Blackberry Curve 8520, Source: RIM

In a few days mobile operator Vodafone will start selling the new Research in Motion (RIM) handheld Blackberry Curve 8520 in Germany for 1 euro with contract or 269.90 euros without contract. The slim low end smartphone Blackberry Curve 8520 will also be available at o2 Germany stores and – at the beginning of October – at T-Mobile shops. Before it will actually be available I had the chance to put my hands on the Blackberry Curve 8520. Here is a first review.

The quad-band world phone (GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) comes with a full QWERTZ keyboard, 2-megapixel camera with video recording as well as a media player for music, pictures and videos with a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack. It supports GPRS and EDGE for mobile data services and WiFi (b/g) for internet access at hotspots. The Blackberry Curve 8520 is powered by a 512 MHz processor and offers 256 MB flash memory which can be expanded by a microSDHC card with up to 32 GB.

And, of course, the low end smartphone comes with the Blackberry Internet Service support for access to up to 10 supported email accounts, Blackberry Enterprise Server support and access to the Blackberry App World. What is missing is UMTS support, built-in GPS and a foto light.

There are a few new features of the Blackberry Curve 8520 that we haven’t seen yet at any other Blackberry device. First of all, with this device RIM introduces a new trackpad that will also be built into forthcoming Blackberry smartphones. Supposedly, its advantage to the typical trackball is that you can operate the device even with oily fingers. I think it is more likely that there are too many complaints about trackballs that do not work properly. Like the trackball you can regulate the response sensitivity of the trackpad. My impression is: It works almost as smoothly as the trackball.

Another difference of the Blackberry Curve 8520 to previous smartphone models by RIM are the media player keys on top of the chassis. For locking the device you hold down the play/pause button for a while. The volume buttons and convenience keys are covered by a rubber coating. The slim form factor is nice and the smartphone has good grip.

While the Blackberry Curve 8900 addresses business users the Blackberry Curve 8520 is rather built for consumers that look for a relatively cheap phone with basic multimedia features. Compared to the Blackberry Curve 8900 the low end smartphone lacks built-in GPS and offers less with a 480 x 360 pixel resolution of the display and a 2-megapixel resolution of the camera. The Blackberry Curve 8520 is another step of RIM trying to enter the consumer mass market.

Product Summary:
Operating System: Blackberry OS 4.6.1
GSM networks: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
Data transfer: GPRS, EDGE, WiFi
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB
Screen: TFT, 320 x 240 pixels, 65,536 colors
Keyboard: QWERTZ
Camera: 1,600 x 1,200 pixels
Storage: 256 MB (+ 32 GB microSD)
Size: 109 x 60 x 13,9 mm
Speaking Time: 4,5 hrs