Budget smartphone of the week: Blackberry Curve 8520
I will be reviewing affordable smartphones which are available online starting from this week, specifically the review will be one device a week and the focus is on phones that are priced below RM500 mark. This will be an important feature of this blog as I attempt to make this blog more useful for budget phone seekers.
The most affordable phone reviewed today is the Blackberry Curve 8520 which is currently on sale Lazada.com.my for RM465. The Curve 8520 is first introduced in July 2009, but I am not so sure about the price then when it was first launched , however it is in my understanding that it is more expensive than the price currently on offer now.
The Curve 8520 features the following specs:
General
- 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 109 x 60 x 13.9 mm
- Weight 106 g (3.74 oz)
- BlackBerry OS 5.0
- CPU: 512 MHz
- Internal: 256 MB
- External Memory: microSD, up to 32GB
- Li-Ion 1150 mAh battery
- Stand By: Up to 408 h
- Talk Time: Up to 4 h 30 min
- Keyboard: QWERTY
Connectivity
- GPRS: Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
- EDGE: Class 10, 236.8 kbps
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
- Bluetooth: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
- USB: Yes, microUSB
Entertainment & Features
- GPS: No
- Radio: No
- Browser: HTML
- Java: Yes
- - MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
- Organizer
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input
Camera & Video
- Primary: 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels
- Secondary: No
- Video: Yes, QVGA
Screen
- TFT, 65K colors
- 320 x 240 pixels, 2.46 inches (~163 ppi pixel density)
- Touch-sensitive optical trackpad
Sound & Music
- Loud Speaker: Voice 69dB / Noise 68dB / Ring 76dB
- Sound Jack: Yes
Verdict:
The features might not be as impressive as those latest smartphones available on the market today but with that kind of price and a phone with good reputation in reliability and brand name then I couldn’t find anything more appealing than the Blackberry Curve 8520. If you are looking for affordable QWERTY phone then look no further, but if you are seeking for the latest Android phone with the same kind of price tag then you might consider the ZTE Acqua U V880E which is currently available at lazada.com.my for RM499.
[Source: gsmarena | Image credit: gsmarena]
Budget smartphone of the week: Blackberry Curve 8520
