Verizon Wireless’ BlackBerry 8330 isn’t just a hand-me-down version of the AT&T and T-Mobile Curves. Sure, it sports the same small and lightweight design, spacious QWERTY keyboard, and a 2-megapixel camera, but Verizon throws in its own tailored interface and the fastest data speeds around for $169 (with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate). The Curve 8330 for Verizon Wireless also offers GPS and video recording. We wish this device supported V CAST video and music, but otherwise, the Curve 8330 is our top recommended smart phone for Verizon Wireless customers.
BlackBerry 8330 Design and Interface
The 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6-inch, 4-ounce Curve 8330 is the same size and weight as Sprint’s model. Sporting a liquid-silver color, Verizon’s 8330 features a bright and crisp 2.4-inch screen that’s complemented by a clickable trackball and four navigation buttons. The microSD Card slot is buried beneath the battery in the back, which is annoying and will keep you wanting to store the card in there for good.
As with other Curves, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a dedicated shortcut button (defaulted to voice dialing) on the left side, and a Mute button along the top. This button also puts the phone into Standby mode when held down. On the right side are the volume controls and a button to launch the phone’s 2-megapixel camera. The QWERTY-keypad is well spaced, and the raised keys are extremely comfortable for typing; it took us no time to get accustomed to the layout.
Verizon Wireless preloads the unit with its own customized user interface, which has a striking silver backdrop and cartoonish-looking application icons. You can easily change the theme of the device to one of the standard BlackBerry offerings by going into the Options menu and changing the theme.
E-mail and Messaging
Like with all BlackBerrys, push e-mail worked efficiently on the Curve 8330. You can easily configure real-time access to up to ten e-mail accounts. Setting up a personal Gmail account and our Google Apps–based work mail was a cinch. Though the BlackBerry comes preloaded with BlackBerry Messenger and supports real-time chat to other BlackBerry users, Verizon does not prepackage the phone with instant messaging applications. AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger are quick installs, however, and we had no problem keeping up with messaging our friends on their PCs. Sending text messages was a breeze, and we were happy to see that Verizon includes MMS capability right off the bat, unlike Sprint’s 8330.
The Fastest Curve of Them All
Load times for full HTML Web pages were faster using Verizon’s Curve 8330 than on the AT&T and Sprint Curves. Both CNN.com and ESPN.com loaded in 6 seconds on Verizon’s model. By comparison, AT&T’s Curve 8310 loaded CNN.com and ESPN.com in a slower 10 seconds over its EDGE network, and Sprint’s Curve 8330 loaded the pages in 6 seconds and 8 seconds, respectively. The Verizon Curve 8330 may be faster than the Sprint version by only a hair, but that still earns it the title of fastest Curve around. We wish Verizon included a Wi-Fi connection for even faster surfing, but that’s not a deal breaker.
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