RSS 2.0
Add to Technorati
Save to Del.icio.us
Take it backBlackberry Curve
Today, I finally gave into temptation and bought myself a Blackberry Curve 8320. It wasn’t exactly cheap, but hey, it was long due and was totally worth it (and I got one hell of a discount).
It’s quite a beauty, sleek, small and very easy to use. And it comes loaded with all the cool features — wireless capable, a 2 MP camera, Bluetooth 2.0, built-in multimedia player, 320 x 240 QVGA display, 64 MB internal and of course, a microSD expansion slot, 312MHz Intel processor and a whole slew of other features.
Other interesting things include such things as Blackberry Maps and a kick-ass multimedia player. And I really really love the trackball. Other things that I like about this phone is that it has a very convenient mute key (so you can have it turned on when you’re flying but it won’t try accessing any network) and a push-to-talk button on the side. The display also automatically adjusts the lighting levels by sensing its surroundings, which is really quite useful.
Sadly, it’s not quite 3G (2.75G, maybe? 
) and there is no HSDPA or GPS, but hey, I am not complaining.
So yes, I am stricken with the phone fever.
Cydonian Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 6:05 am
Well, S$349 for a smartphone is rather cheap, I think.
Congrats on your new purchase.
Karthik Narayanaswami Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Why, thank you! Besides, the last time I got a free phone was almost 3 years ago, so I figured that it’s about time.
BPSK Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
Nice! My 7130e is getting a bit long in the tooth, so I have been thinking of upgrading also.
The auto-light level seems a cool feature.
Re. the lack of 3G, kind of bugs me too how none of these phones have web access as easy as – what else- the iPhone. I’ve had phones with web access (1g, 2g and 2.5g) for 4 years now, but have used it less than 10 times.
Re. the ‘mute’ key, I think you are referring to the feature that turns the wireless transmitter off. BBs have had that for a while now.
BPSK
Karthik Narayanaswami Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
The web-browser in the 8320 is not bad, and I like the wifi feature — unfortunately, the wifi and GPS seem to be mutually exclusive. Some providers give you (AT&T has GPS and T-mobile has WiFi) one but not the other and vice-versa. Bah.
While it’s not quite 3G, I’ve heard that EDGE can be rather fast sometimes than true-3G, so let’s see.
The other thing is that it has VoIP added to the mix, so that’s a good thing also. Of course, how well it works would be another thing.
Re. the ‘mute’ feature – I wasn’t aware that Blackberry’s have had this feature. As you could probably tell, I’m a neophyte when it comes to smartphones. Well, at least in using them.
Until recently, my phone and my PDA were separate (and I tried very hard not to get a BB from the company because that implies that you need to be on call all the time — not too fond of that).
BPSK Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
Btw, I don’t know if it’s T-Mobile – but with one of these providers, if you start a call on the cell network and switch to wifi during the call, *all* of it still counts towards your airtime quota. So watch out
BPSK
Alamandrax Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 11:02 pm
the cydonian has let me know quite often that the infrastructure in the usa for cell phones is, to put it lightly, piss poor. old ma bell has just covered the place with red tape again.
Karthik Narayanaswami Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
@ BPSK -
You know, thanks for letting me know. :-\ It looks like you’re right about that part, so I’d better be careful, eh?
Not that I talk a lot on the phone, but hey, it’s good to know. Man, the way these guys rip you off.
@ Almonds -
I work for a baby-Bell, you insensitve clod!
Alamandrax Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
Atlast! We have found the security breach.
Onward men! Gather your torches and pitchforks. We hunt the Bell employees tonight.
We start with metlin.
Karthik Narayanaswami Said,
November 2, 2007 @ 11:52 pm
Why me? I’m boring.
I also smell. You can start with the French.
Milorad Said,
November 3, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
Hey congratulations…
When I bought my iPAQ 9665 I looked closely at the available blackberries, but the coolest ones of the day didn’t have QWERTY keyboards.
I like the GPS in my phone, and the ability to load tom-tom on it, but nothing beats the mail features of a blackberry.
I really love the look of yours, mainly because it’s fairly similar to my own I guess, but I’m not quite due for an upgrade yet. I think the next phone I get might actually be a blackberry, but if that’s the case, I’ll need to install their server software on my own box.
I have no intention of paying my telco for a push mail service, when I’ve got an under-utilised dedicated box I could be using.
How much are you finding yourself using the mail so far?… and have you tricked it out with addon software yet?
I’m also curious whether you actually use PTT or not… My phone doesn’t support it, but I feel like if I ever got one that did, I’d just keep hearing random voices from my pants all the time…. I mean more than I already do :p~~~
Milorad Said,
November 3, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Er, that was supposed to be 6965 up there, in case you were at all curious.
Karthik Narayanaswami Said,
November 4, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
Milorad -
While a GPS would have been nice, I’m not complaining. The thing is, I’m not usually that dependent on a GPS, so I’ve never felt the need for it. Secondly, I’ve a Casio Pathfinder watch that comes with a lot of cool features (including simple topo-tracking and a compass), so that functions as my primary direction-finder. Plus, there’s just about nothing that I can’t find on one of the mapping tools online, so, that’s a saving grace.
About the mail – yes! The Blackberry has a surprisingly intuitive interface. Btw, I do not know to what extent you use GMail, but there is a GMail mobile that’s rather interesting. And the fact that it comes with customized versions of MSN/GTalk etc. makes it even better. Honestly, I can see why people call it a Crackberry.
The PTT button is rather interesting because I do telecom R&D and we just came out with a software that uses the PTT feature. So, right now, I’ve made the PTT to be the lock button, but change its context specific uses for certain apps (e.g. voice-dialling)
Interestingly enough, the Blackberry has an interesting piece of software by a company called Voice Signal). Apparently, these are the guys that provide voice-recognition on the iPhone as well.
And honestly, after having used an iPhone, I have realized just how much I love tactile buttons. Seriously.
Quik question – wasn’t the iPaq 6965 the quad band phone? And what was the version that had the fingerprint reader built in? I’d have loved to have that on my Blackberry.
Milorad Said,
November 5, 2007 @ 1:15 am
I was of two minds about the GPS thing myself because I’m never so clueless as to be entirely lost… I’d never say ‘need’ but I have to say it’s come in very handy. Certainly not every day, but enough to make it worthwhile.
As for the voice recognition, Microsoft has a really good voice-operation extension for Windows Mobile. In addition to voice-dialing, it lets you access calendar features and launch applications, which I’ve found really great. It’s also capable of reading you the incoming caller ID.
I think that once you get used to a certain set of tools it makes it really hard to switch tracks. I’m going to have a VERY tough time choosing my next phone.
Yes indeed, that’s one of the reasons I bought it actually.
There were a couple with biometric functions, but I think you might be referring to the 5000 series, there were several models in that series with that available.
Interestingly I think I feel about biometrics the way you do about GPS. I’d probably throw my phone off a building if I had to identify myself with semi-reliable fingerprint scans to get anything done.
Ever since I first saw hollywood villains chopping off fingers to access biometrically-secured data, I decided I’d just rather tell them my passwords. I’d make a horrible spy.