BlackBerry Curve 8900 review

BlackBerry is synonymous with messaging and email devices and the BlackBerry Curve 8900 doesn't break this mould at all.

It's not the highest ranking device in RIM's portfolio, but it does the job perfectly if you're looking for a messaging device.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 may not be the most expensive device from the Canadian manufacturer, but it is one of the best, up there with the Bold series.

The casing feel solid, as is the case with all blackBerrys and at 109x60x13.5mm the 8900 is more slim line than the Bold and lighter at 109g.

It feels really sturdy, with no loose bits or moving parts you fear may fall off.

Below the screen, there's a rollerball, or 'pearl' that is used for navigation. To the side, there's the usual BlackBerry menu key, back button and call answer/end.

Underneath these flush keys, there's the keyboard that we've all come to love. They're textured, meaning easy to press. The groves provide a grip so your fingers won't slide of while you're speed typing either.

The screen itself is pretty decent for a mid range device. It measure 2.4-inches and packs in a lot of pixels at 480x360 resolution. All images and text are rendered smoothly, giving crisp edges and making it a lot easier to view web pages and documents.

Around the back, there's a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash. The results aren't as stunning as you'd find on a 'proper' camera phone, but they're good enough for uploading onto your social networking sites.

The 8900 doesn't feature 3G that some people may see as a downside. But in fact, until 3G is widespread in India, we don't see it as a massive problem. You see, the BlackBerry way means even the largest websites will load and render swiftly because they're heavily compressed.

However, Wi-Fi is included, along with GPS for navigation.

The BlackBerry isn't just for business users though. Bluetooth is included for streaming music to wire-free earphones, or there's a 3.5mm headphone jack if you'd rather use a wired headset.

The 8900 features a decent music player for music playback, supporting most types of music including MP3, AAC/AAC+, WMA, DivX, Xvid, H.263.

Voice dialling is another bonus, allowing you to simply demand actions with the volume button depressed.

Battery life, as is the case on most BlackBerrys, beats other smartphones. The 8900 boasts six hours of talktime and 19 days of standby. We were able to use the device for two days before reaching for the charger - a very good result for a small device.