BlackBerry Curve 3G

Now, if you know me, you know I loved my BlackBerry, was was sad to leave it for Android. I simply couldn't afford the new Tour with the trackpad, as much as I wanted it. While on Android, they released the BlackBerry Style, and I honestly should have used my common sense and returned my Intercept for it while I still could. That thing looks so bitchin'.

Anyway, to the real reason of this blog post. I had the 8530, which most people knew I ended up with when I dropped my 8330 in the sink, and almost took my own life. (Not seriously, but I did kinda feel empty inside when it died.) I rushed off to Best Buy, because their Geek Squad may have been help to me and behold! Black Tie Protection covered water damage. Happy dance, happy tears, shameless blubbering, and about an hour later, I had the BlackBerry Curve 8530- in Plum! I probably should have had the red, but the guy asked me what color I wanted. How sweet, right?

So, that phone was pretty awesome, considering I paid $10 for it and the selling price at the time was like $50, since Best Buy eats all the rebates you'd have to mail-in and such through Sprint. But I already wrote a review on that phone, so refer about three posts before this for that. Oh yeah, I'm making you work.

After I went back to my BlackBerry, I noticed that there was a problem with the response time on the Trackpad- and the sensitivity was high enough. Took the time to look at it after a couple of days, and the trackpad was cracked! I'm actually still not sure how I managed to do it, but I did. And I was dumb, and didn't go the day of to get it fixed. I ended up going two days later, when the trackpad finally became unresponsive.

I didn't realize Sprint stopped supporting the 8530 nearly a month before, since they had released the 3G. So, I got another free upgrade. Nice, right? I got my new BlackBerry after all! Sort of.

Basically, the Curve 3G is a more stylish version of the 8530. It's much faster, however, with an on-board memory of 512mb. The reason for this, I was told, is because it's slated to support OS6 soon (and after some research, confirmed, though no set date is out). The body style is the exact same thing. Except for minor differences.

The colored part of the phone has more of a chrome feel to it, and the inside buttons are all black now. The back case that covers the battery is better-made. It has more of a rubberized feel to it, and the stickers were better put in. I hadn't realized before what a big deal the stickers were until I read around about people freaking out over them. I was glad I wasn't the only one. It kind of looks like a child's toy, only more lightweight, and it -gasp- actually works!

My biggest gripe- still- is the camera. Though it's been upgraded to a 2mp, the Curve line has the capability for a better camera, and a flash. I was so mad to see they removed the flash once the 8530 was released. Seriously. I wrote to BlackBerry and complained and everything. New models later, still no flash. I have enough anger about this for an entire blog post on mobile phone cameras, let me tell you!

Alright, let's wrap this up, shall we? Here's the bottom line: The Curve 3G is basically a more fashion-forward, faster version of the 8530. Though it's slated to see OS6, don't hold your breath! We all know how Sprint is about OS updates.

Update: Samsung Intercept

After a month of the Intercept, I went back to BlackBerry. Why? The frustration of that phone wasn't worth it. The lag was horrendous, and I have a new-found hatred for touch screen phones. Even if it was slated for Froyo (Android 2.2), it wouldn't have been worth the wait. The Intercept was just horrible.

First off, that touch screen. The lag on the response was just... Enough to make you ill. You'd have to click on something two or three times for it to register, and 9/10 times it would open and automatically close. And when it finally did open, it took forever to respond. I often dealt with getting a force close message because the apps tended to freeze. In the end, I downloaded a new Launcher app that took care of most of the home screen lag problems, but oish, the rest wasn't worth it. The new launcher app was Zeam, by the way. I recommend it if you have problems with your home screen.

Now, the camera was a 3.2mp. That's alright, though I had the original EnV (when I had Verizon), and that camera was 5mp. Are we regressing on the in-phone cameras? I'm not sure I approve. There was no flash, so you had to be in great light to get anything clearly. Even then, the pictures weren't that great.

I could probably rant on and on about how much I hated that phone. Samsung (and Sprint) really dropped the ball on this one, and I have to say... After all the reviews I've read about this phone, I should have spent the extra money and gone with either the Epic or the EVO. Or the BlackBerry I wanted! No use in crying over spilled milk for me, but buyer beware! The Intercept honestly has to be the worst entry-level phone I've ever used, regardless of the operating system it's on.