Lookin' At the RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G

Lookin' At the RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G
By John Parks


The RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 offered by Verizon is an affordable gorgeous device for email, text messaging, and applications. Also on the front of the Curve 3G is a precise optical trackpad for navigating the display. On the right side, you'll find a camera button, and two buttons for volume. The resolution of the 2.4" display screen of the Curve 3G is only 320x240. When you consider that the current generation of smart-phones carries display resolutions in the 480x360 range, the resolution of the Curve 3G may seem a bit low. Pictures look OK when comparing the Curve 3G display to those higher resolution smart phones, which, admittedly, do cost around $150. Text on the Curve 3G may appear a bit fuzzy.
One drawback for the Curve 3G is that it now comes with only the BlackBerry OS 5 instead of the OS 6. Verizon has announced that the OS 6 will be available "soon" for the Curve 3G. The model previous to the Curve 3G, the Curve 8530, had a 528-MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM; the Curve 3G has a much faster 624-MHz processor and 512 MB of RAM, all of which means better performance for the Curve 3G. You switch between apps appreciably faster, typing messages is easier and quicker, and navigation is very responsive. One negative, though, is the Web browser on the Curve 3G -- it feels a bit sluggish.
Import of settings, phone numbers, and email contacts from Gmail is no problem at all. You can set up and use your BlackBerry email account plus ten other Web email accounts on the Curve 3G. Text messaging is supported for BlackBerry Messenger, AIM, Windows Live, Google Talk, and Yahoo.