This is my first Blackberry. I got it for free for work, even though I don’t really need to be in contact that often.

This phone is like a swiss army knife with 50 tools. Technically, it can do many things, but it does none of them well. The menus are a jumbled mess of indistinct icons, and the drop down menus contain endless items to scroll through to get to the one or two you actually use. There are lots of options screens with lots of choices, but they are so disparate and poorly laid out you will always have to hunt around to find the setting you are looking for. Overall, the device’s software seems like a project where several different teams worked separately, never talking to each other until the day before it shipped, when they hurriedly pasted it all together.

Navigation with the little thumb stick is ok, often not very precise, and frequently frustrating. The small keyboard is actually not bad, and I have big hands, though I hear others at work who have the same model complain about it. Battery life is also just ok. I don’t make many calls and I have to recharge every couple days. Call quality with Sprint is good and I haven’t had any problems with reception. The web speed is also ok. Email sync methods leave a lot to be desired, but I wouldn’t blame RIM for that.

If it were my money, I would have bought an iPhone or the Google phone. I have tried them and they are much more elegant and user friendly. The Blackberry is crude tool at best, and at worst it’s a lot of frustrating scrolling and clicking trying to find what you are looking for.
Rating: 2 / 5

I got this phone in January and still love it. It is my first real smartphone, I upgraded from the Sanyo M1. This phone doesn’t take very long to boot up like other people have commented on, maybe because I don’t have it bogged down with a ton of add’l applications.

Since it’s on the 3g network it finds that and the slower network and I get more dropped calls than I used to. But still not that many. Also, playin games on this phone I noticed a lag compare to my old phone, I think because it is always refreshing internally for new emails, not sure.

It has a 3.5 jack, so I had to buy and adapter for a regular, old school, headset. I don’t like bluetooth headsets. The adapter was under $5 on ebay, though.

All in all a great phone with great features, I would recommend it and I would buy a BB again.

Rating: 4 / 5

Great product overall. I love the phone but as mentioned by another consumer, you cannot send photos via text – only through an email account which gets setup/linked to your Blackberry. Also, GPS Navigation and Pocket express take a while to update/startup so if you’re rushing out the door in the morning (like me) you’ll want to get your updates before stepping in the shower so they’re ready when you walk out the door. I previously owned the INSTINCT and got used to immediate at-your-fingertip startup for applications – GPS, weather, news (couldn’t get used to the onscreen keyboard so I traded for The CURVE). The Curve has all of these options, though again they take a while to startup. On the positive side this phone has EXCELLENT battery life. I went almost two days before charging the phone and I use many of the applications frequently. Four stars (leaving off one until a few upgrades are made).

Rating: 4 / 5

I’ve had this phone for 4 months now and I believe I’ve had it long enough to write a review. First off, let me just say that I found a way not to pay for any web services because I don’t use them, so this review will not be for the internet, BBM, or applications (which may be why I have not had any problems).

The mp3 player is very easy to use, and it has an extremely useful search feature: when you just go into your music and you start typing, it will automatically search for you. I have also recently found that, if you hold the “volume up” button on the right side of the phone for about 3 seconds, it will go to the next song, and if you hold the “volume down”, it will go to the last song (once again, very useful). The speakers on the phone get a little blurry when at full volume, but then again, what phone doesn’t? It is also very convenient that the phone accepts normal 3.5mm headphones, so you can just plug your iPod headphones or any other standard headphones into the jack and listen to your music, and the same if you have headphones with a microphone.

The user interface is very nice and easy to use, and the best thing I have found about this phone is that it DOES NOT FREEZE. This is a HUGE deal for me since my last phone used to freeze practically every time I went to the mp3 player. However, on my Blackberry, I play Brickbreaker while having music play on the speakers and it works seamlessly (there is a little bit of a lag when the song changes, but it’s not too big of a deal).

The thing I like most about this phone is how text messaging shows up. It puts all of your conversations in one thread (similar to the iPhone) so that you don’t have to keep going between messages to find something you said to your friend, or vice versa.

It also has a decent camera with flash and zoom. The camera is not as clear as the iPhone’s camera, but I’m very satisfied with it because I take a lot of pictures at night when flash is absolutely necessary. I’m not sure why the review says it does not have a video camera, because the phone actually does have a decent video camera that I have used at least 10 times so far.

Also, battery life is AMAZING. As I said before, I play a lot of music and Brickbreaker on my Blackberry, but I only need to charge it every few days.

The keys are a bit small to type with sometimes, but I have adapted and I put up with it because the small keys are what lets the phone be so small.

I have also dropped this phone many times and it is still LIKE NEW. However, I would recommend buying a silicone case for it (you can find them for as low as $5) to protect it.
Rating: 5 / 5

I’ve had my Blackberry 8330 with Sprint for a couple of weeks now. With the many different units I have had over time, I have a good comparative baseline to note the Blackberry’s performance against. My prior phone was a Motorola Razr with AT&T. I loved the phone and the service I had. Concurrently with the Razr, I had numerous PDA’s, aka “Smartphones” which my workplace provided me. All these units had issues, quirks, and downright irritable tendencies. I still have one of these PDA’s; it’s a Verizon 6800 – one of the most aggravating PDA’s I have experienced to date. I have also had two Palm units and an IPAQ.

I got this unit as a replacement for my Razr as the plan I was on wasn’t conducive to texting/web. The switch from AT&T wasn’t easy as I had a long run with them as a carrier and would recommend their customer service. Sprint had a better data/phone plan so I went with them and got this jewel of a unit.

The Blackberry is lightweight, comfortable to hold and unbelievably easy to use. I love the QWERTY keyboard, there is no ‘lag time’ in typing words as I suffer with the Verizon unit. The screen is bright and easy to see even outdoors and with sunglasses(!). Not so with the Verizon – I have to take off the sunglasses, position the unit ‘just so’ in order to use the touchy (not in a good way) touch screen and also to read emails. The Verizon has a slide out keyboard which I thought would be a good thing – well, if it worked as it should.

I have downloaded a multitude of free apps from the numerous Blackberry websites. The unit comes with a decent amount of apps already built in. I now use OperaMini for the browser as I find it to be faster than the pre-installed one. It came preloaded with Blackberry Messenger, Yahoo, AIM and much more. I have email coming from three different accounts, each nicely in its own folder. Emails come quickly, I don’t have to synch all the time as I do with the Verizon unit (yes, even with the settings set to download on a timed basis).

The battery life is good. No complaints at all. I call, use the web all the time, download apps all the time and the battery holds up. The Verizon unit? It sucked wind within hours of unplugging from a full charge. I also spent hours with tech support for the Verizon unit both on the phone and in a store. But those are stories for another time.

The sound quality is great. I haven’t tried it my Bluetooth earphone as yet. Texting is a breeze. I haven’t lost the phone signal or had delayed emails anywhere I’ve gone yet. The PC software to synch and backup the software works like a charm. The unit is so easy to use right from the box. I may go and read the manual at some point and see what else it can do I haven’t discovered on my own.

There are a multitude of covers, accessories and software (free and fee) for this gadget. I can’t say enough about it. I am thrilled I bought it and I guess I am now officially a Crackberry member. I wish I got the real “Smartphone” sooner. As a techno-geek, I love this gadget. For non geeks out there, get it – you don’t have to be a techie to use or appreciate the work it does. I now have two phones in my purse, but only ONE that IS a SMARTPHONE.

Terrific product. Kudos RIM.

Update-there is a hefty user community out there. Help and a thorough knowledge-base is at your fingertips [...].

Rating: 5 / 5