subject: Introducing The Brilliant Blackberry 9300 Curve 3g [print this page] RIM have been producing smartphones for a few years now, before the phrase was even coined. Their latest offering, the Blackberry 9300 Curve 3G offers great messaging facilities at an entry level price point, and thus looks set to be yet another popular handset for the manufacturers.
In terms of appearance, the 9300 Curve 3G follows a similar path to the Curve 8520, with the main difference being that the new model does offer a choice of black or red finishes. At 104 grammes in weight, the phone is surprisingly light for a model offering this level of functionality. Measuring 109 x 60 x 14mm, the handset is compact, yet not allowing the relatively small size to hinder the layout of the keypad, where the keys are still adequately spaced out. The keypad is a full Qwerty affair, one of the factors that makes this handset such an excellent messaging device. Above this lies the phones screen which is capable of displaying 65 thousand colours. At 2.4 inches, it is not huge, yet large enough to display complex e mails adequately. The QVGA resolution offers a reasonable quality of image. Unlike many modern smartphones that rely upon touch screen navigation, a user friendly optical trackpad acts like a mouse, allowing guided navigation on the screen.
The 256MB of internal memory on the Blackberry 9300 Curve 3G is ample for simple phone use, storing practically unlimited phonebook entries. Anybody looking to use the device more as a multi media phone will require additional memory, and that is where the micro SD card slot is a real advantage. With the addition of a microSD card, memory can be expanded up to 32GB, plenty of room for even the largest music collection. Using the Internet is where this model really springs into life. The phone allows access to any class 10 GPRS or EDGE network. Locally, the handsets support of WiFi means easy connection to Wireless LAN 802.11 B/G/N standards. This does offer the fastest solution and makes browsing the web a pleasure. Bluetooth 2.1 is integrated on the phone, offering the option of wireless connection to compatible products. A micro USB socket is also present, allowing easy data transfer between the phone and a home computer.
As far as entry level smartphones go, the Blackberry 9300 Curve 3G is an impressive handset. It handles media features very well and the practically limitless memory offered via micro SD is a nice alternative to fixed affairs such as is found on the iPhone.
