The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the ideal mobile device for anyone who wants the connectivity of a smartphone, without the high price and low battery life that most devices in that category feature. Although the Curve 8520 does sacrifice some common smartphone features, such as 3G, touchscreen controls and advanced camera features, for many users the combination of a fantastic physical qwerty keyboard, great email and messaging support and a battery life measured in days rather than hours, will make the BlackBerry Curve 8520 the ideal mobile device.
For anyone who spends more than a few minutes every day writing emails or social networking posts, a physical qwerty keyboard is a massive improvement over even the best touchscreen offerings. Together with its support for push email, BlackBerry's physical keyboards and communication-focussed designs have made them a fixture of the business world, and with the BlackBerry Curve 8520, RIM is now targeting the regular smartphone consumer, with a device that is both well-designed and affordable.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 features an excellent new optical track pad, soon to be a standard feature across the BlackBerry range, as well as dedicated music control's and a regular 3.5mm headphone jack. The screen is bright and clear, although not particularly large or high resolution. The Curve 8520's camera is good for taking basic pictures, although at only 2 Megapixels and with no flash, it can't compete with camera phones. Despite the lack of 3G, the 8520's web browser works well, even when you are away from a Wi-Fi connection.
