6 User review

1. Always Samsung says:

   June 11, 2010 at 3:48 am

   Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R5G3W3T7TUMN2 I’ve been a long time AT&T costumer. I thought I could live without having an actual keyboard when it comes to texting, but after a week without my Sidekick Keyboard – I decided to ditch my Samsung Eternity for the Blackberry Curve 8900.

   I was hesitant about purchasing this smart phone because I was never a fan of Blackberry’s (RIMM). I had a BB during their initial boom in the early part of the new millennium. However, the poor browser, poor cell phone network, lackluster screen color, non desirable keyboard, awful battery life, whack OS, & lack of T9 predictive text just couldn’t win me over.

   After I realized that I couldn’t text on a touch screen phone, unless it was the iPhone. I decided that I must have a cell phone device with an actual qwerty keyboard, if I expect to survive my text message & email addiction.

   I picked up the Blackberry 8900 with my corporate discount and walked away with a nice high end phone at a very reasonable price. I have to say that I really enjoy the web browser on the new BB. You can zoom in & out with ease. I thought no browser could compare to the iPod Safari besides the Android G1, but after getting this device – I can safely say that this browser is also one of the best. Its right behind the safari and G1. Prior models were confined to small screens, thirty-five dollar internet only data plans, and no ability to zoom in or out. You were subjected to a small screen and reading small text till your eyes was squinting like grandmas.

   Pros:
   
   Big vibrant screen
   
   3.5 MM headjack
   
   New OS
   
   Decent call quality (No issues yet)
   
   Excellent new broswer
   
   Mini SD up to 16GB (Wish it was 32GB)
   
   Use your songs as ringers
   
   Wi-Fi
   
   Personal Email (Up to 10 accounts can be added)
   
   IM
   
   Themes
   
   Applications (Coming on April 1st)
   
   My Favs
   
   Full HTML Web Browser (Sometimes)
   
   Excellent Multimedia Player (Accepts every format possible)
   
   Video & Camera (3.2 Megapixel as oppose to 2.0)
   
   Includes 2 chargers (Wall Charger & USB charger)
   
   Includes ear phones and leather carry case

   Cons:
   
   For long time BB users, this device is really just a cosmetic upgrade with a new OS (Flashier Icons)
   
   Micro USB (No more Mini USB)
   
   Non RIMM Consumer Changes Mind!

   For anyone who has wanted a BB but held off on getting one, this is the model to get. Everything about it is an upgrade. The device is basically the BB Bold with a different casing. The battery life could still use some more juice. With excessive email checking & non stop texting, the phone usually needs a charge after a day and a half of usage. I did set the brightness of the phone to the lowest brightness available and it has lasted for a little over 2 days with no charge needed. Even on the lowest brightness, the screen is still very bright, sharp, & crisp. And i still do unlimited texting & web browsing. However, AT&T doesn’t offer the best mobile minute plans on earth & their data plan is probably one of themost expensive around. They are fully aware that their signal is one of the best & in doing so, make up for it by charging their non-friendly services at non-friendly prices, which usually doesn’t offers an abundant amount of minutes, unlimited data, internet, email, text etc will end up costing you a lot!

   One complaint from other phone techs is the lack of 3G. Yes, i was disappointed that the device is only on EDGE & Wi-Fi, but if you have a 3G enabled phone with only 1 signal bar – The chances of having a 3G signal is pretty slim. The EDGE browser signal on this device is fine & works just fine. I havent encountered any issues & comparing it with a 3G phone – the thing almost runs at the same pace. NO major biggy at all! I have used the wi-fi a few times & i think its super fast on Wi-Fi.

   I pay under seventy bucks a month for a decent amount of mins & unlimited everything else. My friend has a similar plan on Verizon, its not unlimited, and her bill is always over a hundred each month.
   Rating:
2. eknal says:

   June 11, 2010 at 5:17 am

   I’ve wanted a BB for about a month now, and after reading the reviews of this new curve 8900, I decided I’d wait until it came in stock on amazon. I was fortunate, it came in stock sooner than I thought it would! I’ve only had it for 5 days, but I can honestly say, its the most addicting piece of technology I’ve ever had… other than my PS3…lol.

   The Qwerty keyboard is fantastic, I was a little slow the first day, but now can go crazy typing on it. The Browser is a lot faster than I was expecting, since this BB is not on AT&T’s 3G, its on the EDGE service, and its very sufficient in my opinion! The best thing about the BB is that I can communicate like 10 different ways with other people, Call, Text, Email, One of many messengers, including googletalk, AIM, BB messenger, etc. I think thats like the best thing EVER. Sure, you can do that on any other pda, but its so simple on BB, and the alerts when you have an incoming messenger are fantastic. Every message alert has a seperate icon, so you know whether you have a new email, txt, or IM. All in all, I’m glad I purchased this BB and couldn’t be happier. Of course, that will be until my first bill gets here, but what can you do!

   The only negatives I can think of are:

   The trackball – you can have some issues with it, if you’re “Golden Tee Golfing” it like a mad man, of course its gonna have a slip-up. I’ve had only a few times when the trackball doesn’t respond, but the next scroll over the trackball responds, and its all better. It isn’t permanent or damaged, a minor glitch, understandable wear and tear, and not a real big problem for me…
   
   Phone calls in car – it might have been the other person on the line, but the call quality was blah, speaker phone was fine, but its unfair of me to post this, because all other calls have been great quality.
   
   UPDATE – I definately think it was the other persons phone, they had a sprint nextel, and were way out of range, and no other call has been that bad since!
   Rating:
3. Johnson says:

   June 11, 2010 at 7:12 am

   September 2009 Update: Be very careful as this bb has an lcd screen that breaks easily. I dropped it (something I did a lot with the last bb I had) and the screen developed a very small crack that grew. Over the course of a day it grew so much that the screen became useless. I ended up buying another one because it is very easy to use and I love the clarity of the screen. I also purchased a 8gb micro card and loaded my music on it. To do this was very easy as it loaded the playlists I created in itunes for my ipod. The battery does drain when the WIFI is on so if you don’t need it turn it off. The good news is I now have an extra battery .

   In the past 4 years I have owned 5 blackberry’s with the 8900 being my favorite but not as FUN as my wife’s iphone. I really wanted the iphone but because I use my bb for email 90% of the time I just couldn’t give up the keyboard. So while the iphone has many more app’s and fun stuff if you are a serious email user of your phone don’t look any further. As usual with bb the setup was easy, using the phone is just like every other bb and the ability to have a small row of applications such as calendar, phone, messages right on the main screen is very convenient. I also like the way text messages actually go into their own folder, a huge bonus over previous models. The screen while very crisp and nice really doesn’t look a ton different than previous models I have owned. The app store is really not that great unless you have never owned an ipod. All in all I am happy with the purchase and will continue to use bb for my work email as bb is really the leader in this area.
   Rating:
4. Missy says:

   June 11, 2010 at 8:15 am

   I’ve been waiting for AT&T to offer the curve 8900 and it was so worth the wait! It does everything the 8310 does but so much more. Email, text, video, camera, Wi-Fi, music, organize, and yes it has a phone too! I love bells and whistles and if you love em too then this is the blackberry for you. It does take a while to set up and tranfer all data from one blackberry to the new one but don’t let it get to you. After the setting up is all done you will be pleased. 3G what? You don’t know what your missing if you’ve never had it to miss, that’s all I have to say about that. Go ahead and test drive the 8900, I promise you, you will not regret it!
   Rating:
5. along came toad says:

   June 11, 2010 at 9:11 am

   I’ve had this phone for three days. When I got it I noticed what a nice looking phone it was and how crystal-clear the display was. Initially, it seemed like a great upgrade from the 8330. However, on Day 0, the “y” key went on the blink. It was working 8 out of 10 times I pressed it. On Day +1, I noticed that the keyboard was loose and moving around (not an uncommon issue, I guess). This really made me mad. Between that and the loose battery cover (another common complaint), it felt really awkward trying to type. On D +2, I noticed that the lower right-hand corner of the screen was loose. I could press it down and it would make a creaking sound. I should mention that I never dropped it, I treated it like gold, and always used the (lousy) holster it came with. Needless to say, this is a very flimsy product. Maybe I got a lemon, but I’ve heard a lot of similar complaints about the 8900.

   Aside from the hardware issues, I was very dissapointed with certain features of the OS. When I got the phone, the Maps and Navigator icons were on the desktop. However, the Maps icon seemed to simply vanish and I’ve been unable to find it! When I clicked on the Navigator icon to set up the service, it went through the download and then that icon disappeared! I had to go through the web browser to get to the Navigator, and then it told me I needed to download Flashplayer. After waiting 20 minutes for that download, I gave up. My other chief complaint is the lag in opening and running some applications. It takes a full 10 seconds for the camera to load after launching it, then it hangs up quite a bit when navigating through the app. Very counterproductive to photography.

   Overall, I am very dissapointed with this phone. It’s too bad, since it is a nice looking phone and I like the overall setup of the OS, with the menus and ability to move from app to app. I think we’ll be looking into the iPhone.
   Rating:
6. sms web services says:

   June 19, 2010 at 7:50 am

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