Review: Verizon RIM Blackberry Curve 8830

I just started using a new Verizon RIM Blackberry Curve 8830 and thought I’d post some quick thoughts on it.

Pros:

  • Hardware itself is almost perfect: same great physical keyboard, nice screen, removeable battery (easy to carry extras), Micro SD card slot, GPS, trackball, camera with flash, USB charger/data cable.
  • Much faster than my 2007-vintage Blackberry 8703.
  • Small overall form factor.
  • Two “convenience buttons” to quickly launch apps.
  • The Google apps are pretty good, especially Google’s Search by Voice and the ever-reliable Gmail.
  • GPS is super-accurate, even when I’m not outside.
  • The camera is very easy to use and takes decent shots, and has an easy-to-use zoom and auto-flash.

Cons:

  • Software is somewhat improved over my 2007-vintage Blackberry 8703, but not as much as you’d expect given the competition from the iPhone. For instance, the email client, which might have been cool in 2002, now looks very updated.
  • Lots of the same little annoyances persist. For instance the Phone Book app can’t handle more than three email addresses. No way to delete phone profiles that you never use, like “Phone Only” or “Vibrate”. The calculator only goes to 10 digits like some 1970s five-and-dime calculator. There’s no easy-to-remember way to reboot the device. The Search app still has a klunky interface. And so on.
  • The Mute button is too recessed — this is the one hardware-related issue. This button was perfect on the 8703 — easy to press. Now’s it’s small and harder to press. Ugh!
  • No WiFi — okay, so maybe that’s one more hardware-related issue.
  • Voice Dialing doesn’t work for me — could be because I have 4000 contacts.
  • Google Maps don’t seem to work with the GPS for some reason. Bummer.
  • Blackberry Messenger doesn’t appear to support Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, or AOL. I don’t know why the folks at RIM include such a multi-network client — after all, these are communications devices!
  • Blackberry App World is so-so. It’s nice since it enables over-the-air downloads. But it doesn’t come pre-installed, surprisingly. And its selection, while okay, isn’t all it could be.

Downloaded third-party applications I’m currently running:

  • Google Mobile Search, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Sync
  • Qik (need a micro SD card to actually use)
  • Twitterberry

Failed applications — those that I installed, tried, and bailed on:

  • Vlingo (speak commands into Blackberry — to slow)
  • Viigo (a twitter client that updates only once every 30 minutes — not exactly realtime)
  • Google Talk doesn’t seem to work, unfortunately.

Hope you found this helpful!