Camera Phones Plaza

An interesting cell phone is the RIM BlackBerry Curve (8330), a cell phone that was created to rival a very competitive market. With a size of only 107 x 60 x 16 mm and weighting only 111 g, this item's size will please its users. RIM BlackBerry Curve (8330) includes an interesting camera of 2.0 MP / Flash / 5X Zoom / Video Recorder. The phone is equipped with a battery of 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery which lets you talk for about 4.33 hours and lasts in standby around 264 hours. Its creators added a 64.0 MB memory, enough for a normal use. An attractive feature of the phone RIM BlackBerry Curve (8330) is the speaker phone, being a useful tool anywhere. The screen of this cell phone lets you insert wallpapers of 320 x 240 pixels.
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If you like phones that uses profiles you will appreciate to know that the BlackBerry Curve (8330) allows the customization. The games system of the RIM BlackBerry Curve (8330) is based on J2ME, having interesting games to keep you entertained. Not surprisingly, because the service is met at all cell phones today, the BlackBerry Curve (8330) supports both SMS and EMS sites. In addition, it allows sending MMS to send multimedia files. The predetermined writing exploits SureType technology, being very easy to use. Phone BlackBerry Curve (8330) allows media streaming technology and is based on Sprint TV / VCAST Video. Data transfer uses cdma2000 1xEV-DO technology.

American non-profit organization Environmental Working Group has compiled a ranking of the best / worst mobile phone of the moment, depending on the level of radiation to the user. The BlackBerry Curve (8330) is on the third place in the top ten of the most harmful with strong radiation phones. The full list, available at www.ewg.org, contains over 1,000 models handsets.

So if you have a BlackBerry Curve (8330) you should perhaps protect it and one of the way in which you can do this is by buying a rubber skin case. On www.eforcity.com you can find a cover case for BlackBerry 8300 Clear Purple for only $4.99. blackberry 8330 gel case will keep your mobile phone safe and protected with an unique design that allows easy access to the buttons of the phone. It is made of thermoplastic polyurethane TPU, and if you want to compare it with silicone skins, this one remains flexible while is stiffer to the touch.

On www.amazon.com you can find a blackberry 8330 gel case for only $0.71 black. This product is made of soft silicone and it can prevent damage to your phone that can be made by the objects from your pocket, purse or even by dropping it. If you want a clear transparent skin cover case to protect your phone you can buy it now for only $0.01 on the same site. But with a simple search on your browser you can find lots of other offers for a gel case for your phone. There are in different colors so you could match them with your clothes or with your state of spirit.

It weighs 111 grams and is solid without giving the feeling of useless weight. Its dimensions are 107mm long, 60mm wide and 15.5 mm thick, so it fits pretty well in your pocket or purse. The BlackBerry Curve 8300 is a member of the BlackBerry smartphones family that is including devices specifically designed for business people, of them being also Blackberry 8800 & Blackberry 8100 Pearl. The blackberry 8300 has an internal memory of 64 MB flash which can be extended by insertion in the particular slot allocated to a microSD  card.
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The phone looks great and has a wide color screen, with about 65,000 colors at high resolution. The screen is sensitive to light and automatically adjust light levels of display for the user to view the screen in all types of light. 8300 has a complete navigation system with navigation wheel, with different features dedicated keys and a QWERTY keyboard which is very easy to use. The user can use the keyboard to quickly write e-mails, text messages, or to pass key events in the agenda of organization. QWERTY keyboard has a built-in numeric keypad, which is defined to stand out from the black colored keys. The keyboard has a subtle backlight which gives user a clear indication of the spaces between keys.

The blackberry 8300 phone supports BlackBerry Maps and comes with a program for viewing documents, which help the user to see all files that have common formats on the smartphone. Curve 8300 smartphone has common features for a common smartphone, including alarm clock, phone book, calendar, organization, memo pad and task list. This smartphone has a built-in camera, well equipped and very useful, which gives to the user the opportunity to do photos with this camera even if this phone is focused on business. You can do photos, save, delete and send photos to other friends, through message service. The 2 megapixel camera is a very useful tool for entertainment, besides all other basic functions.

The built-in media player, improves its user listening to music and run video clips in popular formats that are known. 8300 is a smartphone that has a perimeter expanded, incorporating in it features for those who are business focused, but also for those who want to relax in their spare time. Users can select and change ring tones and alerts, as they wish, and the phone has support for MP3 ringtones, MIDI and polyphonic ringtones. You can easily communicate and initiate calls using voice activation function call.

Users can stay calm in terms of fear that someone might look through the phone, because this smartphone can be viewed by others as coming with a password protection to ensure security. You can lock the keyboard, if you want to make sure that you will not accidentally hit keys randomly when you move the phone in your pocket. Battery life is good, it offers 4 hours of talktime, since the full load, and almost 408 hours of standby, which is ideal for users who are traveling for longer periods of time.

Announced in September 2008, Black Berry Storm 9500 has been made available on the market, barely two months later in November 2008.
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Black Berry Storm 9500 is not just the first touchscreen Blackberry device, but it is RIM's first product that lacks a physical keyboard. For business people, who are the main target of the smartphones, this might sound weird. However, to replace this deficiency, RIM has introduced a new innovative technology called SurePress. Patented by RIM, the SurePress technology makes the physical screen to react like a button when pressed. The display also provides a haptic feedback, which means that you will not feel the difference between a physical and a virtual keyboard, on screen. However, we could not overlook the sense of insecurity that I had when I pressed the touch screen. It seems that it is well embedded in the body casing, and moving to each press. Moreover, the first time I held the phone in my hand, I thought that the device has a great defect, since the screen is 2mm shorter than its frame.

A thin foil protects the touch screen, so the number of fingerprints is limited.  The device appears to have been built very solid, can be held very well in hand, but is heavier than I have expected (155g including the battery). Entirely made from metal, its back case is the main reason that the phone is so heavy. However, Storm 9500 is not even a big phone compared with the HTC Touch HD, or even iPhone 3G, and measures 112.5 x 62.2 x 14mm.



Surprisingly for a business phone, Storm 9500 includes a 3.5mm jack port on the right. Below, near the port, there is a volume button and a dedicated camera button. On the left side of the phone, are a dedicated voice command button and a microUSB port. Under the 3.25-inches screen, there are 4-buttons: Accept and Reject call, Menu and Back. Above the touch screen, there is an LED, which is often used for alerts. The 3.2-megapixel camera, placed on the back of the smartphone, includes functions such as flash and autofocus. A thin plastic covers both the camera, as well as the flash. It has the role to protect the lens and the flash against scratches. Another innovative feature that we find in this smartphone is the two buttons on the top side of the device. Even if they are defined as buttons, you can still press their icons to use them. The left one blocks the touch screen so it cannot be pressed accidentally, while the right one interrupts the sound during a conversation in progress. The MicroSD slot has been placed under the back cover, so you will need to remove it before you put in a new memory card. On the backside, at the bottom of the metal case, you can see a small speaker. Overall, I was pleased with how the Black Berry Storm 9500 looks and quite happy with the way RIM has solved the problem of the external control layout.



As I mentioned above, Black Berry Storm 9500 is the first device that has a capacitive touch screen. It measures 3.25 inches and displays 65 000 colors and a resolution of 360x480 pixels. The capacitive touch screen eliminates the need to use a stylus, and is resistant to scratches. It includes the SurePress innovative technology, a technology patented by RIM (Research in Motion), which offers a haptic feedback. This screen allows the user to navigate through the phone menus, using the fingers, similar to a computer’s mouse. To select an option simply click on the screen surface. If you wish to start the selected application, you only have to click it again. These displays have the ability to adjust the screen settings, so double click can be used as a method of selection and navigation through the phone menu.



The legibility under bright light is good, but you will have to set your screen brightness to its maximum level. As the main tool for text input, the TFT LCD touch screen includes an accelerometer function, which enables users to use the QWERTY keyboard by simply turning the phone in landscape mode. Unfortunately, while the responsiveness of the touch screen is very good, the need to press virtually every letter practically leads to decreasing the speed of writing.

The 3.2-megapixel photo / video camera presents characteristics like autofocus and flash LED. Unfortunately, the camera interface is missing almost completely. The only way to adjust some settings is to click the Menu button after you open the camera function. However, the camera includes some interesting features for photo fans: geo-tagging and image stabilizer. The maximum image resolution is 2048x1536 pixels, but it can be reduced to save storage space. The only other camera settings are colors, and picture quality. Shooting photos with the Black Berry Storm 9500’s 3.2 megapixel camera is quite difficult, as the preview image on the screen is covered at the bottom with a band, which has some settings. This makes the framing of the picture to be quite difficult. Otherwise, I found the quality of the pictures to be quite good. Even if this camera is not one of the best, the quality of the pictures is certainly above average. The color and the contrast look good, while the noise is kept to a decent level. Videos can also be recorded in QVGA resolution at 30fps, but the quality is lower than I expected, so it is not recommended to use the smartphone for recording clips. Overall, I think Black Berry Storm 9500 includes a camera, which is good enough for a smartphone that has as a target the business segment, a camera, which I am sure that it will meet the needs of this phone’s users.



Black Berry Storm 9500 runs the Blackberry 4.7.0 operating system on a platform version 4.0.0.98. This seems to be the old OS 4.6.0, converted to the touch screen. Starting with the Black Berry Storm 9500, it is the latest operating system available on BlackBerry devices with touch screen.

However, if you already have or have had a BlackBerry, 9500’s interface will not surprise you at all, because RIM did not come with anything new in terms of productivity tools. Instead, the new BlackBerry interface now looks much better than the old one. The colors of the icons you will find in the main menu are illuminated slightly in contrast with a dark background, and make a very good impression, even to 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 you will have to pay if you want to create new documents. Instead of risking bringing new functions that might not serve too much to the user, RIM chose to maintain all the old functions and applications, to which they gave a graphic gloss. It is not a bad idea, since most of the Blackberry productivity tools are solid. Problems arise when you dig deeper and see that the menus are boring.

After it gave us the opportunity to review the first clamshell smartphone produced by RIM (Research in Motion) - BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, Pure Mobile has given us the opportunity to test the first BlackBerry touchscreen smartphone, the Blackberry Storm 9500. From the terminal building, but from the list of specifications too, we realized that the Blackberry Storm 9500 has been designed to compete directly with phones like iPhone 3G and HTC G1. Whether it succeeds or not to raise itself to the value of its competitors, we will find from the following material. Even if the Storm 9500 is sold under the Vodafone brand, it can be found in a decoded version too, so that it can be used with other mobile operators.
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The address book can store an unlimited number of contacts, as long as your available memory allows it. Each contact can be supplemented with more numbers, as well as with email addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, and addresses both office and home.

You can play two games when you get bored. Those games are BrickBreaker Word and Mole. Of course, there is the possibility to add more programs Blackberry or Java compatible.

One of this smartphone’s main disadvantages is the fact that it does not have a Wi-Fi connection. However, this is compensated by the fact that it includes the latest HSDPA technology.

The Blackberry Storm 9500 that we received has engraved on it the Vodafone brand and includes Opera Mini browser that works great. Web browsing is excellent, and pages load fast enough, especially when using HSDPA connection.

The browser has several settings that allow you to choose to see the page in mobile mode, or simply as a computer screen. However, the main reason people are determined to buy RIM phones is the advanced messaging services. Blackberry Storm 9500 is no stranger to this, and it includes all the Blackberry specific features. The phone even includes the possibility to have multiple email accounts. You can use any of the following instant messenger applications: Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live, AIM, ICQ or Google Talk. All are easy to access and operate in standard parameters. Unfortunately, even if the number of accounts is not limited, these are available only through the BlackBerry Internet Service. Therefore, in order to integrate the BlackBerry system within a company, it is necessary to install the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).

The Smartphone Synchronization with the PC can be done easily using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The transfer is very fast, whether you synchronize your messages and e-mails or simply want to fill your phone with music.

Blackberry Storm 9500 smartphone is compatible with quad band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), which provides GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA connections. Other tools include Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity with A2DP and microUSB support (including charging). The sound during calls is excellent, almost impressive. You will be able to talk on the phone, even in noisy environments. The GSM received signal is also very good in both cases: EDGE or WCDMA.

Blackberry Storm 9500 includes a Qualcomm processor, which works with speeds up to 624MHz. This seems to be a powerful processor, unfortunately I experienced lags even blockings of the operating system, but occasionally and only occasionally. I am not very sure why this is happening, but I am sure that such problems are from the software and not from the hardware.

The Smartphone includes 1GB of internal memory and 128 MB of flash memory storage. The storage space can be expanded up to 16GB via the microSD slot. The sales package contains an 8GB microSD card.

Because it is a phone dedicated to the business area, I did not have too high expectations from the Storm 9500. However, I was surprised by the quality of the multimedia features, even if present in limited numbers. The music player interface is very appealing, and the options and features you can use are the following: Shuffle, Repeat, Playlists and Equalizer. You can listen to songs stored in MP3, AAC and WMA formats. The music player is compatible with the function, which displays the album cover of the song you are listening.

The phone offers a pair of headphones compatible with the 3.5 mm audio jack, but I recommend changing them with a better pair. You also have the choice to listen to music via Bluetooth. The music player can run in the background, however, be careful how many applications you use at the same time. The external speaker is very strong and clear enough.

Overall, the characteristics of the multimedia are surprisingly good for a business phone, and especially for a Blackberry device.

The 1400 mAh Li-Ion battery has autonomy of 360 hours in standby mode, and about 5 hours and 30 minutes of talk time. From the tests we made the average time of use is for about 4 days. The users, which use the calling function very often, will need to charge the phone for about two to three times a week. However, the autonomy of the smartphone is acceptable for a person that mostly uses the Blackberry messaging services.

At first sight, Blackberry Storm 9500 is very attractive. Moreover, it will become even more attractive as you start to use it. However, there are some imperfections of the operating system. Some bugs make the device not to raise itself to the quality level expected. Being the first of a series of other touch-screen smartphones from BlackBerry, it might prove itself as fatal for many devices made by other brands, but Storm 9500 makes a good overall impression, even if it has some drawbacks.

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.

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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.