My favorite feature on the Curve is the ability to listen to music and answer calls wirelessly. I have no tolerance for wires. My tolerance is so low I got my first wireless (bluetooth) headset in 2003 (yes, I was another early adopter). For the Curve you can buy a wireless headset (bluetooth) that allows you to listen to music and answer calls while your phone is in your purse, pocket, or in the passenger seat of your car (which is where mine phone usually gets tossed or it's in a cup holder). I suspect there are compatibility issues with these stereo headsets and the iPhone becuase the bluetooth version on the iPhone is older than the one used for the new bluetooth stereo headsets. I'll explore this topic in a future posts, since I'd bet iPhones and iPods will support these headsets in the near future.
Back to the Curve…The next feature that sounds really great is the GPS system. I love my navigation system in my SUV, and I have become very dependent on it (some might say attached). I also use Google Maps all the time on my iPhone when looking for a place I'm walking to or as a back up reference. My SUV's navigation system isn't as up to date. Unfortunately, this feature on the Curve is provided by AT&T at an extra monthly fee and Bonnie reported it took 10 minutes for AT&T's Tel Nav system to determine their present location. Yuck!
There are other great features, like the 2.0MP (mega pixel) camera w/ a flash and 5x zoom. Yet, both Bonnie and Dave reported that the picture quality was just ok. The picture still looked like it came from a phone.
The biggest downside is the storage. The Curve plays music and videos, yet they will have to be stored on a compact flash memory cards (micro-SD) because the phone only has 64MB (mega bytes) internal memory. And you have to remove the battery to install the memory card. So, if you purchase a fairly large memory card, like 4G, you should only have to do this once. The other feature that I am personally not a fan of is the keyboard. At first glance it looks like hieroglyphics. I read it’s an improvement over the other Blackberry models. It is a full traditional keyboard (QWERTY), yet it is the smallest keyboard R.I.M has ever made. So, I'll admit I’ve reached that age where glasses are not an option. And this admission might make me very biased, still, I prefer to be able to read the keyboard at a glance. And I know once you know your keyboard you don’t have to look at it to use it. And I still don’t like it.
Overall, out of the features that I like all three of them will cost you an extra fee. That's a bummer. Other than that the Curve has all the features Blackberry has become known for -- like real-time email from your corporate and personal accounts -- and it even improves on some of them. So, for the price ($199 at AT&T with contract), it seems to be a great option to the iPhone.
Please forgive all the comparisons to the iPhone. I’ll remedy this by reviewing my iPhone experiences next time. I’ve had a lot of them and I have read a lot of really good tips and little known features. So, I’ll sift and sort out the stuff I think is really worth knowing whether you have an iPhone or not.
Until next time, remember, knowledge is the ultimate fashion accessory!
