| Rating: 3/5 - The brains behind RIM are back with an | | | | without 3G support. As I had a good look at the phone |
| updated version of the Curve, the 8250. And is it | | | | and used the Internet, I found accessing graphic-rich |
| good? It could have been. Taking this phone down a | | | | websites to be a problem, as it took ages. |
| peg from 'good' to 'average' are the same negatives | | | | On a more positive note, there is Wi-Fi and EDGE, as |
| that perpetually stump BlackBerry, with a few | | | | well as the latest version of Bluetooth. |
| unforced errors mixed in. Despite the fact that some | | | | The QWERTY keyboard provides a great |
| of these features have been pointed out time and | | | | web-surfing experience, but the relatively low screen |
| again, RIM have still avoided dealing with them. | | | | resolution can make browsing slightly difficult and |
| Excuses can be given for having a small budget to | | | | unfriendly. When you are typing emails to friends and |
| work with, as the phone is intended to be one of the | | | | family on the email client, it can be a delight to use - |
| lower-range releases by the company. Good work, but | | | | with few errors made on the keyboard when the |
| not good enough for a brand with a reputation to live | | | | hand is accustomed to typing on the small keys. |
| up to. | | | | Camera |
| Immediately, we were left disappointed by the cheap | | | | The 2-megapixel camera doesn't perform |
| looking plastic on the front of the handset, which left us | | | | spectacularly, but this is normally the case with |
| reminiscing on the dark days and tacky children's toys. | | | | BlackBerry phones. Noise levels are higher than we |
| However, there was something even more noticeable | | | | can accept and picture quality is fairly poor; perhaps |
| that diverted our attention away from this negative, | | | | the only consolation is that there are some |
| and left us in two minds over whether or not it was a | | | | customisation features to toy with. |
| good thing. | | | | Games |
| The traditional curve ball, or 'pearl' as RIM fondly label it, | | | | Smartphones may not pride themselves on gaming, |
| was missing. Yes: gone. Why, you ask? Seemingly, | | | | but the 8250 performs pretty well with no less than |
| having protruding parts increases the chances of dust | | | | five pre-installed games. They may well have all |
| and dirt becoming trapped, something which | | | | featured on earlier releases, but at least they are of |
| BlackBerry are keen to avoid as part of their bid to | | | | sound quality. |
| create phones that are resistant to the elements. | | | | Last thoughts |
| Despite our surprise at the disappearance of the | | | | From what we have seen in the 8250, BlackBerry |
| trademark 'pearl', our faith was restored pretty quickly | | | | may well have become too complacent; either that, or |
| upon using the all-new optical trackpad. Responsive | | | | they really were catering to a tight budget in the |
| and easy to use, with features on the phone to alter | | | | making of this model. It may be the fact that we are |
| the sensitivity of the scroll - it really did impress us. | | | | used to seeing such high-end products from the |
| Connectivity and web-browser | | | | company that leaves us so disappointed with this |
| Smartphones are supposedly built to have an excellent | | | | particular smartphone. Even the things which you really |
| range of connectivity options, but if the Curve 8250 is | | | | expect to be good just aren't - like the web browsing, |
| anything to go by - this clearly isn't the case. We were | | | | connectivity and screen resolution. A bit of a failure on |
| massively confused at the prospect of a smartphone | | | | RIM's part, definitely. |