Review: BlackBerry Curve 9380

Research In Motion (RIM) has modified possibly one of the most popular handsets in SA right now: the BlackBerry Curve. That's right, the latest Curve is nothing like its predecessors - it's touch-screen.

I stand to be corrected, but BlackBerry is still well liked in SA, attracting users on a budget with its signature flat-rate Internet service. Of course, the Curve is the cheapest BlackBerry handset, making it the device of choice for said users. By the way, that's me.

So what do I think of the change? Big mistake, RIM, and you can't afford any more mishaps.

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is a chic little device. It sports smooth metallic and black finishes, with rounded edges. Also, while the touch-screen is my biggest gripe with the phone, it does add to the stylish design.

The curve is narrow, and weighs a mere 98g. The result is an easy-to-manage phone that fits comfortably in the user's hand. In terms of look and feel, the latest Curve is the best yet. But looks are not everything.

I mainly use my phone for tweeting and SMSing, and I found the 9380 really useless in this department. The combination of predictive text and the small keypad wreaked havoc with my SMSing, and I longed for the Qwerty keyboard of previous models. Oh, and scrolling through tweets was also a pain. There simply was not enough space to scroll without, at times, selecting either the tweet or a hashtag in the tweet.

That said, the operating system is great, allowing users to flip between panels displaying favourite, frequently used and downloaded apps. Customising the panels is also easy.

The 9380's battery lasts a good day per charge, and this is with heavy use. I find this adequate because charging my handset on a daily basis is something I have made peace with. Making and receiving calls is simple, and sound quality during calls is great.

While I found the 3.4-inch display too small for an adequate touch-screen, the display itself is fine. The 480x360 pixel resolution delivers bright colours.

The 5MP camera has flash; the absence of a flash was one of my main gripes with my old Curve (which changed hands, but it probably brings lots of joy to whoever now has it).

The Curve also supports WiFi and is near field communications-enabled.

The Curve comes with the standard social media apps like Facebook and Twitter. Users will also be pleased to find a GTalk app. One can also use the BlackBerry Social Feeds app, which consolidates social feeds from BBM, Facebook, GTalk and Twitter, as well as RSS feeds and podcasts. It's a great app, and rather essential nowadays.

BlackBerry fans will be happy to find Word Mole, which is BlackBerry's answer to Nokia's Snake. One plus about the touch-screen is that, even if it is too small for adequate typing, it is much easier to select letters using the touch-screen than using the scroll pad.

I wasn't happy with the native navigation app, Maps. While the app was able to load routes to destinations fairly well, it did not show progress on the route in real-time. As a result, users have to scroll between navigation instructions after taking turns. This is obviously impractical for drivers. Also, I'm most likely to use navigation when I don't have a clue where I am, so I need my navigation app to do all the brainwork, so all I have to do is follow the instructions.

The Curve has great apps, and a user-friendly interface that can be easily customised. The flash-enabled camera is also a real plus. Priced at R3 799, many users will find the phone delivers.

Personally, I just wouldn't buy a phone with a touch-screen like this. It's too small and inhibits my own productivity. What I would possibly do is fork out the extra cash and get the BlackBerry Bold, which offers the best of both worlds.