If you've been waiting for the right BlackBerry before making the jump into CrackBerry land, your time has come. The BlackBerry 8300 Curve is the email checking, media-heavy smartphone we've been waiting for.
Design-wise, the 8300 is a looker with its thin Pearl-like profile, full QWERTY keyboard and silvery finish. But the real reason you'll want it is 'cause of its media features. Both the guys at Laptop and Wired agree that this is RIM's best handheld, easily blending in at the office during the day and doubling as a cool smartphone at night. So what do we get?
It's got a 2-megapixel camera, a media player for music, video, and photos, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot for expansion and a Push-to-Talk key. Service-wise, Laptop reports setting up email is a breeze (as expected) and Web browsing via EDGE is snappy.
Now the cons. Yeah, the Internet is fast, but there's no 3G support, which is a bit of a downer. And although the Curve can play video, it can't shoot it. If you can live with that (personally, I think I might be able to although no 3G does suck), then you've got your dream phone right here. Pricing hasn't been declared yet, but we'll update when Cingular/AT&T says something.
Press Release BlackBerry Curve [Laptop Mag]
BlackBerry Curve—Kick Ass Media Player in a Well-Rounded Package [Gadget Lab]