Blackberry 8530 Smartphone Review
With PDA s being restricted mostly to the business classes and technocrats, RIM has launched the latest handset 8530 Curve, mainly focusing on the new entry level customers who are still to explore Blackberry functionality meaning that target is on the mainstream customers who usually opt for a smartphone. What reveals this is the price of this handset, and the flexible prices offered in the market. You could generally fit this in the front of the Blackberry lineup 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. So, what are the features? Well, users get an innovative track pad, Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, 3G coverage and an impressive 2 MP camera. It gives you a hollow feel and certainly a less burden for your pockets. Even then the feel it gives you is something I felt dissatisfied with. So now let us move on.
Design:
Familiar and Fashionable:
The overall design of the Blackberry 8530 is quite identical to that of the Curve 8250. It is slightly taller than the 8530, but narrower, thinner and lighter. The Curve is built with stylish fashionable design aimed at the younger lots. Instead of a chrome bezel, you have a rubber strip around the side with convenience keys bulging out of its sides. The media control keys are located on the top of this device and the fascia colonizes the track pad in place of a traditional track ball. Track pad shapes out to be one prominent thing you would appreciate no matter what kind of person you are. This is one of the strong points in this mobile. Talk, End, Return, and Menu keys have been redesigned. But sadly, this hype is let down by the screen and the LED Indicator light. Rather than the screen, the LED irritates you with it being greater than the tip of a ball point pen. RIM has made sure that overall, with a narrow thin and lighter design this device feels like a much compact device in your hand. It is very plasticy however; we will not go as far as to call it cheap feeling, but RIM is really toeing the border here.
For rough users this is a news that they would love to hear. With the Curve 8530 being smaller and lighter dropping this down will not be a problem compared to the delicate phones in the market. Weighing nearly 106 gm this beauty would never trouble your pockets.
Display:
The display screen is 2.4 inch with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels supporting 65K colors, the same as the original Curve. While this resolution is fine for general use of the phone like navigating through the operating system, emails , calendar or alarm clock etc; this makes a huge difference in when it comes to the part of web browsing. The screen gives you an annoying experience when you try to zoom a full web page, and the appeal is not as good as the one seen in 8900 or storm.
Keyboard:
The keyboard in design is not much different from its siblings in the series. It comes with small plastic keys which are easy enough to type on, though not as fast as the QWERTY keys in 9xxx series. If you are hoping for an escape from the plastic spaced out keys, then you are out of luck. The keys are small and tightly packed and raised such that typing or tapping out email is not a problem. Overall, this QWERTY keyboard is designed for ease and reliability.
Track pad:
What sets the two devices apart is that the 8530 replaces the trackball with an optical trackpad. The 8520 was the first RIM device we saw with this, but we have seen it on all RIM devices since save the trackball pad-less 95xx series. The trackball was not perfect, but we are far from being crazy about its replacement. We definitely appreciate the sensitivity options, but no matter what we have it set to we just cannot be as precise as with the analog ball.
Buttons and Ports:
In the bottom portion you could see a 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB charging along with one or more convenience keys. On the right side there is the volume rocker with a second convenience key. The top houses the play back keys. The battery door features a nice looking carbon fiber finish, which is the only visual difference from the 8520. The camera is just above the door.
Features:
Despite being more of an entry-level device, the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 comes with a good set of features, more so than its T-Mobile counterpart.
Operating System and Processor:
The system used here is the Blackberry OS 5.0 which makes navigation much faster. With this Operating System, you would find that RIM has made slight polishes to the menus and some screens. The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 has a slightly faster 528MHz processor than the 8520, and the RAM is doubled to 256MB, along with 256MB ROM. With this increased memory the OS runs very smoothly. The processor allows you to navigate through the operating system very quickly but still is not very strong compared to 8900 models.
Connectivity:
This blackberry boasts a lot about connectivity. Indeed, it very well can and has the right to. In its arsenal are GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi and 3G Sprint antenna. The connectivity included are Bluetooth friendly and there is support for mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets and audio video remote serial port dial up networking. It is blessed with GPS/A-GPS, 3G, and WiFi. Enabling a WiFi is sure a relief as it brings more WiFi connected devices to its garage, and provides an alternative way to get online. With blackberry OS 5.0 to its back up, there are some slight improvements to the browser like page rendering. One short fall could be that the 3 G coverage is not extensive as AT &T but no troubles were observed in the coverage region. One major advantage the 8530 has over the 8520 is 3G cellular data, EVDO Rev. 0 in this case.
Camera:
RIM Blackberry Curve 8530 is equipped with a 2MP camera. Compared to other PDA models, the camera falls way below the mark when it comes to auto focus and resolution, and it is also devoid of a flash. Even though the resolution is low, the photos could distinguish between colors distinctly even when the sunlight is low.
Multimedia:
Music is something you would love in this product. Of course, the phone comes with all required add-ons to support music. The playback is quite impressive due to the speakers with robust volume and without sounding too less. With a standard 3.5 mm jack you could plug in your favorite headphone or ear-buds without an additional audio adapter. With media controls on top of the Curve, it is easy to control the player without looking at the screen.
Blackberry Curve 8530’s media player supports MP3, WMA9, AAC LC AAC+, eAAC+, AMR NB, MiDi music files, MPEG4, and H 264 video clips. The photo viewer supports BMP, JPEG, WBMP files. To support all these features the makers have provided the microSD expansion slot located behind the door which can support up to 16GB giving plenty of space to store multimedia files.
Convenience Facilities:
The Blackberry 8530 comes with voice activated dialing, Speed dial, chat view text and multimedia messaging. You can also add Verizon’s Visual Voice Mail service for an additional $2.99 per month. There is also a link to MyVerizon to get information about your account, such as voice and data usage, account balance, and features. Other Verizon services available on the Curve 8530 include VZ Navigator, V Cast Music, and VZ Navigator. The phone’s address book is only limited by the available memory and has room in each contact file for multiple numbers, e-mail addresses, work and home addresses, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign a photo, group ID, and/or custom ringtone. A shortcut to VzwTones is loaded on the device so you can download more ringtones to your device.
Additional Software:
Software package is typically cool including Social networking applications, Blackberry maps Pandora and the likes. The sprint version of this phone comes with NFL, TV, Music applications, Sprint navigation, Sprint NASCAR. Despite, the enormous swarm of applications you get, one must accept the hard times we have with launching the applications or making them perform reliably well. The web browser suffers from JavaScript issues, and it gives you an annoying experience when you try to browse a real web page.
Wifi:
It has taken a long time for the makers to include WiFi into the Curve series. Including it has finally been a dream come true. WiFi networks work really smooth and it gives no issues while browsing the net or finding a hot spot. The WiFi included in the 8530 supports the IEEE 802.11b/g.
Combining voice and data:
Previous models did not allow reception of calls or reading of emails, browsing the web at the same time. This was because the network was unable to support both voice and data. Having the Wifi associated into the Blackberry 8530, you could establish a second connection to RIM NOC over the net. So now, you have the ability send mails or browse while you are chatting.
Messaging:
Every object has its own strong and weak points. The strength of this Curve, or any Blackberry for that matter is messaging. With strong net connectivity, it allows you to deliver email in real time or get into Black Berry Enterprise server. It has all necessary features in its arsenal including Yahoo, AIM, Windows Live, Google Talk. As always, email setup on the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 PDA Phone is about as perfect as it gets, we simply put in our email and password and that was it; we did not 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.
There is a built-in attachment viewer, so you can open Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, PDF, JPEG, and GIF files. In addition, the device ships with DataViz’s Documents to Go Suite Standard Edition (you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium Edition if you want the ability to create new documents), but you can download more productivity tools, games, travel aids, and much more from the BlackBerry App World.
Performance:
With tack pad being a big leap over its brethren, the Curve 8530 hits out well with its operating system. The OS used currently, Blackberry OS 5 which to its credit, is used only in this Curve. This OS is packed with better application permission management, ability to flag messages for follow up and ability to manage profile settings. Plugged in, is a processor which is quite weak compared to its peers; this accounts for the frequent system hangs. Hence, this device delivers a less power packed performance. The call quality appears muffled and bleak, thereby making us to repeat several times. The story is same with speaker phone, with the background noise garbling the voice quality. Problems would be little if you switch to the headset mode. The swift 3G speeds have made websites access quick. You could download a 2.5 MB song around 56 seconds. Overall, the performance is very snappy with little problems here or there.
Voice Clarity:
As we just mentioned, disappointing enough, the call quality is just average giving you a hollow sound coupled with a feel that you are using your dodgy cell phone when making calls to the Curve 8530.
The Package:
Verizon offers the smartphone in black or smoky violet and ships with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a software CD, and reference material.
Battery:
This Blackberry 8530 Cell Pone is packed with an 1150m Ah lithium ion battery which offers a talk time of 4.5 hours and up to 10 days of standby. 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. But shockingly, it beats the claimed hours by giving you a 5.5 hours talk time. This Curve 8530 is gifted with an SAR rating of 1.31 watts per kilogram and has a M4/T4 hearing aid rating.
Warranty:
The Blackberry Curve 8530 PDA comes with one year manufacturer’s warranty for parts and labor.
Verdict:
Being the close cousin of Curve 8520 the Blackberry Curve 8530 lacks some of the higher end features such as world roaming capabilities and a high end resolution display. This being the negatives, the Curve has made some credible changes including an optical track pad, dedicated media controls and new processor. It also includes Wifi which is a feature lacked in the previous models. With the price tag being very less, this is surely bound to attract first time smart phone buyers.
Blackberry Curve 8530 Smartphone - Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Research In Motion Ltd. |
| Model Number | Curve 8530 |
| Series | Curve Series |
| Product type | Blackberry with digital camera |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 109 x 60 x14 |
| Weight | 106 grams |
| Phone Design | Candy Bar |
| Display Technology | TFT |
| Size | 2.46″ |
| Resolution | 320×240 pixels |
| Color Depth | 16-bit (65000 colors) |
| Vibrating Alert | Yes |
| Phone Navigation | 35 key backlit QWERTY keyboard Dedicated Keys: Send/Power, End, Mute, VAD (User customizable), Camera (User customizable), 2 x volume/Zoom Media Keys: Forward, Back, Play Trackpad - Located on the front face of device, ESC key to the right, Menu to the left. |
| Wireless Interface | 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth |
| OS | Blackberry v5.0 |
| CPU | 528MHz processor |
| Internal Memory | 256MB |
| Memory card slot | microSD, up to 32GB |
| Camera | 2 Mp |
| Features of camera | Fixed Focus, No Flash, 5X digital zoom, Video Camera Recording: Normal Mode (320×240 pixel), MMS Mode (176×144 pixel) |
| Video format support | MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV9 |
| Audio format support | MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCELP EVRC, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA9, Windows Media 10 Standard/Professional |
| Ringtones & Notifications | Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator, Notification options are user configurable, 32 Polyphonic Ringtones - MIDI, MP3 |
| Wireless Networks | 3G technology CDMA Dual Band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA Dual Mode: CDMA 2000 1X with Ev-Do |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth® v2, Headset Profile (HSP), Handset Profile (HFP), Address Book Integration using AT commands and using OBEX (Object Push), Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP), Dial-Up Networking (DUN), Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP / AVRCP), Serial Port Profile (SPP), Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g, WPA / WPA2 Personal and Enterprise, Cisco CCX certified, Wi-Fi® access to BlackBerry Enterprise Server Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry Internet Bundle, Support for UMA (carrier-dependent) |
| Connector Type | 1 x3.5mm headset jack |
| 3G network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| Mobile Email | Yes |
| Internet Browser | Yes |
| Messaging | SMS, MMS, Email, IM |
| Highlight Features | 2.0MP Digital Camera, Video Camera Capabilities, Supports BlackBerry App World, 256MB Flash Memory, Wi-Fi® enabled, BlackBerry® Maps, Built-in GPS capabilities, 3G network access, Bluetooth® enabled, Multimedia Player, Wireless Email, Organizer, Browser, Phone and SMS/MMS |
| Security features | Password protection, Keyboard lock, Sleep mode |
| Battery Type | Rechargeable Lithium Ion |
| Capacity | 1150 mAH |
| Talktime | 5.5hrs |
| Warranty | One year |
Leave a Reply