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Review: BlackBerry Curve 8310

I am old enough to remember when all you could do with a phone is make a call…heck I remember rotary dial telephones. I think my parents' were the last in the state to get with touchtone. I kept teasing them that the Smithsonian is going to come and confiscate their rotary phone.

In the 80's, I had one of those "mobile phones" there were the size of a loaf of bread, and weighed about the same as a third grader. But I was cool, listening to Depeche Mode and driving my 1971 Plymouth Fury. Risking hernia or concussion every time I used my "mobile phone".

Fast-forward to 2008....

Dave's Answer:

Phones now can do everything from keeping your schedule, play your music, take pictures, and help you navigate to your destination. Oh yeah, you can make calls too.

I recently upgraded my phone to an AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8310. I’ve had it for one week, as of the writing of this review, and I think it's starting to grow on me.

I will most likely not use half of the capabilities of this amazing piece of electronic wizardry, but that doesn’t negate how I am blown away by everything it is able to do: There is GPS navigation, you can play music and video, it has Bluetooth and computer sync available. And a camera that takes really high resolution pictures.

Blackberry Curve 8310 RED/CRANBERRY Here are some specs of the BlackBerry Curve 8310:

At only 3.9 ounces, this is the lightest BlackBerry. It measures 4.21 inches, 2.36 inches, 0.61 inches (LWH)
For ease in texting it has a fully QWERTY keyboard. I find that texting is very easy on this.
Internal GPS receiver with support for TeleNav software. Acts as a navigation system.
An AT&T exclusive push-to-talk (PTT) walkie talkie-style communication
2.0 megapixel camera with flash and 5x digital zoom.
Bluetooth wireless connectivity with stereo headset support
1100 mAh rechargeable battery provided me with a theoretical 240 minutes of talk time, 408 hours of standby time
It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

When you buy the phone, you also get the usual box full of goodies: a battery, charger, handsfree headset and USB Cable. Just as well, it wouldn't be much use without these things, but the hands-free headset is a nice addition nonetheless.

I find the BlackBerry Curve to be very ergonomic in my hands. It feels comfortable, even though it is larger than the previous phone I owned.

I opted for the red BlackBerry Curve, but it also comes in titanium. I like the shade of red that they've chosen too: not harsh or cheap looking, it's more of a cranberry tone. Deep and rich looking. Makes me feel hip and sophisticated!

On the negative side -- and maybe this is just because this is my first BlackBerry, and I have to play with it for a while -- I do find it tricky to sometimes operate the menus. The trackball seems too sensitive and moves over the icons too freely.

From the boy that grew up with a rotary dial phone, to a phone that I can now watch Depeche Mode on, if I so choose, I would say I am more than impressed with the BlackBerry Curve 8310 and glad to enter the 21st century!

Bernie Tague is an award winning screenwriter, who was born in Scotland. He moved to the states when he was a wee lad of two. He now lives and works in Southfield, Mi. The next movie capital of America.

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Categorized: Cell Phones and Mobile Phones (Article 8449)
Tagged: blackberry curve, blackberry pearl
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Comments

I have owned a BB Curve 8310 since Feb. 2008. It is a fantastic smartphone. The more you use it the more you will appreciate how much it does, which is truly incredible given its small size.

Try some of the Google apps like sync your calendar you will be impressed.

Posted by: Richard at August 17, 2008 5:19 PM

Hi Dave,

I just purchased a Blackberry Curve 8310 Red. I downloaded AIM via the Oz program. I can log in, and send IM's, but I haven't been able to receive IM's. I know the recipient of my IM's have received my IM, but I haven't been able to receive their replies. Help please.

Posted by: Thuy at September 4, 2008 10:39 AM

i have a blackberry pearl 8110 and i cant figure out how to get a flash player on my phone, i feel like ive tried everything from my mobile internet to my pc looking at 100s of websites, can you help me

Posted by: Bear Dare at October 1, 2008 3:37 PM

Thanks Dave. I've been looking everywhere on the internet for realadvice on this phone. I also love the color. I have a motorola rv3 its red too. Anyway, I'm always texting friends and family with my current phone its a pain. I'm sold on getting the B.B curve 8310!

Posted by: Katie at October 5, 2008 12:04 AM

HI DAVE , I HAVE A QUESTION AND I HOPE U ARE ABLE TO ANSWER IT FOR ME , I AM LOOKING TO BE UPGRADING MY RAZR V3 AND WANT TO BUY THE BB 8310 RED , BUT IVE BEEN TOLD THERE IS NO VIDEO ON PHONE IS THAT TRUE ? IS THERE AN APPLICATION U CAN DOWNLOAD ON THE PHONE TO GET THE VIDEO CAMERA ON PHONE ? THE REASON WHY I AM ASKING IS I ALSO LIKE THE BLACKBERRY BOLD BUT THE PRICE IS KINDA PRICEY , MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT TILL PRICE GOES DOWN, BUT THE BOLD DOES HAVE THE WI FI AND VIDEO, PLSSSSSSSSSSSS HELP THANK U

Posted by: julie at January 5, 2009 5:13 PM

hello julie>
the bb curve 8310 can do video recording but only after you do the Operating system upgrade. the version that comes with the bb is 4.2 and the upgrade is 4.5 after you do the upgrade your bb will be able to do video record. you can do all this from the blackberry website which will then take you to you phone provider's website to get the OS upgrade from them.
hope this helps

Posted by: George at February 7, 2009 1:47 PM

I have a blackberry curve 8310 and it worked great til 3 days ago. My phone is shutting down when ever I talk on it or use the GPS and the only way to get it back on is to plug it back in to the charger. I can text all day and nothing happens only when I use the phone or GPS what can this be and how do I fix it?

Posted by: Demetruis at February 16, 2009 6:30 PM

I love my BB curve, in red too... Just got it around 2 months ago... I can't get appart from him!

Posted by: Nela at February 21, 2009 8:40 AM

I was looking at my pic and hit the hide and now i cant find any of my pictures.

Posted by: dave at March 17, 2009 11:25 AM

Hi Dave,

I have a Blackberry 8300 for my personal phone and a Blackberry 8350i for business. I messed up and plugged my 8300 into my business laptop that I normally plug my 8350i into. Not thinking I hit updates and started deleting and downloading software. I realized what I did and unplugged it before it was finished. Now my 8300 will not turn on. It only will flash twice quickly every about 10 seconds.

Is it toast or can I fix it?

Thanks

Posted by: Mitch at May 1, 2009 9:29 AM

Hello Dave,

I have an 8310 updated with the 8320 software. I cannot get the phone to come on anymore, except when I plug the charger into it, then it only stays on briefly then goes black. I switched it to the off position in the profiles section but I've done that before so I don't believe that's the problem. I have taken the battery out more than 5 times already I know, and have tried holding the power button down for a few minutes, nothing has worked. I am at wits end here, and I don't know what else to do.

Posted by: Alvin at May 21, 2009 2:33 AM

i have blakberry curve8310 phone somebody gave me on the screen it comes up error jum 102 how do i get that off and get to work for my child

Posted by: laura at June 22, 2009 10:41 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!