In the world of mobile email, it's hard to compete with RIM and the plethora of BlackBerry devices it has to offer. With BlackBerry's
latest smartphone for T-Mobile, the Curve 8320, the companies hope to capitalize by taking advantage of RIM's infrastructure, T-Mobile's wireless calling plans, and the undeniable benefit of adding a little WiFi into the mix. Does the device live up to the hype? Did RIM make a mistake when it outfitted the Curve with a small processor and WiFi? Continue reading on to find out.
Based on the consumer orientated 8300 series, the BlackBerry 8320 shares the same dimensions as its cousin measuring in at 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches and weighing 3.9 ounces. This is BlackBerry's first consumer device that comes strapped with WiFi and adds T-Mobile's
HotSpot@Home service that utilizes UMA technology. It also features a quadband EDGE radio, 2 megapixel shooter, microSD support up to 4GB, music and video playerback, and a Bluetooth radio with A2DP support. The device has a great feel to it and is very small and compact while in your hands or your pockets.
The layout of the 8320's keypad is considerably tighter and smaller than that of older RIM devices. Initially, we had a great deal of trouble getting accustomed to the keypad, especially coming from a BlackBerry 8800. The size of each key is smaller than most BlackBerry devices and took a week with normal use to get used to. On occasion, we still find ourselves fat-fingering a word or two.
Out of the box, pairing the 8320 to the HotSpot@Home router was a breeze. The pairing only took a few minutes and there were hardly any dropouts even with our own router. After the device has been paired, the next step is setting up the connectivity preferences for UMA. We setup the device for WiFi preferred connection. This enables the device to look for our own SSID first, then to fall back on T-Mobile's network if it's unavailable. We were able to use the service a good hundred feet from the base using the Linksys router and with our own
NETGEAR Draft-N router, the service dropped out around ninety feet.
The Curve is armed with a 312MHz Intel processor which seems to under-power the device, especially during times of intense multitasking. In addition, while using WiFi to browse the internet, we experienced bottleneck issues with page loading times. Time and time again, the 8320 using WiFi was slower that the 8800 using T-Mobile's EDGE network. With all things being equal, the loading time was approximately three seconds quicker on the 8800. Coincidence? Doubt it.
Setting up Bluetooth was quick and effortless with our Motorola S9 headset. Music sounds crisp and clear and the 8320 lasted about 3 hours while playing music continuously. The only problem we experienced is that we were unable to listen to videos while connected via Bluetooth.
BlackBerry has outfittedd its latest consumer device with a 2 megapixel camera with flash and it's located on the back of the device. In terms of quality, the pictures are on par with most Smartphones of today and the flash leave a lot to be desired. Your average mobile photographer will be satisfied with the quality.
All in all, BlackBerry's Curve 8320 is a solid step up not just from the original 8300, but also from RIM's first attempt in the consumer market -- the Pearl 8100 -- improving upon its camera, adding a great QWERTY keypad, and adding WiFi. For hardcore BlackBerry enthusiasts, this device is a welcomed replacement for our 8800 with our only major gripe being the speed of the processor. If you have the same feelings or you feel different, please sound off in comments and let us know what you think!
posted Oct 8th 2007 at 11:47AM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
socalfrank @ Oct 8th 2007 12:10PM
I bought this device for the Hotspot@ Home feature. It seemed like a good idea to merge a Vonage line and cell phone I had. The other 2 hotspot phones are boring.
I didn't sign up for the Blackberry or data plan since my away from home needs for that were minimal, but I was told I could use those features at a hotspot.
Here's my disappointments:
1. No data or internet use from your own hotspot (unless you pay more for the plan)
2. You buy Hotspot@Home and it doesn't give you use of T-Mobile's hotspots.
The Curve is going back within the 30 days; hopefully a better handset is released before then.
frank @ Oct 8th 2007 2:26PM
Can someone confirm that the above statement is correct, that you can't get online through WiFi if you don't have an internet plan? That's ridiculous and not at all what I would expect from T-Mobile.
Jessica @ Oct 11th 2007 4:36PM
I don't believe this is true. I have the 8320 and I have the $19.99 data plan and voice. As a test I just turned off the radio connection which supplies EDGE and GSM, and only left on my Wi-Fi connection. I was able to browse the web and make a phone call completely over Wi-Fi. Now maybe the device I can still tell I have the proper data and voiceplans, but since the actual radio was off I don't think it could.
andy @ Oct 8th 2007 2:33PM
I think you guys (both Michael Caputo and socalfrank) both need to configure the browser to use Wi-Fi. It's probably still using EDGE for you Michael, and it's probably only trying to use EDGE (which you don't pay for) socalfrank.
Hunter @ Oct 8th 2007 2:55PM
Its ALL true, Seems like good ole T-MO is taking some cues from AT&T..THAt thing is for sure crippled.......But dont worry. U wont b Alone plenty other phones await u n Verizons Parking LOt...LOL
PakieMak @ Oct 8th 2007 3:17PM
I can't comment on the "internet" issue because I don't use my blackberry for that. I use it for organizing my busy life, typing quick thoughts and calls.
The h@h is a great feature and I'm glad I got it. I jumped ship from VZW to TMO because of this h@h feature. It saves me minutes and money. I don't use it, but the TMO technician told me you also can use h@h for international calls without the additional expense. But long distance (in country) calls are free.
The 8320 is a great device and in IMHO is the best BB so far. this is the first camera phone I've owned, and it takes good pictures for being a phone/ pda/ router/ multi-media/ camera device.
sethlessans @ Oct 8th 2007 3:49PM
I have the Curve 8320 and yes you need data to surf the web or get email through wifi because it still goes through BIS. Also, you do get access to T-Mobile's Hotspots whether you subscribe to the @Home add-on or not, however, you need to supply an e911 address before you can use Hotspots for voice. However, this is the best phone I have ever used.
andy @ Oct 8th 2007 4:09PM
You *CAN* browse via Wi-Fi even if you don't have a data plan! Call T-Mobile and have "feature enabler" added to your account at no cost.
Also, my point about the speed was that the Curve is set to browse over BES if you use the stock t-zones browser right out of the box. That's why you're not getting blazing fast Wi-Fi speeds. In other words: This article (and many of you) are completely wrong.
@Michael Caputo: Fix your browser settings and get back to us. (Browser > Options > General > Default Browser)
Ari @ Oct 8th 2007 5:49PM
I confer with this review. My wifi at home, work, starbucks, and several other wifi spots does not work as fast as EDGE. I have tried with the WiFi browser as well. I have conducted many tests - disabling mobile network as well to makse sure it forces wifi browsing... I would love to know the settings that those out there are using that claim wifi browsing is fast.
Kennie @ Oct 8th 2007 6:53PM
I upgraded from a Dash. I love this phone. My voice plan + SMS + BlackBerry plan + @Home is still cheaper than any comparable plan from AT&T or Verizon. I just wish for two more things on my Curve: GPS and 3G...
zebragal @ Oct 11th 2007 11:53PM
I am going to upgrade my phone to either the Dash or the Curve. I have never had a Blackberry, but I have had windows mobile pda's. Can you tell me why you chose the Curve over your Dash?
Thanks.
David @ Oct 8th 2007 6:49PM
My observations on my 8320:
1. Wi-fi drains the battery FAST;
2. The UMA feature works with any wi-fi hotspot, but works best on a T-Mo hotspot, such as at Starbucks.
3. The UMA savings in minutes is probably not worth the $20 plan if you have any reasonable plan or talk mostly at night and on the weekends. (I have the $10 promotional plan that I'm canceling soon.)
4. The processor slows things down a lot. It's a problem if you do more than read email and make voice calls. Any surfing, document viewing or heavy MMS texting is slow slow slow.
Those are the negatives. But on the plus side, the phone looks and feels great. It has a great screen and keyboard. And the email app is classic first rate Blackberry. I upgraded from an 8700g. This was a good step up in my opinion for what I do, which is almost all PIM centric with a little MMS and texting thrown in.
rivviepop @ Oct 8th 2007 7:56PM
Another comment to change your WiFi browser -- the default 'Internet Browser' still proxies all your traffic over blackberry.net servers (or your corporate BES if you use that) when using wifi; setting the default browser to WiFi Browser causes it to be a direct IP connection to the remote server and results in a very noticeable increase in speed.
reference:
http://www.blackberryforums.com/wifi-hotzone/97445-wifi-goes-through-blackberry-net.html
scott @ Oct 8th 2007 8:52PM
I have this phone and you CAN surf the internet without a data plan. Its also fast. Much much much faster than when I used a Sidekick 3. I love this phone..
David @ Oct 9th 2007 12:30AM
rivviepop:
Thanks for the reference viz wi-fi browser vs internet browser. That speeded things up a lot.
andy @ Oct 9th 2007 2:09PM
4GB is *not* the limit for storage cards. While SD cards typically max out at 2GB (and some 4GB "beyond spec" cards), the 8320 supports SDHC-spec cards from 6GB to 32GB.
Will F @ Oct 9th 2007 3:46PM
The internet and data do indeed work without having to pay for an additional data plan.
As for the HotSpot service for data at places like Starbucks, no. The data on there is based on the data account. If you're talking wifi for a computer data connection it's basically a separate account.
I can also confirm that you can set the WiFi to work for calls as well as data at free WiFi hot spots as well as other places where logins are necessary such as hotels or cafes.
Open the Manage Connections menu and turn off the mobile network. Then go to Set Up WiFi Network and set up the network you want to connect to. Open the browser, use the authentication screen when you open it up to log in. Once it connects and sets up with UMA connection, go back in and turn your mobile network on and you're ready to go.
Hope that helps those of you who use this phone.
voIP @ Oct 11th 2007 2:40PM
anyone?
how is call quality on home wifi, local starbucks, perhaps oversea's wifi?
astevens @ Oct 11th 2007 3:56PM
Call quality when it works is great, however i often get trunking issues and notice the network is already oversold for uma (network busy). If you look at how the uma network is setup, t-mobile has a greatly flawed design but putting their network on Sprint IP's that are not even on different netblocks. I have had a trouble ticket since July and everyone I know and have contacted (over 100 users) that are on t-mobile with uma have the same issues; frequent lockups, unable to transfer from uma to gsm (unless your at a starbucks in seattle, even then, expect 20% drop in calls) low battery life even when using the t-mobile router, and unresponsive support from t-mobile. I have just started to toss a list of my issues up at tmobile.gravitypark.com and you can see, support is as bad as the service. I have been cussed out and even had a manager remind me my home address was his for the viewing. Working with the t-mobile office of the president now and not getting much resolve. Have yet to have engineering follow up with me even though that has been a promise since July. Jason (the only one at tmobile that cares) put another engineering request in to see if maybe someone will contact me. It is getting old and I no longer believe this is 'theonlyphoneyouneed.com' like t-mobile states as they even have to call me on my landline do to no service (uma or gsm) most of the time. Apparently this Blackberry lets you turn off GSM so it wont lock up all the time when trying to go back and forth like the nokia but we will see. Jason at t-mobile is checking whith the managers to see if they can get me one to try. I would wait on this service as noboby anywhere except David Pogue at the NYtimes (who has flamed the iphone the week prior) has had any luck or reported not to have these exact same issues. Apparently the 3 people I have talked to say the 8320 drops calls going from uma to gsm the same, but at least it does not lock up like the nokia.
Wayne Schulz @ Oct 9th 2007 8:12PM
Check this out for some additional information on how the UMA works and a few quirks that my weeklong testing uncovered
http://www.geardiary.com/2007/10/03/hands-on-with-t-mobiles-blackberry-8320/
tnkgrl @ Oct 9th 2007 9:14PM
Here's my take on the Curve, including unboxing, observations, data plan options, and camera testing:
http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/category/8320/
astevens @ Oct 10th 2007 6:39PM
Can anyone say how it compares to the Nokia 6086 for UMA? I currently have had a trouble ticket open for a couple of moonths with t-mobile and think its the phone since it locks up and can't switch between gsm and uma. Has anyone upgraded to this phone from a 6086 with luck? I noticed the IP's for the uma are on a sprint IP and just a single block of IP's, i wonder if your isp's peering into Sprint could play a key roll as well.
jgonway @ Oct 11th 2007 10:46AM
@astevens: We use both the Nokia 6086 and the BB 8320 in our house and both work quite well. The only glitch is leaving the house and going from WiFi to cell towers. The call usually gets dropped, but I never had any real expectations that it could make this transition. The CNET review indicates that they usually experienced a fade out and some dropped calls. With the BB 8320 I experience a delay in connecting calls where I can hear the other side but they cannot hear me for about 3 seconds. Odd, epecially since the Nokia 6086 does not do this.
On the speed of WiFi surfing, I would love to see a real test. The BoyGeniusReport test seems less than convincing. I experience all different kinds of speeds and noticed that the best speed seems to come when the browser is set to Blackberry Browser instead of WiFi Browser (to configure, open the browser and hit menu, options and General Properties). Perhaps this uses cached data from the BBerry site and thus speed the loading? I do notice that if you switch to the WiFi browser it automatically adds Java and style sheets. Does this add more data and thus lead to longer download times? And thus make EDGE look faster in the BGR test? I have also tried Opera for a browser and that does not seem to make much of a difference.
I am still in the trial period of this device so I would really like to sort the WiFi speed out.
Nevertheless, the UMA calling gives much better reception than any mobile telephone that I have ever had.
Sam @ Oct 11th 2007 2:28PM
I tried all the other carriers and couldn't get any reception in my house. H@H solved my problems!!!! NOW I'M JAZZED!!!! Even getting better router signal than my Netgear router for my laptops too. Definitely saving money even with the addon for hotspot. Cancelled my home telephone line saving $40-50/month.
Also getting blazing speeds using the tmo router...Camera is better than the Samsung Sync or Motorola Razrs I've had by far.
allen1 @ Oct 11th 2007 4:38PM
Sam, you must be with T-mobile or have had the phone less than 2 weeks.
I can not find a single happy user aside from T-mobile puppets having good luck.
I have all the same problems as astevens has (aside from the threats, and I can't believe the messages I downloaded and listened to, he should call the FBI on t-mobile for the threats and the PUC for the service).
Again, this service does not work as stated, nobody can make a UMA to GSM handoff. If so, I would love to see it. At least I have 4 bars service but even on GSM, I get lots of dropped calls.
astevens: Like your comment on it not being 'theonlyphoneyouneed' like T-Mobile states on TV. I am on a Blackberry 8320 and still having the same UMA grief I had on my 6086 so even this Blackberry is not the only phone I need either. Call the cops on that guy, I can't believe the tone he and that Robin lady took with you or that Rachel saying her boss is right next to her telling her to hang up on you. Pure madness. I guess in Germany they let companies treat customers like that?
I guess we wait for sprint to finish testing their simular system (thanks Sprint for not being like T-Mobile and rushing to market with a severely flawed service.
Save your money, this is a waste of it.
Derek @ Oct 12th 2007 2:58PM
Wi-Fi browser uses the device to process images, ect.
Internet Browser uses the BIS servers to compress and shrink images.
That is why EDGE is faster. Turn off browsing features, use a more mobile-friendly site, or wait for a faster CPU.
john @ Oct 15th 2007 8:12PM
@ VoIP the call quality is excellent.
@ Sam how are you getting blazing speeds on the browser? Can you help by posting up the browser you are using and the configuration?
@allen 1: you need some technical help since I have had several hand-offs from GSM to UMA and it has not dropped a call yet.
Zeb @ Oct 17th 2007 7:19PM
im am considering buying an 8320, i am locked into a 2 year t mobile contract. i need music, video either from sd 2 GB or if possible over my home wifi. i also use tons of texts and make 2000 or more peak minutes a month for business. can i use wifi without any additional t mobile subscribions. and is the 8320 good for video. my friend has the dash and hates it, help im on wifi all day and want to browse for free, can i?
Josh @ Oct 20th 2007 10:44PM
Question about what services I'd need:
I would like to get a TMo voice "my faves" plan: ($39 and up). That's my base monthly cost.
As far as I understand, if I want to be able to use e-mail and internet when *not* in a WiFi area, I also need a BB data plan ($20 and up).
But here's the thing...
I'm wondering if I need the TMo@home plan ($10 promotional and up) for the following: I work in sub-basement level and would like to be able to send and receive phone calls when there is no cell coverage.
I don't care about using WiFi for calls at home, and I don't care about EDGE vs WiFi in Starbucks for browsing or e-mail (since the data plan provides unlimited access and EDGE is fast enough for the amount I'd be surfing). Despite not caring about these two uses, do I still need to purchase the TMo@home add on in order to make calls underground?
Just curious, since every extra $10 starts adding up when you add taxes, surcharges, phone insurance etc into the bill.
Thanks.
ru.scoobydoo @ Oct 27th 2007 12:57PM
Hi all. New to this. I have been using the Nokia 6086 going on my 2nd week. At first it would not connect to any Wifi network. Tmobile tech support determined it was the phone and had another sent to me. In the mean time i tried a friends sim card and the thing connected. I then tried my sim and it would not. Upon going to the TMO store to get a new sim card, it connected magically to the TMO hotspot and has worked ever since on any wifi.
I live in Orlando and the handoff is seemless from wifi to GPRS and reverse. The battery life is not bad with moderate use, i charge it every other day.
D @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:51AM
I want to upgrade my t-mobile phone. I am looking at either the Shadow or the Blackberry Pearl or Curve. Can anyone suggest which one is better?