The BlackBerry 9300 Curve 3G looks like a typical BlackBerry product. Its full physical keyboard is located under the 2.4-inch screen, and a 2-megapixel camera is located on the rear panel. Offering a 3G connection, as well as Wi-Fi, the phone promises fast Internet navigation and downloading applications and themes from the App World store.
Model Overview
Big innovations in the BlackBerry 9300 (photo posted later in the article) did not happen. The famous physical keyboard is located in a case with rounded corners and a textured rear surface, while the “chrome” frame surrounds the LCD screen with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels and a number of buttons near the touch panel. The MicroUSB port is located next to the 3.5mm headphone jack and left-handed key, which by default calls voice dialing. If repeating the phrase “Speak a team” quickly gets bored, then this can be changed in the settings. The camera button is located on the other side of the phone, just below the volume keys.
At the top are the media controls: play / pause, forward and backward buttons. The keyboard and touchpad are almost identical to those used in previous Curve models, such as the 8900, as well as the Bold 9700. The main difference is that the 9300 offers Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G.
The manufacturing company RIM is keen on demonstrating the media capabilities of its smartphones, and the 9300 is no exception. Having special buttons on the top panel, the phone is clearly intended to be used as a media player, just like the iPhone or Sony Ericsson W395 Walkman. Therefore, it is nice to see the presence of a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which gives you the freedom to choose any headset you like. The 2-megapixel camera is no different, it does not have a flash and autofocus, like the Bold 9700.
As you would expect from any BlackBerry family phone, the Curve 9300 has enviable features for creating emails and instant messaging using the Messenger app.
Interface
Users of BlackBerry OS 5 with experience will feel at home. Home screen icons can be configured to launch the most commonly used applications, functions and web pages, and all menus can be easily organized into folders.
The interface shares the features of Windows software, but, in addition to a series of icons, there is also a text menu for navigating inside programs. It allows you to configure parameters, perform functions and stop the software. This menu can scare away and confuse insecure users, for example, when they come across endless lists of options, when the only thing required is to write a new text message. Due to these mazes, the interface is not as simple as on the iPhone 4, but it is similar to the Android OS.
The level of detail of the settings is high, but the principle of quick access to your favorite applications is the same.
App World, which can be launched from the phone’s menu or in a browser, provides access to several hundred downloaded programs. BlackBerry themes allow you to give your device a personal touch: you can buy ready-made ones or create your own by setting fonts, background images, melodies, etc.
Most of the standard features start up very easily. To make a call, you can either click on the call button or simply start dialing the number or name of the contact from the home screen.
On most phones of the manufacturer it is too complicated to create new e-mails or SMS. Instead of just going into the mailbox and choosing the appropriate option, you have to start the internal menu by clicking on the BlackBerry button, and then scroll through the list of options until you find the “Write SMS” item. It is a pity that for such a simple task, too many extra actions are required. You can send SMS to a specific contact from the address book, although for those who have not previously used a smartphone, this action will not seem natural.
Camera
The BlackBerry 9300's ability to take photos and record videos is pretty mediocre. When starting the camera application, the only thing the user can do is zoom and take a picture. To access additional and rather limited options, you need to click on the button and enter another extensive menu. Here you can change the white balance, size and image quality, as well as choose a black and white version or sepia tone. It's nice to have such an opportunity, but most likely it only emphasizes the limited functionality of the camera here.
To zoom, just swipe your finger across the optical sensor. If you need to take a picture in landscape orientation, you can use the shutter button on the side, but for portrait shooting you will need to click on the touch panel.
Larger images noticeably lose quality. The camera is not so bad at rendering colors when there is a big difference between them. Close-ups due to lack of auto focus are blurry, but photos at a distance are much better. The images are not quite clear, but this is to be expected from a 2-megapixel camera. Suffice it to say that this is not an ideal phone for amateur photographers.
Work with audio and video
In Blackberry 9300, the firmware does not differ in brilliance when working with multimedia. Although the phone displays track information and album art, the music player is very simple. True, it allows you to shuffle or play albums, artists, and tracks in a loop.
Other popular features are creating your own playlists or an automatic playlist with selected artists. There is no FM radio, so you need to record a lot of tracks in order to have something to listen to.
The sound quality is average, although high-quality Sennheiser headphones are included. But they are still better than the built-in speaker, which sounds just awful.
The media player can be controlled using the buttons located on the top of the phone. This applies to both audio and video.
The following audio formats are supported: MP3, AAC-LC, AMR-NB, AAC +, WMA, eAAC +, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis.
Playing video on a screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels is not very impressive, but the video player is pretty fast. If there is little media content on your phone, you can visit YouTube in your mobile browser. It’s better to use Wi-Fi. Supported formats are MPEG4, H.264, H.263, WMV9.
In the image gallery, all the pictures are presented as thumbnails, but viewing them on such a small screen is not entirely satisfactory. Uploading photos to Facebook and other social networking applications is easy - this should be done through the option of the internal menu. True, there is no such possibility for video, but you can share it via email or Bluetooth.
Suffice it to say that this is not the best phone for those who record video blogs on the go - the iPhone 4 with its front camera makes video recording much easier.
The headphone jack is located on the side, just above the USB jack. The best place for it is the top or bottom of the phone, especially if it is carried in your pocket. It would seem, given the location of the media playback controls on the top panel, this should have become a place for the headphone jack.
Battery life
According to user reviews, BlackBerry 9300 3G can run on a full battery for two days. At the same time, photographs were taken, e-mail was used, web pages were browsed and applications were downloaded, and calls were also made. This corresponds to the declared battery life - 4.5 hours of talk time plus 29 hours of music playback or 19 days of standby time. The battery is tiny (1150 mAh), and this helps the smartphone to maintain its low weight.
Hard reset
The Blackberry 9300 Curve can be returned to factory settings in the event of an application freezing or other software errors. It should be remembered that this procedure will also erase all downloaded files, software, images, ringtones and contacts in the internal memory. For a hardware reboot, you must:
- Press the Menu key button, go to Options, Security Options and select Security Wipe.
- Select the type of data to be deleted.
- Enter blackberry and select Wipe.
You can also reboot the device by pressing Alt, Shift and Delete simultaneously. In this case, the data will not be lost.
What did you like?
It's hard to judge the BlackBerry 9300, as it is very similar to other members of the Curve family. But, despite the fact that its specifications, in comparison with competitors' smartphones, are not so brilliant, this is not a phone that is absolutely embarrassing to own.
The main advantage of the BlackBerry 9300 is the presence of a keyboard, even if it is not as good as the Bold 9700.
As usual, BlackBerry's email and messaging applications are at a high level, and users note the call quality and excellent reception of the device.
What didn’t you like?
Users who are used to dealing with more powerful phones will be constantly disappointed with the poor performance of the smartphone.
The low screen resolution has reduced the cost of the device, but for owners this is a little comfort. 2-megapixel camera is extremely limited in its capabilities. The clumsiness of the menu system and the built-in browser will be annoying until the software is upgraded to more productive versions.
Verdict
If all that is required of the phone is email, and browsing the web and playing media files will be infrequent, then the Blackberry 9300 will satisfy basic needs for a small price.