-
June 6, 2007 - Day 1
The UPS man delivered my BlackBerry Curve today at the stroke of noon. A friend in Florida picked it up from a retail outlet on Monday, shipped it out Tuesday, and now I have it on Wednesday - not bad. Being in Winnipeg, Canada, it looks like I'll just beat Rogers getting the Curve. It sounds like Rogers retailers are starting to take delivery of Curve units today too, but I'm guessing it will still be a few days before they start selling to consumers and/or letting them upgrade.
UnBoxing the Curve
When the UPS MAN handed over the box I thought - "WOW..that's a light package, I hope the phone is actually in there". When I took the Curve Box out of the UPS package, I thought "Wow... what a small box!" The AT&T Curve box is considerably slimmed down from the box I remember my Rogers 8700R coming in.
Upon opening the Box, I pulled out the Quick Start guide and Instruction Manual, and then laid eyes on my shiny new Curve. The first thing I noticed was the size. It is small. I picked it up, felt it in my hands (it felt good...), turned it over a couple of times, and put the phone down to see what else was in the box... the charger, usb, battery, headphone thing that I'll never use...and...NO CASE?!?!?! I quickly got over it, knowing that I will try and get my hands on every Curve case manufactured in the next year, but couldn't help but think RIM should include some type of case with a high-end device like the Curve. Afterall...my 8700R came with a case. What gives now? It's one of those things - people don't miss something they never had, but if you take away something they are used to it hurts! And I was used to getting a case with my BlackBerry.
Recovered from the lack of free case, it was time to play. I took the back of the case off, put in the battery, put the cover back on, and the phone fired right up! I'm still waiting on my AT&T unlock code (ordered it on Monday - should have it tonight/tomorrow morning), so for now my new Curve is a just a toy, and will not be used for much more than BrickBreaker.
Start Me UP
Even with no SIM Card inserted in the phone, it booted right up and I quickly walked through the Phone Wizard, where I entered in my personal data and learned some quick BlackBerry tips (which for first time Berry users I think are actually useful!). I just skipped the "Setting Up Your Email" step since I didn't have a SIM card in the phone. I spent a minute with the default AT&T theme, didn't like it, and quickly switched to the Zen theme. The AT&T theme was really washed out/colorless/bland. It made the whole phone much too grey. The battery was pretty low, so at that point I plugged it in to let it charge while I put a few more minutes into playing with it.
First Impressions
1. The phone feels good in your hand. The dimensions and weight feel "right".
2. Build Quality seems good, but I noticed immediately that there is a little bit of "wiggle room" with the keyboard. On my 8700 where the keys stick up through the case there's no lateral movement. On the Curve I can actually slide the entire keyboard left and right slightly within the case.
3. Trackball vs. Trackwheel. I'm making the switch from an 8700, so it's going to take some getting used to, but I can see the power of the Trackball. I think once I'm used to it I'll never want to go back, but it's definitely going to take a few days to get into the trackball groove.
4. Visually, I like the Curve, but I do think there's room for improvement. For one, it's not really "curvy". It's more like a "mini 8700". When I think "Curve" I think "Exotic" and I don't think it's quite that. The backside of the phone looks great (black rubber edges visible, silver battery cover, metallic cover around the camera), but on the front side I think I would have preferred the standard dark purple/blackish berry color with the metallic accents over the somewhat flat grey casing color. The metallic accents around the screen would have stood out more on a darker case color, or conversely, the accents should be a metallic black on the grey case. Grey/Metallic Accents on a Grey Case with a Grey Keypad makes the front of the phone, well...grey Switching from the AT&T theme to the Zen did improve the in-use look of the phone immediately though. The display is Vibrant!
5. Camera. I snapped a couple of photos, and to me the quality looks solid for a cell phone/smartphone. I took one of myself and the flash had me seeing white spots for about 5 minutes. Obviously it's not a replacement for a full size digital camera, but I think it will more than do the trick for quick snaps when you're out and about on a daily basis.
6. Media Player. LOOKS AWESOME. I just realized we're going to have to add a Movies Gallery to CrackBerry.com. The Ringtone gallery is up and running (still making some improvements), and the Wallpaper gallery is near completion, but we're going to have to come up with a user-contributed video gallery now too!
Conclusion: I'm loving what I see so far. It's an 8/10 in my book so far. I just need to get it unlocked and really put some hours into the device now. We'll see if it moves up or down from the 8 with time...
Check out the pics attached...and I'll report back in when I get it unlocked! I don't have an AT&T sim card to unlock it with, but I can bring up the menu/field where I enter in the unlock code no problem... so we'll see what happens!Last edited by CrackBerry Kevin; 06-06-07 at 06:54 PM. Reason: fixed up some of my poor spelling :)
06-06-07 06:39 PM - Excellent, Kevin. Yes, quick delivery.
I also LOVE the Curve and am amazed that I am getting used to the trackball. I picked up my 8700 and it still was easier for me - just having used it so much more - I will survive. I do the functionality of the trackball as well. The keyboard is better than I thought it would be. Not perfect but what is
I am now over the lack of case shock however, it took a day or so 
I'm looking forward to your ongoing review and yap, sounds like you also have made a new and wonderful friend in the Curve....Write to "Dear Berry" if things get out of control06-06-07 08:20 PM -
I unlocked the at&t Curve thru Old Cingular SIM card into access the MEPE menu. Then I removed old cingular simard from curve. I put my tmobile sim card into the curve. Its great work!
let me tell you somethings, you will not able to unlock att curve without att/ cing sim card. because you will need a Cingular or ATT SIM card in order to access the MEPE menu where it will unlock. Otherwise, non-att/cingluar simcard can't access and read by AT&T Curve's the MEPE menu nor show MEPE menu on there, Like happened to me before.
Good Luck!
Addtion, 8700g is wider than 8300's wide:
Last edited by VIDGMER; 06-07-07 at 12:51 AM.
06-07-07 12:24 AM - I AM A NEW BERRY USER HAD ONE SINCE THE PEARL LAUNCH WITH AT&T
I HAVE HAD THE 8100, USED THE 8800 AND NOW HAVE THE 8300.
AS SOON AS A NEW ONE LAUNCHES I WILL MOST LIKLEY GET IT TOO.
MY CURVE IS ONE OF THE BEST PHONES THAT I HAVE EVER USED.
THE ONLY THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM IT ARE 3G, VIDEO CAPTURE, BUILT IN GPS AND A DAMN CASE IN THE BOX( I AM USING THE ONE FROM THE 8800 TOO).
THE OVERALL USEABLITY OF THE CURVE IS WONDERFUL. I LOVE THE DESKTOP FOLDER OPTION THAT WAS NOT ON MY PEARL
06-13-07 09:22 AM
