Camera Phones Plaza

Announced in November 2008, Blackberry 8900 Curve hit the shelves in the same month. Currently, the phone is only available in one color option - black.

Compared to its predecessor Bold 9000, Blackberry 8900 Curve is smaller, but a little thicker. The screen size seemed surprising, because we have not anticipated it- 480x360 pixels. Because of that resolution, you can see more on screen, especially when reading emails or when browsing the Internet. Another unusual thing, except for the screen size, I have not met in its design. The phone benefits from the same standard bar design, and enough space for a full QWERTY keyboard. Even if the keys are a bit smaller, they are well spaced, so you will have no problems in writing text messages quickly. Above the keyboard, you can see a black trackball, a menu key, the Back key and the usual keys for accepting or rejecting calls. I was disappointed with the trackball's sensitivity, which is difficult to control. Even with the sensitivity, set at 100, it is hard to navigate through the menu quickly. However, I think I could get used to it.

Above the 2.4 inch touch screen, you can see a small speaker and an ambient light sensor. On the left side of the phone, we found a button that activates the voice command, while on the right side we found a dual volume key, a dedicated camera key, a microUSB port and a 3.5mm jack port. On the top side of the phone, there are two almost invisible keys placed at both ends, which can be used to lock the phone or to select the silent profile. The 3.2 megapixel camera on the back does not seem to be protected, but has an LED flash for night pictures. Between the two, there is a small speaker.

The microSD slot has been placed under the metal cover on the back of the phone, near the SIM card and does not involve removing the battery to access it. The front of the phone is made from a shiny plastic, which makes it look classic and elegant, but also makes it very sensitive to fingerprints. A silver band surrounds the smartphone, which peals in time after frequent use or possible accidental falls. The bottom of the back side, is covered with a plastic that resembles a lot with leather and provides a greater stability and a better grip when held in hand. We observed that there is a space of nearly half a millimeter between the screen and the case, where dust can penetrate very quickly. The Blackberry 8900 Curve measures just 109 x 60 x 13.5 mm and weighs around 110g (including the battery). Overall, this smartphone is not surprising in terms of design, but on the contrary, it keeps the same compact form and traditionalist specific to BlackBerry devices.

Blackberry 8900 Curve has a 2.4 inch TFT screen that supports 65,000 colors and a half-VGA resolution of 480x360 pixels. It is quite unusual for a BlackBerry smartphone, but in the positive way this time. Medium as size, the screen does its job well. Thanks to its resolution, this one is enough to provide an immersive web experience. The picture quality on the screen has a high standard, with excellent brightness, vivid colors and a good contrast. In addition, the display is clearly visible in strong sunlight, so it became quite common for the latest Blackberry smartphones. The two themes included make the phone interface more attractive. Overall, the image quality is high enough for a business Blackberry device.

The photo / video 3.2 megapixel camera has been improved compared to the Bold's 2 megapixel camera. Even if less protected against scratches, the camera includes autofocus function and flash. The last one will allow users to take pictures even at night, but to get something that can be labeled as "image" will have to stay pretty close to the photographed subject.

Overall, the camera interface is standard, with settings such as White Balance, Color Effect, geo-tagging and image quality. Blackberry 8900 Curve also includes a dedicated camera button, but unfortunately, it was placed right on the middle of the phone’s left side. This will make the process of taking photos a little harder, unless you use the trackball as the main trigger.

Blackberry 8900 Curve runs the Blackberry 4.6.1 operating system on a 4.2.0 platform, an updated version of the operating system Blackberry Bold had. Nothing has changed in its composition or in its graphics aspect of the main menu and the interface. Users will have the same good-looking menus, but only on the surface. The more you enter the phone’s sub-menus, you will find the same boring colors "black and white" specific to the Windows Mobile operating system too.



The colors of the icons that you will find in the main menu are illuminated slightly in contrast with a dark background, and make a very good impression, even on an old BlackBerry fan. As usual, the Office suite, called Documents To Go, developed by DataViz, is included in the operating system. Unfortunately, you can only read and edit Word documents, Excel Docs, and PowerPoint presentations, but will have to pay if you want to create new documents.

The address book can store an unlimited number of contacts, as long as you have enough memory available. Each contact has several fields that can be filled with information such as phone number, email address, birthday, photo, job address and home address.

The phone also has games that you can try whenever you are bored: BrickBreaker, WordMole, Texas Hold'em King 2, Sudoku, and Klondike. Other applications included are MemoPad, Tasks, Calculator, Voice Notes Recorder, Voice Dialing and Password Keeper. Of course, there is always the option of adding more BlackBerry or Java compatible applications.