

The overall design of the BlackBerry Curve 8300 is perfectly suited to its messaging focus. It is comfortable to hold, solidly built, and offers a fantastic keyboard with a large and readable display. It doesn't get much better than this on today's market.