Full Review

Research in Motion is continuing its push towards consumer with its latest BlackBerry Curve 8520- an inexpensive, entry-level smartphone.

Design & Usability

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone has a similar design to the current Curve 8900, with a few notable differences. There's the new optical trackpad, which has replaced the trackball. The trackpad operates in a similar fashion to the trackball, except there are no moving parts and you simply glide your finger across an almost flat surface. It takes a little getting used to the speed of the on screen movement and scrolling using the trackpad (the speed can be adjusted in the settings menu) but it's responsive and effortless to use. We think it will be better in the long run too- the trackball was known to deteriorate over time as dust and sweat crept in around its edges and slowed its use.

Despite the Curve 8520's light weight, the build quality is impressive.

RIM has replaced the traditional BlackBerry lock button with multimedia keys on the top of the Curve 8520. They work reasonably well but they can be a little hard to press if your hand isn't positioned directly above them. The Curve 8520 doesn't have the same chrome trim seen on the majority of the current BlackBerry models- instead it's a combination of gloss black plastic and rubber sides. The external volume buttons, camera key and shortcut button have also been redesigned to look as if they're bulging from the rubber edging.

Despite the Curve 8520's light weight, the build quality is impressive. The BlackBerry Curve 8520's keyboard is similar in size and shape to the Curve 8900. This may be disappointing if you prefer larger keys (such as those found on the BlackBerry Bold). One quibble with the keyboard- aside from the small size of the keys- is that they are a little noisy when pressed. The BlackBerry Curve 8520's display is disappointing, though. While this is an entry-level smartphone, nonetheless the screen has a low resolution and poor viewing angles. In our tests it particularly suffered while using the Web browser. But the BlackBerry 8520 has a well-designed operating system. Our review unit ran the 4.6.1 version of this OS which includes a number of improvements. The BlackBerry browser has been upgraded to include editing support for Excel, Word and Powerpoint documents. RIM has also added a bedside mode that switches off the light, sound and vibration alerts, dims the screen and turns the Curve into an alarm clock while you sleep. The main menu also uses a simple grid format with clearly labelled icons.

Productivity & Features

With all its other features, it's easy to forget that the BlackBerry is primarily an e-mail device. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 supports e-mail through the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) or the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES). Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents can be viewed and edited thanks to the on-board Word To Go and Sheet To Go applications. The BlackBerry browser doesn't match Apple Safari's high standards on the iPhone 3GS but it's a decent browser. The low resolution display does hinder the Curve 8520's browser navigation and without a touch screen it's easy to accidentally click on links. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, but it omits 3G, disappointingly. GPS functionality is surprisingly not present either, especially when it is commonly included in many cheaper mobile phones.

Multimedia

The poor quality, low resolution display does detract from the BlackBerry Curve 8520's multimedia appeal, but a 3.5mm headphone jack, a suite of multimedia apps (quickly accessed by pressing the physical play button on top of the phone) and a microSD card slot go some way to improving the smartphone's feature set. A basic 2-megapixel camera is built-in but there's no flash- and the bulging camera key makes it difficult to take steady photos. It doubles as a video recorder, but the video quality is acceptable at best.

Bottom Line

This entry-level BlackBerry isn't for everyone, but budget users who are willing to sacrifice some features for a lower price should consider the Curve 8520.