Phone Review: BlackBerry Curve 8900

Short Review
Specs:

• Wi-Fi® Support
• Built-in GPS
• Camera (3.2 MP)
• Wireless Email
• Organizer
• Browser
• Enhanced Media Player
• Video Recording
• BlackBerry® Maps
• Phone
• Corporate Data Access
• SMS/MMS

Size and Weight

• Width: 2.36 inches (60 mm)
• Height: 4.29 inches (109 mm)
  
• Weight: 3.87 ounces (109.9 grams)
• Depth: 0.53 inches (13.5 mm)

Data Input & Navigation

• Trackball located on front face of device, ESC key to the right, Menu to the left
• 35 key backlit QWERTY keyboard
• Dedicated Keys: Send, End, Mute, Lock, VAD (user customizable), 2-stage camera (user customizable), 2x volume/zoom
• User Interface: Intuitive icons and menus

Voice Input & Output

• Integrated speaker and microphone, Hands-free headset capable, Bluetooth® headset capable, Integrated Hands-Free Speakerphone
• Rating for hearing aids (PDF): M3 (in cellular bands only)

Battery & Battery Life

• Battery: 1400 mAHr removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
• Talk Time: 5.5 hours
• Standby Time: 356 hours

Display

• Transmissive TFT LCD
• Screen Size: 2.44 inches (diagonally measured)
• High resolution 480x360 pixel color display
• Supports over 65,000 colors

Media Player

• Audio Format Support: .3gp, WAV, MIDI, AMR-NB, G711u/A, GSM610, PCM, MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA9/10 Standard/Pro
• Video Format Support: DivX, XviD (MPEG4 Advance Simple Profile), H.263, WMV3

Ringtones & Notifications

• Ringtones: .3gp, WAV, MIDI, AMR-NB, G711u/A, GSM610, PCM, MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA9/10 Standard/Pro
• Notifications: Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator; notification options are user configurable

Camera & Video Recording

• Video Camera: Normal Mode: 240x180 pixel, MMS Mode: 176x144 pixel
• Camera: 3.2 MP camera (JPEG Encoding) with Auto focus, Image stabilization, Flash and 2X Digital Zoom

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR; Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port Profile, Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP), SIM Access Profile and Dial-up Networking supported

GPS & BlackBerry Maps

• Assisted and autonomous GPS enabled

Keyboard security

• Keyboard lock
• Password protection
• Sleep (standby) mode

Wireless Networks

• North America: 850 MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
• North America: 1900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
• Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
• Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
• EDGE networks

Wi-Fi

• Wi-Fi Alliance Certifications: WPA/WPA2 Personal and Enterprise, WMM, WMM Power Save, Wi-Fi Protected Setup
• 802.11b/g enabled
• Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
• Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Internet Server
• Cisco CCX certification planned
• Direct IP web browsing over Wi-Fi
• Support for UMA/GAN