BlackBerry 8900 Curve (Javelin) Review
By Simon Sage on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 7:45 PM PST In BlackBerry, Hottest Hardware, Reviews
The BlackBerry Storm and all of its drama has just about died down, and attentions are turning to a more traditional release from Research in Motion: the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8900. Known by many as its internal codename, Javelin, the 8900 follows closely in the Bold’s footsteps by offering a classic, slick, full-QWERTY device with Wi-Fi and GPS, but notably lacking 3G. Some can’t live without fast wireless speeds, while others who are outside of coverage anyway can make do with EDGE – besides, the BlackBerry’s an e-mail smartphone first and foremost, so maybe EDGE will do. Just like its Curve predecessors, the 8900 is light, slim, and has a snappy, well-spaced keyboard with a new trackball.
Hit the jump to get the full run-down of the BlackBerry 8900 Curve (a.k.a Javelin), coming soon to T-Mobile (NYSE: DT).
BlackBerry 8900 Curve (”Javelin”)
By Research in Motion (Rogers, T-Mobile – $199.99; T-Mobile Germany – 39,95 €/month; O2 UK – £35.00/month)
Specifications
Available Features
Camera (3.2 MP)
Wi-Fi Support
Built-in GPS
Enhanced Media Player
Video Recording
BlackBerry Maps
Wireless Email
Organizer
Browser
Phone
Corporate Data Access
SMS/MMS
Size and Weight
Height:
4.29 inches (109 mm)
Width:
2.36 inches (60 mm)
Depth:
0.53 inches (13.5 mm)
Weight:
3.87 ounces (109.9 grams)
Battery & Battery Life
Battery
1400 mAHr removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Talk Time: 5.5 hours
Standby Time: 356 hours
Display
High resolution 480×360 pixel color display
Transmissive TFT LCD
Supports over 65,000 colors
Screen Size: 2.44 inches (diagonally measured)
Camera & Video Recording
Camera: 3.2 MP camera (JPEG Encoding) with Auto focus, Image stabilization, Flash and 2X Digital Zoom
Video Camera: Normal Mode: 480×352 pixel, MMS Mode: 176×144 pixel
GPS & BlackBerry Maps
Assisted and autonomous GPS enabled
Data Input & Navigation
35 key backlit QWERTY keyboard
Trackball located on front face of device, ESC key to the right, Menu to the left
Dedicated Keys: Send, End, Mute, Lock, VAD (user customizable), 2-stage camera (user customizable), 2x volume/zoom
User Interface: Intuitive icons and menus
Voice Input & Output
Integrated speaker and microphone, Hands-free headset capable, Bluetooth® headset capable, Integrated Hands-Free Speakerphone
Rating for hearing aids (PDF): M3 (in cellular bands only)
Media Player
Video Format Support: DivX, XviD (MPEG4 Advance Simple Profile), H.263, WMV3
Audio Format Support: .3gp, WAV, MIDI, AMR-NB, G711u/A, GSM610, PCM, MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA9/10 Standard/Pro
Ringtones & Notifications
Ringtones: .3gp, WAV, MIDI, AMR-NB, G711u/A, GSM610, PCM, MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA9/10 Standard/Pro
Notifications: Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator; notification options are user configurable
Bluetooth
Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR; Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port Profile, Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP), SIM Access Profile and Dial-up Networking supported
Keyboard security
Password protection
Keyboard lock
Sleep (standby) mode
Wi-Fi
802.11b/g enabled
Wi-Fi Alliance Certifications: WPA/WPA2 Personal and Enterprise, WMM, WMM Power Save, Wi-Fi Protected Setup
Cisco CCX certification planned
Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Internet Server
Direct IP web browsing over Wi-Fi
Support for UMA/GAN
Wireless Networks
North America: 850 MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
North America: 1900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
EDGE networks
The real meat and potatoes of the BlackBerry 8900 Curve (Javelin) review starts on the next page…
Not a bad review. The only thing I want to note is that you mentioned that you used UMA without subscribing. Both Rogers and T-Mobile allow UMA calling without subscriptions – it just pulls from your regular minutes (Whenever, Night/Weekend, Mobile-to-Mobile, etc.)
Oh, cheers, thanks for clearing that up. So what are the benefits of subscribing to the service, then?
Hey Simon, the benefits of subscribing to T-Mobile’s UMA service is FREE minutes any time you’re on one of their HotSpot locations (including the @Home service).
$10/month is excellent (for us) especially because we work from home and use our BBs for all calls… all day. We’re able to keep our minutes plan very low (have lowest family plan with 4 lines) and never go over because we use the UMA when possible.
Call quality is clear and never had a problem, even if we need to leave the house and the device switches to regular cellular coverage. NICE!
Check this out: http://crackberry.com/saving-call-charges-recession-your-blackberry.
Best.
This phone is the worst phone I’ve ever owned. T-Mobile took the fattest dump on it’s customers by not offering a blackberry on the 3G network and blackberry made a crappy product. Oh sure, it emails, but try syncing it with a mac…no dice. Try using Blackberry maps…you’ll get to your destination before the map loads. Try using the internet…you’d have better luck praying for peek at CNN.
This phone BLOOOOOOOOOOOWS and I bet T-Mobes is freaking out because they failed their customers by offering a product that can never compare to the iphone or even bold simply because bold has the 3G. A T-Mobile rep told me I would be better off with an iphone! That last statement is permanently etched in my customer file. I think T-Mobes should give me the money to get what they think I need.
the best phone ever i used freakin g1 i used iphone but i liked… 8900 the most man its a bussssiiinnneesss phonee thank you tmobile
i have had this phone for nearly six days now…….I LOVE IT!! just want to clear something up to all the bb haters….if you want something that does what an iPhone does, something that syncs correctly with a mac and is generally isnt a blackberry….then this next statement may shock you. BUY AN IPHONE!
my only gripe with this phone is the battery isnt amazing. two days tops, but thats with constant twitter/myspace and faceook updates, GPS, wordmole and constant texting.
but if sex was a phone…..it would be a RIM. Lol.
Enjoy.
My boss FOrce us to use this freaking phonE…
Wa Jin Jie Shi BeTaHan!!!!
I love the Blackberry 8900. Its the best phone I have ever ever bought and now I have 2 of them!
I purchased mine from here covered in Swarovski Crystals:
http://www.crystal-iced.com/product.php?id=305