Product ReviewsBlackBerry Curve 8530 - 256 MB - Black (Sprint)

Though not the best BlackBerry on the market, 8530 is a good smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 generally fits into the BlackBerry line up as a refresher to the now ubiquitous Curve 83xx, and is meant to sit between entry-level models like the Pearl and Pearl Flip, and higher end models like the world-dominating Tour and Bold.

For just $50 from Sprint, users get an innovative trackpad, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G coverage, and a surprisingly impressive 2 megapixel camera -- all rolled into a nicely sized form factor.

The Curve 8530 compares will the Tour 9630 -- both models are available from Sprint, but the Curve is more affordable.

BUILD & DESIGN

Overall the Curve 8530 has a fashion-forward design aimed at a younger consumer audience. Instead of a chrome bezel and pronounced convenience keys that you find on the Tour, you'll find a rubber strip around the side with convenience keys that seem to bulge out of its sides. On the top of the device you find a set of media-control keys.

RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530The front of the phone shows off what is perhaps its best feature -- the trackpad in place of the traditional trackball. Whether you're a seasoned BB veteran or a newcomer, you'll appreciate the intuitive, easy to use reliable performance of the trackpad. This one feature alone might be enough to knock the Tour out of contention.

The keys on the keyboard are a "chicklet" holdover from the previous generation.

The Talk, End, Return and Menu keys are redesigned as if they are part of the screen -- not a design choice I'm particularly fond of.

The screen itself pales in comparison to the beautiful display on the Tour, but there is nothing outright wrong with it. There's nothing to complain about, but if you were to hold your Curve up to a Tour, you'd notice the difference.

The biggest annoyance, design-wise, is the LED indicator light. On a regular BlackBerry there's no way you're going to miss a message. You will not be distracted by the LED light on the Curve 8530, the indicator which is just a touch bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen, and its light is... understated, to put it kindly.

Size and Weight
The Curve 8530 overall is smaller than the Tour, and feels lighter, though it still has a very sold and composed feeling to it. You won't hate yourself for dropping this phone -- it feels like it can take a beating which is refreshing compared to some of today's delicate phones.

PERFORMANCE

I've already mentioned that the Curve has a big leg-up over its brethren by having a touchpad instead of the trackball. The aspect where the 8530 really hits it out of the park is with its operating system. The Curve 8530 features BlackBerry OS 5.0, currently the only device on the Sprint lineup to do so.

The 5.0 operating system isn't revolutionary, but offers nice many little improvements, such as wirelessly syncing of contacts with certain email providers, the ability to flag messages for follow up, better application permission management, and vastly improved ability to manage ringing profile settings.

BlackBerry Curve 8530 for Sprint The processor on the Curve 8530 is less powerful than some of its contemporaries, including the Tour, and sometimes it would hang. For most of what you do most of the time, however, you won't notice this lack of power. Power users, on the other hand, should consider a more powerful device.

Voice Quality
Generally the 8530 is a solid performer, but its call quality is only just average.Read full review...

Decent phone, great music player

This is a decent phone for an older model. I bought it for my husband, who likes having a hardware keyboard, but he didn't want a Blackberry. I put all my music on it, and it's great for that. The speaker is fairly loud, with decent sound quality. It does have the infamous Blackberry startup speed, although it takes roughly 3 minutes, which is better than it could be. The camera seems to be pretty good, but since I'm not using it as a phone, I can't say how good that is. I would assume the sound quality is good as a phone as well.Read full review...

Tops -- Value for Money

I have had the Blackberry 8530 for several months now, and "top of class -- value for money" applies to this smartphone. The standard features are there, of course and are handled well by the cellphone (e.g. calendar, alarm clock, contacts list, call logs, etc). Smart would be the fast-push for email. And I have made great use of internet-access from checking items on eBAY, checking bank balances, weather, GPS.

Phone is convenient --- both in size and weight -- and can be pocketed without problems. Battery life good (of course, the more you use "smart" features, the faster the battery drain). And getting accessories (from apps to hardware like extra batteries or cellphone charger) --- costs for these things are extremely reasonable.Read full review...

Great product and easy to use.

Replaced the phone my daughter had before. She loves the BlackBerry. Her old one got wet and she didnt want to try other types of phones so the Blackberry is her first choice.

Awsome procuct! Well worth the price!

The BB Curve 8530 is extremely easy to use and very user friendly. From recieving emails to facebook updates, it is all at the tip of your fingers. Setup was completely easy and the battery life is good for a device that can do so much. Well worth its price tag. I love it & recommend this Blackberry to anyone.Read full review...

Awesome

I love it! So convenient and lighteweight! Its such an easy phone to use. I love the email features, the multi-tasking ability, and it has a great speaker for speakerphone calls or music! The camera is clearer than any other phone I have had.Read full review...

Fantastic Phone

This phone is fantastic! Its one of blackberries best phones and I highly recommend to anyone! It has a lot of features and if you want a first time smartphone this is the one to buy! It holds a charge for over 2-3 days! And its very easy to use. Its got the flat middle pad instead of ball like on the 8330..so it won't wear out as fast and pop out from overusing it. I have a gold one which makes it stand out and have had alot of comments about it! You can also go to cranberry.com to get alot of FREE apps for it! If you have a chance to buy one.....Definatley go for it!!!Read full review...

nice...

nice.......................................................................................................................................This phone is fantastic! Its one of blackberries best phones and I highly recommend to anyone! It has a lot of features and if you want a first time smartphone this is the one to buy! It holds a charge for over 2-3 days! And its very easy to use. Its got the flat middle pad instead of ball like on the 8330..so it won't wear out as fast and pop out from overusing it. I have a gold one which makes it stand out and have had alot of comments about it! You can also go to cranberry.com to get alot of FREE apps for it! If you have a chance to buy one.....Definatley go for it!!!Read full review...

Amazing, easy to use phone with many great features.

Great phone, so glad that i bought it! Very easy to use and understand and loads internet and applications very quickly!

A Great little phone.

I think it is a good phone to have for an extra phone, and it has a lot of features and I had another one that I really liked from 2007 and I had just put it up for quite a while but I got it back out because I needed a back up up phone and this Blackberry Smart phone.is just what I needed.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: conway.resale