BlackBerry Curve 8530 Review
Introduction
The BLACKBERRY 8530 generally fits into the BlackBerry line up as a refresher to the now ubiquitous Curve 83xx, and is meant to sit between entry-level models like the Pearl and Pearl Flip, and higher end models like the world-dominating Tour and Bold.
For just $50 from Sprint, users get an innovative trackpad, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G coverage, and a surprisingly impressive 2 megapixel camera -- all rolled into a nicely sized form factor.
The Curve 8530 compares will the Tour 9630 -- both models are available from Sprint, but the Curve is more affordable.
BUILD & DESIGN
Overall the Curve 8530 has a fashion-forward design aimed at a younger consumer audience. Instead of a chrome bezel and pronounced convenience keys that you find on the Tour, you'll find a rubber strip around the side with convenience keys that seem to bulge out of its sides. On the top of the device you find a set of media-control keys.
The front of the phone shows off what is perhaps its best feature -- the trackpad in place of the traditional trackball. Whether you're a seasoned BB veteran or a newcomer, you'll appreciate the intuitive, easy to use reliable performance of the trackpad. This one feature alone might be enough to knock the Tour out of contention.
The keys on the keyboard are a "chicklet" holdover from the previous generation.
The Talk, End, Return and Menu keys are redesigned as if they are part of the screen -- not a design choice I'm particularly fond of.
The screen itself pales in comparison to the beautiful display on the Tour, but there is nothing outright wrong with it. There's nothing to complain about, but if you were to hold your Curve up to a Tour, you'd notice the difference.
The biggest annoyance, design-wise, is the LED indicator light. On a regular BlackBerry there's no way you're going to miss a message. You will not be distracted by the LED light on the Curve 8530, the indicator which is just a touch bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen, and its light is... understated, to put it kindly.
Size and Weight
The Curve 8530 overall is smaller than the Tour, and feels lighter, though it still has a very sold and composed feeling to it. You won't hate yourself for dropping this phone -- it feels like it can take a beating which is refreshing compared to some of today's delicate phones.
User Interface, Organizer and Phonebook:
The Curve 8530 is running BlackBerry OS 5.0 (5.0.0.337 to be specific.) We’ve officially seen 5.0 on a few devices now, and gone more in-depth on it with our Storm 2 and Bold 9700 reviews. The quick version is that there are a few tweaks over 4.6 and 4.7, but the average user will only notice that the drop-down menus look different. It runs very quickly, helped out by the boost in memory (up to 256MB of ROM) and 528MHz processor.
The phonebook, organizer and other PIM functionality remain virtually unchanged. For anyone who has used a BlackBerry before you’ll be right at home. For first time users you can store just about anything you want about a contact, and the full-featured calendar allows you to customize reminders, recurrence options and much more. Other basic PIM functionality, like tasks, memo and a calculator are available, and voice dialing is handled by Nuance, as always.
Messaging:
One of the better features of OS 5.0 is threaded text messaging. Standards like SMS and MMS are, of course onboard, as is support for multiple email accounts and BlackBerry PIN messaging 5.0. Other preloaded IM clients are AIM, GTalk, ICQ, Windows Live and Yahoo Messenger allowing you to keep in touch with virtually anyone.
As always email setup on the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 is about as perfect as it gets, we simply put in our email and password and that was it. Even with our uncommon work email we didn’t have to enter any server information. The push email arrived nearly instantaneously in our testing. With the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) the user can have up to 10 email addresses on one device.
Connectivity and Data:
One major advantage the 8530 has over the 8520 is 3G cellular data, EVDO Rev. 0 in this case. For those still not blessed with EVDO coverage the Curve 8530 has Wi-Fi, something BlackBerry users have been asking about for years but are only now getting across the lineup. Unlike GSM units, 3G and GPS are not mutually exclusive. While it does feature the reworked browser first seen with the Bold, the RIM browser is pretty archaic when compared to other smartphone platforms.
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BlackBerry Desktop Manager handles desktop sync as always. It is used to manage calendar, tasks, contacts and email synchronization with your desktop. You can also use the data cable to load media onto the memory card, and Media Sync will allow for iTunes syncing of non-DRM files, like we’ve seen with other recent BlackBerries.
Multimedia:
The Curve 8530 has a 2-megapixel camera similar to the original Curve, but loses the flash. It’s still a decent enough camera, with solid but not stellar results. Both the camera and video interface remain familiar, and for an entry level model it’s more than sufficient.
Voice Quality
Generally the 8530 is a solid performer, but its call quality is only just average. There was a little background static at times and the sound itself was somewhat hollow. Not a deal breaker, but you get the distinct sense that you're using a cell phone when making calls on this device.
Wireless Data
This BlackBerry boasts a 3G Sprint antenna, GPS, Bluetooth, and best of all Wi-Fi. The latter of these is not available on the Tour -- another point in favor for the Curve.
Additional Software
Of course, this smartphone includes the now-standard BlackBerry apps: the DataViz DocumentsToGo office suite, Pandora, BlackBerry Maps, and a slew of social networking apps.Sprint's version of this BlackBerry also comes preloaded with a host of Sprint-specific apps, including Sprint Navigation, Sprint NASCAR, NFL, TV and music apps. Although these apps sound promising, I had a hard time getting them to perform reliably and sometimes couldn't get them to launch at all. This may be a downside of offering the same apps across all of its phones.
Camera
The built-in camera on new generation Curve doesn't have a flash, which is a step backward for BlackBerry. Its 2 megapixel camera also lacks auto-focus and has a lower resolution that the cameras found on other models (Bold 9700, Tour, Storm). Given these considerations however the camera still performs quite well.
PERFORMANCE
I've already mentioned that the Curve has a big leg-up over its brethren by having a touchpad instead of the trackball. The aspect where the 8530 really hits it out of the park is with its operating system. The Curve 8530 features BlackBerry OS 5.0, currently the only device on the Sprint lineup to do so.
The 5.0 operating system isn't revolutionary, but offers nice many little improvements, such as wirelessly syncing of contacts with certain email providers, the ability to flag messages for follow up, better application permission management, and vastly improved ability to manage ringing profile settings.
The processor on the Curve 8530 is less powerful than some of its contemporaries, including the Tour, and sometimes it would hang. For most of what you do most of the time, however, you won't notice this lack of power. Power users, on the other hand, should consider a more powerful device.
CONCLUSION
On other carriers, the BLACKBERRY 8530 is stripped down and made to fit nicely into place in its product line. For Sprint however, this is not the case. You get the newest operating system, the newest hardware with the track pad, Wi-Fi, all things you won't see on other Sprint BlackBerrys... at the best price.
The Curve 8530 will fall short in certain aspects, though -- it is less powerful than the Tour, its keyboard isn't as slick as it could be, its camera doesn't hit the benchmark of 3.2 megapixel with auto focus, and the screen isn't as impressive.
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