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In a technology world full of Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile, Blackberry releases another smartphone with QWERTY keyboard – Black Berry Curve 8900. The device wears the mark of the Canadian company especially when it comes to design and software. The brand fans will most likely be happy, because this device is one of the few RIM released last year. After they tried to enter the touch screen smartphones market, it seems that RIM continues to run on the same conservative line announcing a new phone that comes with nothing really new in terms of design and technical features. So do not expect new things, because the Black Berry Curve 8900 is just a standard smartphone , but solid, which has as a target the Blackberry fans of the series that have an average budget.

Black Berry Curve 8900 is a middle-class smartphone, so do not expect to find technologies such as 3G and HSDPA. Users will benefit only from EDGE and GPRS Class 10. Fortunately, RIM has also included Wi-Fi 802.11b / g - a great option for users to reduce costs for Internet browsing and data transfer. Although the integrated browser is decent, you can choose the MiniOpera browser, which is fully compatible. Unfortunately, you will have to wait when accessing Web sites with richer graphics when using an EDGE connection. I suggest finding a Wi-Fi hotspot, when you plan to visit these types of sites or if you want to transfer more data. Tested in EDGE networks, the phone results were mediocre, as was also expected - 138 Kbit / s download and 74 Kbit / s upload (EDGE).

In terms of messaging services, Black Berry Curve 8900 offers the whole package of standard Blackberry features. If you want to receive messages from multiple accounts or you need the instant messaging services, the smartphone has it all. Unfortunately, you will be limited to e-mail accounts from the BlackBerry Internet service. However, unlike the Bold, Curve 8900 includes two new services, instant messaging (Windows Live Messenger and GoogleTalk), in addition to your usual Blackberry Messenger. In addition, installing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) is required, to integrate the BlackBerry into a company system. The synchronizing with your PC can be done very easily with BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The transfer is very fast, whether you synchronize e-mails and messages or simply fill the smartphone with files.



Black Berry Curve 8900 has a built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS and BlackBerry Maps. The GPS module works perfect and completes the technical features of a smartphone that Blackberry fans wanted included in one device. Black Berry Curve 8900 is a quad-band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), including GPRS and EDGE class 10. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and microUSB for PC synchronization (including charging). We recommend using the dedicated charger in the sales package, because charging with the USB cable will last more than 2 hours. The conversation quality is good, but it cannot be compared with the conversation we experienced using the model Bold 9000. The GSM signal is very good in EDGE network.

Black Berry Curve 8900 benefits from a single processor 512MHz Marvell, which makes it one of the fastest Blackberry smartphones on the market. The most modern Blackberry models include ARM9 family processors. Some Blackberry phones include ARM7 family processors so are a bit slower. Even if the 8900 Curve is part of the first category, unfortunately, I noticed that the phone has lags when making multi-tasking among multiple applications. Furthermore, we did not experienced operating system blocks, in addition to those annoying lags when using two or more applications. Blackberry Bold 9000 is certainly faster than this model, but the difference is barely noticeable, which makes the 8900 Curve a very good option.

The smartphone includes 120 MB user available memory and 256 MB flash memory. The storage space can be expanded up to 16 GB via the hot swappable microSD memory slot.

There is not much to say about the multimedia, only that it wears the same conservative print, business, but this is understandable since we are talking about a smartphone, which has as a target the business segment. The music player supports the function "album art", but it does not have an equalizer. It also supports music files such as MP3/WMA/WAV/WMA-DRM +, which can be sorted by artist, album and genre. Users will be able to make their own playlists in just a few minutes.

Moreover, even if the music player has only standard features, I was surprised to find a good sound quality, especially when using the headphones other than those in the sales package. This is possible thanks to the 3.5 mm audio port so you can easily attach your own headphones. Another disadvantage that I found can be the placement of the audio jack on the right side of the phone, which will make it almost impossible to keep the phone in your pocket when the headphones are inserted into the port.

The music player can be minimized in the background, and because of the connectivity through Bluetooth, you can enjoy your music through wireless stereo headphones. The music played by the external speaker is loud and clear enough, but the lack of an equalizer makes the music sound to be pretty much the same, regardless of the song. Overall, even if poorly in equipment, the multimedia features are surprisingly good for a business phone, and especially for BlackBerry devices.

The Li-Ion 1400 mAh has an official autonomy of 356 hours in standby mode and about 5 hours and 30 minutes in talk time. Our test unit required a recharge after about 3 days of average use. However, those who frequently use the phone will need to recharge the phone every 1-2 days. The autonomy is acceptable for a Curve 8900 owner, which uses only the Blackberry specific services, namely messaging services, but if you have long telephone conversations you may have a problem regarding the battery.

Well, I was not too impressed with this smartphone, as it looks like a normal Blackberry phone. If you are not used to the "pie" form of the Blackberry devices, you might find this smartphone interesting in terms of design. However, Black Berry Curve 8900 is just a cheaper version of Bold, but that does not mean that its performance is much lower. I found the device quite well built and solid, with an attractive aspect, which will certainly appeal to fans of the RIM Company. The average range of features is well balanced and it works reliable, providing stability to users when they are not in the office.