No-one can fail to notice the impact that the telecommunications market has had on the world in recent years. With radio links available on mobile phones and the possibility of live video feed when doing the likes of a Skype call, it’s all too easy to conclude, as I have, that people are spoilt for choice in this area, and have never found it easier to impress their peers with such a purchase – and we of course have the developed Internet services of today to thank for allowing people to do this from the comfort of their own home.
Just one of many popular modern communications devices is that of the Blackberry 8520. Existing adverts of it state quite clearly that is targeted at the consumer market rather than business professionals. It is a follow-up of the Blackberry Storm – and that featured a touchscreen, a modern kind of multimedia player, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. And the 8520 Curve is not just especially for consumers, it’s cheaper than the Storm.
The Blackberry 8520 differs from the Storm in that it does not use a touchscreen system; but a touch sensitive navigation button, which is located in the centre below the screen. There is no Pearl, something which is a common aspect of Blackberry products. But you can use the optical trackpad to scroll through menus smoothly and with ease; you select items by pressing down on the trackpad. It’s actually more responsive than the Pearl.
If the Blackberry 8520 tries to boast anything, it’s its “super-sleek finish”. The usual Blackberry key remains available – you use it to pull up a content-specific menu (it depends on the application that you are using); but take note of the back key on the right hand side as well. The call answer and end buttons are located on the outer edges – the super-sleek finished comes from these keys being recessed. There is a drawback, however: the outer casing attracts more fingerprints than for any other Blackberry device.
But the keyboard is a pleasure to use. Although small, they are slightly tilted, and raised; it is easy for your fingers to find them.
The Blackberry 8520 is notably light: just 106g; making it the lightest Blackberry model yet. Being slim and perfectly formed, it fits into hands and pockets with great ease.
The Blackberry comes with many exciting software options: such as WiFi (with 3G capabilities) and EDGE, the Multimedia option, and a comprehensive IM folder. And you can view all on a screen that is just 2.6 inches squared in size!
Overview of the Blackberry 8520: