When the friend of a Grocott's Mail reporter decided to join the BlackBerry revolution over the festive season, he surprised his buddies by rocking up with a new model of the phone that none of them even knew existed. Here Lungile Mpharu explores the features of the new BlackBerry Curve 9360.
When the friend of a Grocott's Mail reporter decided to join the BlackBerry revolution over the festive season, he surprised his buddies by rocking up with a new model of the phone that none of them even knew existed. Here Lungile Mpharu explores the features of the new BlackBerry Curve 9360.
If you've seen the new BlackBerry Curve and mistook it for a Bold 9780, then you wouldn't be the first one to make that mistake. It may look similar, but as most BlackBerry users know, the Bold models are renowned for having better features, being more pricey and are considered to be more elite.
Every time my friend's new phone made an appearance out of his pocket I thought to myself: "Damn, this oke bought a Bold. I need to step up my game."
One day he asked me to help him download an application and set up his Twitter account on the phone, but I told him that I didn't know how to use a Bold and that he was on his own. He looked at me with a blank expression and said, "I don't have a Bold, this is the new Curve."
Although it appears virtually identical to the previous Curve, the new model boasts useful improvements in several areas. The Curve 9360 sits comfortably in the hand and still has that well-spaced keyboard for fast, accurate typing. The touch-sensitive optical trackpad hasn't changed from the previous model, which is a good thing because it aids one-handed operation.
The new model's main upgrade is the new BlackBerry Operating System (OS 7) that has a greatly improved web browser which rivals those found in Android and iOS devices. It also packs a punch with the new Java engine, support for Flash Player, HTML5, enhanced gesture support and speedier HTML rendering – taking the platform past those of Google and Apple.
This device gives you powerful graphics, at 480 x 360 pixels instead of the old 320 x 240, smoother scrolling and improved browsing. Your online and browsing experience is taken to the next level as now you can find all your favourite things online more quickly and accurately than ever before.
This handset has a 5 megapixel camera with flash, rather than the ultra-basic 2 megapixel camera of previous models (which was the subject of many jokes), although once again BlackBerry has overlooked the value of having a radio on your handset.
The price of the new Curve 9360 might be the most enhanced feature, and will set you back a whopping R3 999. You could buy two BlackBerry 8520 Curves for that amount, and still have enough change to hook up your BlackBerry Internet Service for the whole year (it costs R60 per month).
Overall, the new Curve 9360 is an impressive addition to the BlackBerry Curve family as it bridges the gap between it and its cousin the Bold 9780, but ultimately I would just pay the extra R800 and pay for the Bold.
