BB Devices

* A Look @ the BlackBerry Curve 8530!

I’m excited about this one, kids! As a Curve owner / user, this one is pretty cool! The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has had a fair bit of press, & rightly so. The Curve is normally not recognized as a “Big Boy Device or a Power Users Device”, but I disagree with this theory. I am in no way trying to take anything away from any of RIM’s other devices. I Love Them All. I just think that the Curve is a bit understated & under appreciated by the so called “Power Users”.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530, comes with the usual list of features, that all of us BlackBerry users have been spoiled with. There are some features on the 8530 that are going to be new to Curve users & the following are some of my favorites.

Let’s take a look back at the 8330, for a sec. This device has been labeled as a “Beginner’s Device”. This is one of the top selling smartphones of 2009. Not bad for a “beginner’s device”..huh. The 8330 has not been upgraded, officially anyway,  to the 5.0 OS, and most 8330′s are still running on 4.5.  With that aside, the 8330 packs a power house of tools to get almost any job done, and the Curve 8530 is packing even more heat!

Let’s start with the look of the device, even if we do not admit it, that’s really the first thing that attracts all of us to a device. This device doesn’t disappoint in that department. The BlackBerry Curve 8350, depending on your carrier, comes in a few different colors. The color options are Black ( of course ), royal purple, and a lavender color. Size and weight?… the 8530 comes in a little below the 8330 is this dept. The 8530 is a tad taller than the 8330, coming in at 4.29 in. tall, width is exactly the same, coming in at 2.36 in. wide, depth is a tad lighter at .55 in. , and a weight of  3.7  oz. , which is a bit lighter than the 8330′s 4.02 oz.

Now, on to the cool stuff! The 8530 comes with the 5.0 OS , oh yeah, I said it, 5.0! It is also packing quite a memory. The 8530 comes with 256 mb of on board & flash memory. It’s also expandable up to 32 gb of memory …….Woo Hoo! Now, that’s more than enough to load it up with all of your favorite music, apps, pics, videos, and anything else that you can come up with to load on your Berry!  Did I mention that this device is Wi-Fi enabled? Well, now I have!

The 8530 has been beefed up in the media department as well. It supports the following video formats: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV9, and the following audio formats: MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCELP EVRC, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA9, Windows Media 10 Standard/Professional. All of that with the same awesome LCD specs of the 8330, so you will have a great viewing experience for all of your videos.

Another feature that is somewhat  new from BlackBerry & is on the 8530, is the replacement of the trackball to the trackpad. I have to admit, this is one feature that I was not excited about…( I like my trackball ).  Once you use the trackpad for a bit ( and get use to it ), you will see that it’s not a bad change, just an adjustment for us BlackBerry users that are attached to the trackball feature.

If you have been holding out for a new Curve, you might just want to take the plunge with the BlackBerry Curve 8530! As I said before, I don’t see the Curve as “beginner devices”. There is a learning curve…no pun intended…. for any new device. The 8530 is running with the big dogs with its specs, although I’m sure there are some of you that would argue that fact with me…. but that’s my opinion.

* Thinking About Getting a BlackBerry Pearl?

We hear a lot about the “Big Boy Devices”, such as the Bold, Tour, & Curve 8900, but we don’t get to see as much about the BlackBerry Pearl. If you have been thinking about getting a Pearl, then you are in the right spot. This might just help you to make up your mind.

To date, the most recent of the Pearl devices, is the 8220 Flip. It gives you all of the great features of a BlackBerry in a more familiar cell phone package. This would be a good BlackBerry Newbie device. It gives you some insight into the world that is BlackBerry, without making the jump into a candy bar style smartphone.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8200 series smartphone, gives you a compact design, with most of BlackBerry’s features. The available features for the Pearl Flip are a 2.0 MP camera, video recording, media player, BlackBerry Maps, wireless email, organizer, BlackBerry Browser, phone..(duh), SMS/MMS, & Corporate data access. It also boasts BlackBerry’s SureType technology, which combines an innovative keyboard layout with dynamic software for quick & accurate typing.  ( I will have to say that SureType is not one of my favorite features. My mother’s 8130 Pearl has SureType & I just can’t get use to it. ) A feature that I was surprised to see on any flip phone, was BlackBerry’s Trackball… which is way cool. The Pearl flip also has keyboard backlighting, which is a must on any mobile device, in my opinion.  Battery life for the Flip 8220 isn’t too bad. You should get 14 days of standby & 4 hours of talk time …( and I double dog dare ya, to find a flip phone with that kind of battery life..lol)!

The Pearl 8100 series, which is a candy bar style smartphone, is no slouch either, & we would expect nothing less from a BlackBerry device..right?!..

The Pearl 8100 series, boasts all of the same features as the Pearl Flip, but has a few bonuses thrown in for good measure.  One of the bigger surprises for the 8100 series was the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 actually has Wi-Fi, which none of the other

Pearls have yet.  Now, for those of you that are not familiar with what you can do with the Wi-Fi service, you are gonna want to read this. With Wi-Fi, you can have full use of your device for FREE as long as you can connect to a Wi-Fi signal. What does that mean? Well, free phone calls, data usage, & all of the other little things you get hit for by your carrier…if you have Wi-Fi, & can connect to  a Wi-Fi tower/signal…. You can use all of those features without being billed for them… For more on Wi-Fi & UMA, click this link.Another feature that’s pretty cool on a smaller device like this, is the Mobile Streaming. You can getaccess to streaming News & Entertainment directly from your device. The 8130 boasts 9 days of standby & 3.5 hours of talk time, so still a pretty solid battery life here, too.

If you are looking to make he leap to a BlackBerry device, but are a bit skeptical, either of these devices, would be great starter devices from BlackBerry.

* The BlackBerry Tour 9630 !

I know that I have been promising a device review for a while now, & the issue that I was faced with was ” Which Device to Review” ? ! Well, I chose the Tour for a few reasons. 1. It has not been getting such good press lately. 2. It is one of the latest devices released by RIM. & 3. I like it..lol!

Ok, The BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, is one Awesome Device! It has world capabilities, while on a 3g network. It has a slim design, so it is easy to take along wherever you may find yourself & it’s packed with features!  So, if you have been in the market for a new BlackBerry & have been skeptical of the Tour due to its recent bad press, take a look at this before you make your decision. All of the issues that I have heard about are basically manufacturers defects, ( trackball issues & the occasional loose battery door), really not enough to keep you from picking up the Tour.

The Blackberry Tour 9630, has all of the BlackBerry basics with a few tweaks, so to speak.  It’s claim to fame & its name, reflects the Tour’s world phone capability ( on a 3G network). Right now, the Tour is available on The Sprint, Verizon, & Lets Talks Networks in the United States & Bell & Tellus in Canada.

The Tour boasts Enhanced multimedia features & a 480×360 pixel, Hi-Res screen, for all of your video & pic needs. It has 256 MB of on board memory with & SD expandable memory, ( hot swappable microSD card and also supports SDHC). “Hot-Swappable”, means that you can switch SD cards to increase your devices memory…Pretty Cool..huh?!

The BlackBerry Tour, also has a 3.2 MP Camera with image stabilization, which allows you to snap & print pics fast. When a photo just doesn’t cut it, it also has a video camera with audio, so you will never have to miss out on any moment, big or small, with your our on hand.

The Tour has had some bad press lately due to loose battery doors & trackball issues. I wouldn’t let this keep me from getting a Tour , because these are all issues that if you have the mis-fortune of picking up a device with one or both of these issues, you can get it replaced. As far as performance, you will always have a couple of people that are not happy, no matter what type of device you hand them. For the most part, I have heard nothing but “Rave Reviews”, for the beloved BlackBerry Tour!

* The Blackberry Storm.

BlackBerry Storm 9530 , caught my attention first, when I was shopping for a new Blackberry because , well, “It’s a Storm”. The touch screen capability intrigued me, among other things that I will get in to in a bit. Now, I took some time to get familiar with this device and its technology & both are AMAZING! One of the things that surprised me, was the size and feel of the device. It is a tad thinner & a tad longer than the Curve 8330, which is really cool… ( the hardest thing that I had to adjust to with my 8330 was its width. Coming from the Palm Centro, it was a fair bit wider than what I was use to , but now, that is one of my favorite features – the expanse of the keyboard). But back to the Storm – The technology that RIM developed for the Storm’s touchscreen ability is incredible. Now, all of you already know, (unless you have been living under a rock), that the Storm is the first Blackberry that has full touch screen functionality. What makes the touchscreen feature really stand out is the tactile touch & click response. What does that mean? Well, I’m gonna tell ya.

The tactile touch & click response, allows you to “feel” your selections as you make them. The theory behind this, is accuracy. Now, before I get ahead of myself , let me explain the ” touch & click” or SurePress technology in a bit more detail. The Blackberry SurePress touch screen is a pressable touch screen that allows quick navigation with precise typing. In plain English, as you tap on the screen, it highlights the area that you have touched. In order for the action to be carried out, you have to physically press down on the screen. The entire screen actually moves when you press it. This ensures accuracy, as you can see what you have highlighted before you carry out the action. This is how you are able to have incredible accuracy while typing on the Storm. The device gives you highlighted qwerty keyboard on the 3.25″ touch screen that you tap the keys & then press down on the screen to initiate them. This is an Awesome feature! It works the same way with applications. Your finger acts as a mouse to scroll through the apps & then you press on the screen to activate it. ( pretty cool… huh).

The Storm also has a 3.2MP camera & video camera.. I saw some of the pics & I was pretty impressed. Let’s be honest, pictures on a cellular phone / PDA, are normally not the best. The pics that I saw that were taken with the Storm were great. I have also been extremely impressed with the pics that I get with My 8330 too.

Well, that’s all for now. I really didn’t even scratch the surface. Blackberry is getting ready to release their next version of The Storm, ” The Storm 2 ~ Code Name Odin”. I promise a much longer and more detailed review of that one. One of the best reviews that I have come across is at Crackberry.com ~ by: Kevin Michaluk , be sure to check it out!

* Thinking about getting a BlackBerry Curve 8520 ?

* Are you thinking about diving into the Blackberry World? Are you a bit skeptical or think that the Blackberry Devices just might be too much for you? Well, the device you seek, might just be The BlackBerry Curve 8520. Now, I have not had a chance to get my hands on one of these cool little devices, but I have read some of the reviews & one of the BEST reviews that I have seen was at Crackberry.com, ” The BlackBerry Curve 8520 One Week Later”,  by: Adam Zeis.
One of the biggest draws for this device, is it’s Wi-Fi / UMA ability. With these features, you can actually save some money on your calls by using Wi-Fi features that will connect you to the internet to make calls. It also gives you better connectivity, with all of the Wi-Fi “Hot-Spots”, you will have better coverage.

Once I get my hands on one, I will elaborate on its features a bit more, but for all of you addicts, that just can’t wait, be sure to check out the full review over at Crackberry.com!

* The BlackBerry Curve 8330 !

Ok, this is my device and I LOVE IT! The BlackBerry Curve 8330 , has not been labeled as a “Power User’s Device” , but I think that also depends on exactly who you talk to about it.  Now, I am on the Sprint Network, which I have read a ton of bad reviews on, but to be perfectly honest..I have been with Sprint for 5 years & my coverage & service are great ( a little expensive, but great! )

I switched to the 8330 from the Palm Centro. Needless to say ( for anyone that has ever made the switch), The BlackBerry Devices superior. There is no other way to put it. The browser is amazingly fast & the OS (operating system), is very user friendly & you can upgrade & customize practially everything.

Then you have the applications and software that is available. WOW! there are sooo many apps, from games to productivity & everything in between. It would be almost impossible to list them all.

Now, I have heard it said, that the 8330 is a “entry level / beginers” device, as far as Blackberry devices go. I would say that the 8330, all though easy to learn & intuitive, is in no way a “beginners device”.  The only “power user” feature that it is missing in my opinion is the Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is praised for its UMA & connectivity , but like I said, I have had no problems, with my Sprint coverage.  So my big draw with Wi-Fi would be the ability to save on minutes, which in turn will save you some cash ( and that’s always good, right!?).

If you are interested in specs, you can head over toBlackBerry.com, cuz specs although important, just aren’t my thing. What I can tell you is that the screen is incredible with great resolution. The 8330 sports a full QWERTY keyboard & it’s pretty expansive ( lots of room to type, so less typos).  The only draw back if you are coming from a thinner device ( side to side), is that it will take you a few to get use to having so much room, but it will not take you long at all to get the hang of the keyboard.

One of my favorite features that I did not have with the Centro, is the ability to have more than one application opened at the same time. This feature is great. You can listen to podcasts via AudioFly, while browsing the web ( which is just Awesome!) Another attribute is the Battery life. On my Centro, I could only be online for an hour or so, before I had to recharge the device. There would have been no way to run more than one app at a time, it would have completely zapped the battery. With my 8330, that is not a problem. Even with heavy media use, I only have to charge it once a day & it lasts a couple of days with little to no media usage. That is a HUGE plus for me, and I am betting for you too!

Out of the box, My 8330 came with a 3.5 mm headset, leather case, & the Blackberry Desktop Software to manage all of your media & files. Which is great, because you are “Ready to Rock”, from the moment you open the box!

One of the other great things about the BlackBerry Devices & software is that you can upgrade them yourself as soon as the updates are released. You can get step by step instructions on how to do all of these things at Crackberry.com & BlackBerry.com.

Now, I am a huge Crackberry.com Junkie, these guys ROCK!  For a more detailed look at some of the Curve devices, One of the Crackberry Addicts, has a book set for release around November, I believe.  Craig Johnston at Crackberry.com,  has written a book called, My BlackBerry Curve , which is said to cover the 8300 & 8900 series of our precious Curves. Be sure to check it out!  I can’t wait !