BlackBerry Curve 3G - Review

“The Curve 3G is ideal for first-time smartphone users. The phone has several low-quality aspects, but overall does everything you’d expect of a cheap BlackBerry”

BlackBerry App World

Curve 3G's keys are easy to use

The BlackBerry Curve 3G is an entry-level BlackBerry designed to tempt those of you who haven’t yet bought a smartphones to do so.

All the standard BlackBerry features (Messenger, App World and, of course, remote office email access) are present on the Curve 3G.

But, in an effort to reduce production costs, higher-end features (like the leather back cover of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and a decent camera) have been left off.

This doesn’t mean the Curve 3G is a cheap and nasty BlackBerry smartphone, though.

Curve 3G is lightweight, reasonably thin and has a rubber back that means it won’t slide off fold-down train tables and laptop lids.

Useful shortcut keys for features including voice command (which lets you call someone by saying their name) and the camera can be found down either side of the Curve 3G.

I also liked the three media keys for selecting and skipping through music that lay across the smartphone’s top end.

BlackBerry 5 operating system

Rubber backing makes it easy to hold

A standard BlackBerry Qwerty keypad features on the Curve 3G and, despite being a touchscreen convert, I found the smartphone’s physical buttons large enough to quickly type emails and text messages.

The phone also has a user-friendly optical trackpad for scrolling through app icons and across webpages. It sits between one-click buttons for making and ending calls, opening the main menu, etc.

Curve 3G has a poor quality screen, I’m sad to say. The 320 x 240 pixel resolution is ok for reading emails and surfing the internet, but it bows like cheap plastic when you run your fingers over it. I also experienced this problem on the LG Optimus GT540 smartphone.

The Curve 3G’s display isn’t touch-sensitive, it’s worth noting.

Applications (apps) and webpages downloaded quickly on the Curve 3G, probably because the smartphone supports 802.11 “n” - the latest wi-fi version designed to help wireless devices pick-up strong and speedy signals from far away routers.

Webpages are reasonably easy to navigate on the Curve 3G, though the experience is a far cry from the user-friendly mobile internet experience afforded to touchscreen smartphones, including the iPhone 4 and HTC Wildfire.

2Mp camera

Picture were low quality

The smartphone’s 2Mp camera is a bit of a sore point. Photos were usually dull and, because a flash isn’t included, fairly dark. Curve 3G’s camera does have a digital zoom, however.

The Curve 3G’s battery life lasted for over five days without a recharge, despite checking emails twice each day, taking a few photos, browsing the odd website and making a few telephone calls a day - impressive, even for light usage.

I also took the Curve 3G abroad and discovered that it switches onto foreign mobile networks quickly without interrupting my email access.

Remember to check your network operator’s internetional call costs before using the Curve 3G abroad because mobile roaming fees are notoriously expensive .

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