BlackBerry 8530 Curve

“In keeping with tradition the Curve 8530 is a very solid performer when it comes to call quality. Callers rated us as an 8.5/10, saying that we sounded very clear but that they could tell we were on a cell phone. On our end they sounded good as well, although a bit quiet. Callers sounded very close as well, as if they were sitting right next to us. The 4.5 hours of talk time is a noticeable departure from the original Curve’s 6 hours, especially since they use the same battery.The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 is a fine phone, and all things being equal it’s a perfectly acceptable refresh of the 8330. Call quality is good and the OS runs buttery smooth. However, at the current $99 price point we’d spend the extra $50 on the Tour if we had to have a BlackBerry, or pick up more capable phones like the Droid Eris and Palm Pixi for the same price.”

“We’re really torn about the Curve 8530. On one hand we think it’s a great little smartphone that will please a large number of people at the somewhat decent price of $99.99 on a 2-year. The only problem is that you can get something like the BlackBerry Tour 9630 with a better keypad, display, camera and international support for a few dollars more, if even that (we found a bunch of online retailers offering both the 8530 and 9630 for free on contract this morning). Of course the “upgrade” to the 9630 would come at the price of Wi-Fi and that oh-so-sweet optical trackpad. So what’s our final word? Go the your local dealer and take the Curve 8530 for a spin. If you like it, great. Go nuts and buy it. But if you don’t, by all means get something else. Just don’t say it’s not a capable smartphone.”

“In a sector where devices grow up and grow old fast, the Curve 8330 is definitely aged and ready for retirement. Luckily, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 is more than ready, willing and able to step into the 8330's shoes to handle the task of being the entry-level BlackBerry of choice for Verizon.”