BlackBerry Curve review - Value & Comparisons
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Mark Brezinski Published on August 10, 2007 Comment on this |
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Value (7.0)
The Curve is all about value. You can pick one up outside a contract for $349.99, or $199.99 (both prices after a $50 mail-in rebate). If you wish to go through Amazon.com, you can find it for $-14.06 after rebates -- that's right, negative 14 dollars. Even at $200, the Curve is a pretty good deal for a smart phone. It's very comparable to the 8800. It doesn't have GPS, but it does have additional, if minor, functionality upgrades. If you're looking for a BlackBerry and won't miss the GPS, we would recommend the Curve.
Comparisons
BlackBerry 8800 - The BlackBerry 8800 is basically an uglier, cameraless Curve with GPS and a bigger price tag. Whether or not the GPS is worth it is up to the consumer. Some users might favor the 8800 over the curve, though; it is slightly larger and feels much more solidly constructed. It also lacks a camera, which may make it more attractive to business users who want a device for work, not for taking drunken candid shots.
HTC Mogul - The Mogul runs an entirely different operating system (Windows Mobile 6), which will cause customers to prefer either it or the Curve entirely by itself. It's an apples and oranges choice, and the choice is often made for you; many companies pick one mobile OS and insist that their employees use that. Many companies favor BlackBerries for their email features, but others prefer the flexibility of Windows Mobile. If you get the choice, the Mogul offers a bit more functionality than the Curve, both in its organization software and its messaging capabilities, but does so for a price. The slide out keyboard on the Mogul is bigger, and the screen is much larger, which gives more room to view documents and Web pages. But the Mogul itself is much larger than the Curve; while the small, thin curve can fit into a shirt pocket, the large, thick Mogul will leave a suspicious bulge in most pieces of clothing.
Motorola Q - The Q is an awkward little phone that doesn't really do anything particularly well. The keyboard is much worse than the Curve, and the Windows Mobile 5 OS it uses lacks many of the features that business users need, like a decent scheduling manager or a notes application. Business users should go with the Curve. People who hate huge phones should also go with the Curve. If you like trackballs (which you should), you should go with the Curve. In fact, just about everyone should choose the Curve over the Q.
Palm Treo 700p - People who love the Palm OS will choose a Treo over a BlackBerry on that basis alone; the Palm OS has more software available and is, in many ways, more powerful. The 700p is easy to use and offers a lot of functionality; more than the Curve. But the Curve beats the 700p when it comes to multimedia, doing a much better job of playing music and videos. And the Curve is a lot better looking than the 700p, which has a clunky, brick-like appearance.
Helio Ocean - The Curve can't hold a candle to the Ocean when it comes to good looks and charm; the Ocean is one handsome handset. It can compete with the Curve on the messaging front, which is impressive, but the Curve offers just a bit more, with better support for integrating with corporate email servers. The Ocean contains more extras, however, including GPS, but the closed nature of the Ocean OS means that there are only a handful of third party applications; if you don't like the built-in ones on the Ocean, you're pretty much stuck. The Ocean also has numerous minor annoyances, such as the inability to run music in the background, and some programs that should feel more robust.
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