BlackBerry Forums Support Community

adri · 03-19-2010, 07:38 PM

Hey everyone!

My situation is that I am not currently on a Blackberry plan, just using a regular Windows "smart" phone for the moment. My carrier (Fido) has the Curve 8520, and seeing as I am a 5 year subscriber on a grandfathered plan, they're offering me a better retention plan that the other companies here can't match. I would be saving roughly $10-20/month for a 3-year contract. Unfortunately, all of the other companies here in Canada have the Bold 9700, which is the phone I would really like.

I'm a little hesitant about going with the Curve. I used to be in the industry just as a brand ambassador. Last year I was promoting the Bold 9000 and really wanted one, this year I'd love to pick up the 9700 but not at the added cost of switching providers and starting fresh on a more expensive monthly basis. Maybe some of you can tell me about your experiences with the 8520, if you would recommend it or even buy it again today, and why or why not?

I'd appreciate it!

Thanks in advance folks!

Wuzzer · 03-19-2010, 10:41 PM

It really comes down to what you're going to be doing with your phone and if you're going to be traveling a lot.

From what I've seen, the biggest deciding factor is if you want 3G speeds and if you'll be traveling a lot.

If you don't mind, a few more details might make it easier to help you but from my standpoint, the 8520 is more than enough phone than I need it for but a lot of the features have saved me at one point or another.

Just pm me if you need more details.

TaurusWriter · 03-22-2010, 12:46 PM

I have had my 8530 for just over a month, and I love it!! (I had a 8330, which I loved, too)
Phone, email, facebook, address book, calendar, syncing to my Mac through DM for Mac, everything works very, very good!

There's some things that I wish were different, but I think that is across the board with RIM, like the calendar syncing with the same categories/colors as my iCal.

Briant392 · 03-22-2010, 06:49 PM

I just got my 8530, I like it a lot. Don't get wrong there are some things that I would have changed about it but it's mostly nit picky stuff. All in all it's a great phone, and I would buy it/recommend it to people.

RUFFSTUFF · 03-22-2010, 09:43 PM

johnnyrichter · 04-01-2010, 09:58 PM

Picked up my 8530 about 2 weeks ago and love it, upgraded from a Pearl 8130.

Some downsides worth noting...

1. Maybe it's just because I upgraded from a Pearl, but the keys seem really small on the 8530 and I often find myself hitting multiple letters when trying to text. My overall texting speed was cut in half compared to my speed with the Pearl. Guess I just have to get used to this new key layout.

2. No flash for camera / no light for video. It is beyond me why RIM would not include this feature. In my opinion, this is the biggest downside.

3. Send/End/Menu/Back keys are flush with the screen and are terrible finger-print spots. You barely touch them and they'll smudge really bad, I'm constantly cleaning that area otherwise it looks like crap.

4. Battery door is held in place by a pressure-clip, rather than a button-clip. I'm a guy, my fingernails are really short...I have to sometimes use my pocket-knife to open the battery door. A bit of a nuisance, but otherwise it works fine.

5. From Verizon this thing comes bloated with software that is completely useless to me. I spent the first hour of ownership deleting stuff. Not sure how that is with other carriers. I didn't really have to delete anything since there's plenty of onboard space, I'm just used to the limited space of the Pearl, still need to break myself of that habit of deleting everything I don't absolutely need in order to keep space for messages and such.

I would definitely recommend the 8530, especially due to the trackpad which is completely awesome. Just keep the above downsides in mind when making the final decision. If I would have known about those prior to the purchase, I still would have went home with the 8530. I was completely sold on that trackpad, it's too bad the Flip didn't have one.

RUFFSTUFF · 04-01-2010, 10:06 PM

I wish more of these type phones would come without a camera. Most are useless anyway.

Capt Jack Sparrow · 04-08-2010, 07:54 AM

As I have said on other threads, the build quality of the 8530 vs the 8330 leaves much to be desired. I do like the upgraded features on the 8530, which I'm sure could have been done on the 8330 platform, but I'm not impressed with the look and feel of the 8530; the battery door is one area which shows what cost cutting can do...very poor design, loose on models I held at Best Buy, and easily nicked and scratched when you want to open the door. When using the keyboard, you can feel the battery door moving.

RUFFSTUFF · 04-08-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt Jack Sparrow

... the battery door is one area which shows what cost cutting can do...very poor design, loose on models I held at Best Buy, and easily nicked and scratched when you want to open the door. When using the keyboard, you can feel the battery door moving.

I have a Seidio case so that's N/A for me.

Noodle22 · 04-08-2010, 02:28 PM

My battery door isn't loose, but it does come off easily when I pull up in the indented area. It's never popped or fallen off on it's own. As well as I've never knicked or scratched it. And I've gone since Nov without getting a case for it (I know, bad, waiting for it to come in)

Your personal experience may not be someone else's, keep that in mind. Display models may be loose from all the wear and tear of random people grubbing on them. I use mine daily and have not experienced what you are talking about.

expatCanuck · 04-09-2010, 11:02 AM

No.
I'd opt for a smartphone with a larger screen, or perhaps a sidekick style.
I can't type terribly fast on the dedicated keyboard -- it'd be more useful for me to have a larger screen to more easily see my calendar & web stuff.

bagio007 · 04-10-2010, 07:01 AM

Same here,

I'm not a longtime blackberry user, in fact the first one is this, 8520, but I can only say good things about him, enough memory space for programs ( 256mb ), very fast user interface, keyboard is superb ( IMO even better than 9000 but I'm just nitpicking ), battery life is expected ( 2 days most ).

Everything works fine, but as someone mentioned, flash is missing ( not for the photos, but for the light that some of us require sometimes ).

OS 4.6 was fine, but 5.0 is faster ( a lot less loading watches... ), prettier, more functional, and it's able to deliver font size 6 and 5, which is a nice addon.

as mr. expatCanuck said, keyboard is small, but I've at least got used to it quite quickly.

Also, about build quality, only thing I could complain is the glittering finish on it, it just atracts all the fingerprints ( especially battery door ), but nothing major ( like battery seal scrambling around while typing ).

Hope it helps...

RUFFSTUFF · 04-10-2010, 08:58 AM

There seems to be an overwhelming opinion that the 8520/30 is an entry-level BB. Sure the display resolution is lower than some others, but what features is it missing that makes it entry-level compared to the others? I really ain't seeing it...

bagio007 · 04-10-2010, 12:15 PM

Greetings,

I assume that is because it has, as you mentioned, lower screen resolution, and overall quality is cheaper ( not cheap, just cheaper ! ), but I have no objections to that. I'ts rubber and plastic, no metalic parts, no metalic buttons, everything is well designed and combined, just not as exotic as, lets say, 9000.

Also, no LED flash, shitty camera ( if anyone uses it often, than any blackberry is not what you need... ), no 3g, no GPS.

But, as I say, for 90% of people, this is as good as it gets, because ( at least for me ), I don't see any pluses I would acomplish by getting that extras (accept for a higher resolution screen ).

As you can see, I'm speaking only my opinions because blackberry is so customizable it is impossible to say in general, almost nothing ; ).

88theberry · 04-14-2010, 04:37 AM

Longtime PDA user, used to be an early adopter. Just went to BB 8530 3 months ago. Very satisfied, convenient PIM, comms and data handling, fun media side, GPS works great, rock-solid. Easy cross-grading my old data for various apps. Only downside for me: no flash with the camera (wish I had gone with a 9700).

RUFFSTUFF · 04-14-2010, 06:17 AM

My 8530 has 3G and GPS...

lancecannon · 04-17-2010, 12:07 PM

Only real complaint I have going from a 8330 to a 8530 is the lack of camera flash / video light. Everything else great. But the camera is now pretty much useless indoors. Also use GPS daily - BBmaps tied into Bing searchs is seemless transition.