BlackBerry 8900 Review

The BlackBerry 8900 is the most recent in the BlackBerry Curve series, and is one of the best BlackBerries ever. Its name suggests that it slots into the BlackBerry ambit aloof beneath the BlackBerry Bold, but although it lacks 3G, in some agency its alike added good than the Bold.

Like the others in the Curve series, the 8900 appearance a abounding 35-key QWERTY keypad with a trackball. It looks about identical to the Bold, except that it's abate and lighter, authoritative it about the aforementioned weight as abounding accustomed mobiles, and bunched abundant to fit calmly into a anorak pocket, or alike into a jeans pocket. This actuality abandoned makes it into a abundant added boilerplate accessory than the old Curves or the Bold.

Before we alpha our analysis proper, let's aloof booty a moment to adore the ergonomics and architecture of the 8900. Unboxing the 8900, you can't advice but adore the body affection of the accessory - it aloof feels so solid and able-bodied constructed. Unlike so abounding phones, demography the aback off to admit the sim agenda and array is so easy. The keys are absolutely small, but they move crisply and anyone with fingers in the accustomed admeasurement ambit for a Homo Sapien should accept no botheration with them at all. You can alike use it single-handedly. The trackball is aloof like with antecedent BlackBerries - some adulation it, some are beneath keen. We aren't 100% in favour of the trackball, but it does the job.

Let's move on to the affectation next. It's enormous! At 2.44 inches beyond and a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels, this is aloof the affectionate of awning that we charge back account emails or browsing the web (not to acknowledgment examination photos or watching videos.) This awning matches the iPhone 3G and outperforms aloof about annihilation abroad in existence. The airheaded are analytic simple too, and already you've got acclimated to the trackball and the all-embracing admeasurement of the device, you'll acquisition that the 8900 is about the absolute phone, ergonomically speaking. For us, it's the abutting that BlackBerry accept anytime arise to perfection. Aloof a little added assignment on the airheaded and a smoother trackball, and it would be 100%.

Now, of course, the key affairs point of a BlackBerry is email on the move, and the 8900 doesn't disappoint. There's little aberration actuality with antecedent BlackBerries, so we'll aloof reiterate that the BlackBerry accomplishing of adaptable email is the best in the business. It is accordant with around all email standards. It additionally supports attachments, with a eyewitness and editor for Microsoft Office documents. Combining this with the huge awning and the QWERTY keyboard agency that you get the best adaptable email acquaintance currently available. It's additionally a ablaze ambiance for argument messaging.

But the 8900 does a lot added than aloof adaptable messaging. For one thing, it has the best camera to arise on any BlackBerry to date. With 3.2 megapixels, a LED beam and autofocus, it's the aforementioned affection as the camera on the BlackBerry Storm, and outperforms alike the camera on the Bold. It may not be an 8 megapixel backup for a agenda camera, but it will aftermath able book affection images, and is a actual acceptable addition. It marks one added way in which the 8900 Curve is about a boilerplate handset. The buzz has a media amateur too, of course, and with appearance like playlists, drag and organising by artisan and album, it's a actual accessible MP3 player. It's actual loud too! The 3.5mm headphone jack allows you to bung in any accordant headset, in accession to the one supplied. You can additionally use a stereo Bluetooth angle if you prefer. With a 1GB microSD agenda supplied as allotment of the sales package, and the abeyant to aggrandize this to 16GB, you absolutely won't be abbreviate of accumulator for music or videos. The video amateur works able-bodied too, with abutment for DivX & XviD, and flicker-free playback on the aerial affection LCD display. There are alike 5 amateur included (from Sudoku to BrickBreaker), although we didn't get annular to testing these (all work, no comedy at Adaptable Phones UK!) There is additionally congenital GPS, so you can acquisition your accepted location, and this can be acclimated with the BlackBerry Maps application.

The 8900 has a abounding best of connectivity options, including Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Abstracts Rate, USB and WiFi. The WiFi affiliation is actual accessible to set up, and lets you admission email, the web, or abstracts on your PC. This is apparently the best way to accomplish use of the congenital web browser.

The 8900 has a whopping abundant assignment battery, which contributes to its weight absolutely significantly, but gives it affluence of ability to aftermost alike with abundant use. You can recharge it from the mains or via a USB cable on your PC.

The 8900 is a quadband phone, which agency that you can use it worldwide, and agreeably it is provided with an all-embracing charger too, so no worries about apathy to backpack your biking socket. But the one affection that is actual acutely missing is 3G. The Bold has 3G, the Storm has 3G, so why not the 8900? For some this may be a appearance stopper, and it absolutely is a benevolence to accept to await on 2G abstracts alteration with a accessory this powerful.

Finally, it's account pointing out aloof what a able accessory the Curve 8900 is. As able-bodied as the concrete body quality, the account agency is actual high, with the 8900 actuality the most recent in a complete change of business devices. Unlike some competitors, there's actual little about the 8900 with a "beta" feeling. Nice appearance accommodate the advanced best of ringtones and alerts (both audio and visual), the abundance of cachet indicators on the home awning (e.g. absent calls, unopened messages, affiliation status, and agenda alerts.)

This is absolutely one of our favourite BlackBerries of all time. The 8900 absolutely is an able multimedia accessory and can become a one-stop boutique for communication, music, media, photography, web browsing and GPS too. Oh, if alone it had 3G! Apart from the missing 3G, this absolutely is the best BlackBerry of all time.

Features of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 include:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash, image stabilisation and 2x digital zoom
• Video recording (240 x 180 pixels)
• LCD display: 480 x 360 pixels, 65,000 colours (2.44 inches)
• Media player (Supports MP3, WMA, MIDI, AMR-NB, WMA, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, 3GP formats plus DivX & XviD support)
• Messaging: SMS,, instant messaging, push email with attachment viewer
• Built-in speakerphone
• Voice dialling
• Voice memo recorder
• MP3 ringtones plus a wide choice of alerts and visual indicators
• GPS with BlackBerry Maps
• Personal organiser functions
• Vibration alert
• Internet: Web browser, RSS feeds,
• Connectivity: WLAN, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, USB, RIM wireless modem, 3.5mm stereo headset port
• Memory: 128 Mbytes plus 1GB microSD memory card (up to 16GB)
• Size: 109 x 60 x 13.5 mm
• Weight: 110g
• Quadband GSM (1900/1800/900/850 MHz)
• Talktime: 5.5 hours
• Battery standby: 356 hours