Customer Reviews

BlackBerry Curve 8530 Phone, Black (Sprint)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been with Sprint for quite some time now and have found their service to be fairly solid. Prior to the 8530, I had the Blackberry Curve 8330. This phone is a major step forward (see below); however, there are certain features from the old Curve that do not appear on this one. For instance, I was dismayed to find that the phone does not have a flash for the camera anymore. It's not clear why they removed it, as the old Curve had a flash. In addition, could the battery have gotten worse?? I realize this phone has many more features, some of which drain the batter life (i.e. WiFi), but they have to continue to make improvements to the battery to keep up with these improvements.

PROS

*Clearer Screen - I'm not sure if the screen was replaced or upgraded, but it looks much clearer to me than my old Curve. The colors are much more vibrant and the resolution seems better.
*Much faster processor - Sifting through emails or menus is much quicker on this phone than on the old Curve
*Media processing - I'm able to sort through music, pictures, and videos much quicker and easier than with the old Curve. If you're like me and store a lot of media on the phone, you know how bogged down it can become. I have an 8gb memory chip in this phone and it has not noticeably slowed the phone down. Loading new music on here is much quicker than it was before.
*WiFi - I use the WiFi almost exclusively now to browse the internet. I get download speeds of upwards of 150 kb/sec on my phone!


CONS

*No Flash for the camera
*Construction - This phone feels even cheaper made than the old Curve, which is saying a lot. Each time I drop the phone, I think it will be the last time it will work. Should you get this phone, but INSURANCE just in case. The battery cover is a case in point. The old Curve battery cover clasped into the phone and there was a button to release it. The battery cover on this phone snaps in and pops out fairly easily. I've only had the phone for a month, so I can't say whether this will become a problem in the future.
*Battery life - If you turn off WiFi, battery life improves; however, then you lose one of the best features of this phone.
*No GSM capability - This is NOT a world phone. I guess with Blackberry, you have to pick and choose which features you really want. It's sort of like buying a house, you can't get everything you wanted. With Blackberry, if you want both a world phone and WiFi capability, to my knowledge, it does not exist (at least on Sprint).
*Keyboard - The keyboard is slightly smaller than the old Curve. So if you are upgrading, this phone may take some getting used to. Otherwise, even if you have bigger fingers, this phone is easy to type on.

OVERALL

If you're looking to switch to the Blackberry family, or upgrade, I'd recommend upgrading to one of the other Blackberries. The Curve is the entry-level Blackberry. The Tour and Bold have faster processors and are much more sturdy in construction. In addition, they have a flash in the back for the camera.

Just upgraded to the 8530 last week and wow I love this unit! Nice design, very fast processor, crisp graphics and resolution, and the touch pad is a welcome upgrade from the trackball. The not so perfect - battery life is anemic. It seems to eat a lot of juice. The unit is power intensive with it's graphic interface and media features so it's safe to say it's underpowered. You can buy a more powerful battery but it seems if that exists it should have been pre-installed on the 8530 to begin with. A minor peeve is the keyboard size. Although it has a Qwerty style keyboard the buttons are too small. Easy to hit the wrong ones when typing. But that's a minor thing and I found the more I use it the more I get used to it. The camera feature is so far the best I have had although there is no flash. Other complaints I've read about a cheap design and flimsy battery cover may be based on experiences with previous BB models but I don't see it. I see nothing cheap about this unit. I do think it's stylish, reliable, quick, compact, and a lot of fun. I recommend it.

This is such a nice change after having had the Blackberry 8830 (World edition) for 2 years. At first I was a bit worried about complaints I've read online - cheap, plasticky feel, like a toy, poor battery life, battery door hard to open, which is why I made sure to see the phone in person before buying it. It did not disappoint at all. The design is stylish, sleek and not cheap looking at all. It's very lightweight, trackpad is an awesome change from constantly having to clean a dirty trackball, OS is faster and gives the interface a much more sophisticated look to it. Battery life is obviously relative to the amount of time you spend on the phone and amount of stuff you have going on, so if you're a heavy user you'd probably need to have an extra battery or have the charger with you all the time. As for the battery door, I did not have trouble with opening it for the first time.

Great great phone! They say it's entry-level but I definitely consider it as an upgrade!

Before you a turned off by people saying this Blackberry is cheap and poorly made, brimming with plastics, understand that this construction allows this Blackberry to be light as hell - and that has been a rewarding feature of this Curve, the first Blackberry I've owned. It is also compact and the lack of any flip/sliding screen makes it fit in my pocket without any obnoxious bulge on the side. I've never had high expectations for cell phones, starting with a basic, free Sprint flip-phone and then moving onto the Razr 2 years later when the Razr was 2 or more years out of fashion, so naturally when I got this Curve right when it came out (and was the first customer to purchase the red color at the Old Town Pasadena Sprint store) I was in awe of the phone and loved everything about it. The reason I am writing this review is actually because my battery is finally showing signs of being finished and I needed to buy a new one. So however long ago this Curve came out in the color red - I believe it was 2 years ago, give or take a few months, is how long the factory battery lasted, and by lasted I mean, with having Wifi on constantly (didn't even think about turning it off until recently) and talking and texting in moderation, I would only need to charge the phone every other day, which was for the most part better than the two phones I had previously. I love the track pad and only every once in a while does it lag for a minute or two, at which point I just leave the phone alone to let it catch up with itself. The internet browser obviously isn't going to be as flashy as that of a touch-screen smartphone like the iPhone or more advanced Blackberries, but I did load a youtube video, plug my phone into my car's auxilary port, and blast music with it. Not too shabby. Overall the simplicity is part of the Curve's appeal. It is capable of everything you should need in a phone, including an assortment of basic games and applications, some of which you can download from the Sprint Store. And face it, if you buy a phone for Applications you need to think of better things to do with your life, that's what iPods, Gameboys, and Laptops are for. The Curve is the perfect smartphone for those who have never had a smartphone and don't need anything too fancy, flashy, or complicated (like my mom, who thinks these technological breakthroughs with phones are out to get her and confuse her to death haha). And maybe some people got dud batteries out of the shop (I did with my Razr back in the day) but mine was sufficient and didn't disappoint. 4 out of 5.

Used to have a Pearl with numerous problems, finally had enough of it and decided to upgrade. Sprint has a deal going on right now where you get [...] for your old phone, and since I was over a year due, I got a $[...] rebate too. So my opinion may be a bit skewed as I got this phone for free. Gotta be honest I HATED Blackberry and didn't understand the attraction to the company when I had my Pearl as it was over-overwhelmingly disappointing since day 1.

Well I'm happy to say that I am probably a permanent fan of the BB thanks to this phone. 1st: Thank god BB got rid of the ball, as the sensor-tracker is 100 times better. My ball would go bad, get dirty, etc. This is probably the best tracker I've seen on any phone including the iPhone. I love the BB Messenger capabilities, love the qwerty pad, love the speed of the phone. I have yet to find one flaw regarding the mechanics of this phone. Have downloaded 2 apps thus far for free--Pandora Internet Radio and Google Maps which are must haves (don't even bother using the Maps app loaded on the phone, its terrible) and both have worked like a charm.

The only thing I miss is the flash for the camera, as it seems my Pearl took excellent photos compared to a lot of other phones. I haven't had great luck with this one so far, but like I said, its a very small issue compared to the other flaws that have gone away since my upgrade.

Not sure how this phone works on other networks, but Sprint is EXCELLENT. I was with AT&T for years and hated it, and I will never understand its popularity except for the fact its the only network with the never-ending praised, over-rated over-priced iPhone. Sprint may not be popular with the "hip" kids these days (but who cares) however I have nothing but good things to say about Sprint, as its coverage and its service are the best I've ever had.

If I had the dough, I might saddle up for the Bold, as it seems to be just like this phone but has a couple better features like a better operating system, a higher mega-pixel camera, better speakers for music, ability for a 32G card, and might last better in the long run. But again, the going price for that is $[...], and how can I complain or compare the 2 when I got mine for free? This Curve is probably the best phone deal of my life.

If you're a person who hasn't owned a Blackberry before and you're looking to get into it without breaking the bank, this IS the phone I recommend. I have friends who have BB's and like I said I've owned one previously too, and this is BY FAR the best one I've come upon for the price. These things will be unstoppable when they start supporting Flash, which will blow iPhone out of the water, so hopefully isn't too far off.

You will love this phone!

I was thinking.. "wow I finally got a smart phone! I can do all the cool things i've seen smart phones do now!" nope.. wrong..

You can do all of those things, but the Blackberry does it HORRIBLY. Examples.

-Youtube never works, when it does its slow and to blurry to watch.
-FORGET ABOUT WEB BROWSING. Its not going to work. The only page your going to be able to use is Wikipedia. And expect to wait days on end for it to load.
-Emails look terrible, just a bunch of unloaded, overlapping picture boxes.
-Stupid short cut buttons across the phone. Like "-" is to zoom, while "+" is to back up. Not even kidding.
-Wifi never stays on at will, it has a mind of its own. And I am right next to a router.
-Voice dialing sucks (like on every phone)
-Blackberry apps are cheap, stupid, never do what they say, and Not worth the money. (oh that is IF you can get the app store to load)
-The phone will Crash and Shutdown when you try to upload a picture to Facebook.
-The phone is overall as slow as a windows 95 PC

I have no pros, none. The pros are what All phones should be able to do.

Sprint is a very good company, good customer service and products except this phone. Could have better service in some areas though.
Spend the extra cash and get a real smart phone though.

By now every carrier has this phone, whether prepaid or postpaid. I feel it is a great phone to start off from if you are someone who's using a Samsung Rant or say a Palm Centro or even if you're using the same phone on Verizon's network, this is a good model to switch to. If you however are an advanced user and would like to make full use of the Blackberry scope and what Sprint offers you, I would advise you look more towards the 4G Androids or the Bold.

A lot of people who have the blackberry 83XX series went and got this phone but realized it wasn't a major upgrade aside from being the first model of Blackberry to support the trackpad. This phone has been a hit worldwide making RIM a household name or should I say making the "BLACKBERRY" ...

The phone is plastic, has an average 2 megapixel camera with no flash, has 256 of ram and a slow processor.

There is a limit to the number of applications you can store on a 256mb blackberry, say if you have a 111 mb left, you will still find the phone slightly buggy. The keyboard is a downgrade from the original curve and I felt the call answer and the call end button were a little too stuck the flat body. Also I find that the indicator light is not as good as the one on the Sprint Bold or the Tour or even the curve.

Let me give you an example of where this blackberry will fail you.

If you are using the facebook application and want to use the google map application while listening to Pandora, don't even think about it. If the facebook application is constantly running in the background, the phone is a lot slower. The brightness is good, the wallpapers look good, the phone is light, this was also the first Sprint Blackberry to have Wi-Fi which is good because even though this is not a GSM enabled device, you can use the wifi to talk on the BBM if you wish. On the top of the phone you have music playback buttons which noone in the world uses. Sprint's 3G and browsing is fast but the browser on the new operating system is lacking.

The 9630/9650/8330 are all better phones than this "entry level blackberry" but if you're someone who's using a Palm Treo/Palm Pre/Blackberry 83XX - I suggest you look for the Blackberry Bold or the Samsung Epic/ HTC Evo.


I do not miss the camera flash on this phone because the original Blackberry flash can make a pretty girl look like a witch with teary pixels. I wish this phone had better ram, a better keyboard and a slightly less plastic feel. The answer for people looking for a better phone could be the Bold 9650. Besides other features the 9650 is a universal phone so it's unlocked and has a SIM CARD slot which the 8530 is lacking.

Some good things about this phone would be that it's the perfect entry level blackberry. The size is just right. The phone ships with headphones, usb cable, a nice manual and a cd to install the back up software which I deem is VERY IMPORTANT. RIM made a great phone for the list price of $350.00 so one cannot complain but if you have a data plan with Sprint (WHO DOESN'T?) I am sure you will like the Blackberry Bold slightly more. I'm sure I can make this phone work for me but to an oblivious user who doesn't even understand the word WIFI, this phone can be an uphill climb. It comes with a 2gb card, the call quality is great, volume is good, music playback is loud, PANDORA works great.

In conclusion, this phone was a hit that didn't stay hit unlike the first curve which people still stand by despite the fact that it has the dreaded trackball which goes bad. The Blackberry Curve 3G has been launched recently with Sprint (Model for new curve is 9330) I believe it is the same phone with a better processor and more RAM. Try that instead.

By the way, Sprint offers the 8530 in three colours. RED/PURPLE/BLACK. I think all colours look fascinating.

I am someone who likes what I buy to do EXACTLY what it says it can, and do it well. This phone does just that. I bought this to go with my Sprint plan. At first, it was a bit confusing...not used to a phone with all the different menus and options that are available. Once I got it really down pat, I realized some of the really great things about it:

1) First of all, it's a great phone. I have no problems with lacks of service anywhere I have been. Clear call quality even in some remote areas. Like all phones, it can be difficult if you are inside a building with a lot of electronics and shielding, but otherwise, it's great.

2) Battery life is very good....but you must realize that you have to close programs...this will run them in the background if you just hit the "end" button to go back to main menu. This will hold a very good charge at standby, and gives you a good amount of talk time. If you use it for heavy apps often or have a theme installed that uses lots of resources, battery life will suffer some. If you want a car-charger get an I-Go. DO NOT....I repeat...DO NOT buy the $5.00 ones that are on here and Buy.com. they will maintain a charge level, but will not CHARGE the phone, so if your phone is near dead when you plug it in, it will be just as dead when you unplug it. I-Go will charge it, and fast.

3) BB App world. Just about ANYTHING you could want on there...much for free, some you pay. Antivirus programs, games, you name it, it has it.

4) It has a wide range of downloadable "themes" that range from strange to really cool. These come complete with their own icon sets, main screen set-ups, backgrounds, etc. You can have custom "lights" from the status light set for individual people.

5) An actual keypad. I love it. I had an I-Phone in the past, and I cannot stand the whole touch-screen thing. I like having a keyboard that I can feel myself press the button. It's a bit smallish, but it works very well when you get used to it.

6) All the productivity software. It can open most file formats that you people send you in an e-mail.

7) Camera is very nice and can do some simple zooming.

8) Tether=buy it. $49.99 one time charge allows you to use your phone as a mobile internet connection (so long as you have a data plan).

There are a lot of other interesting features to this phone.

Only a couple drawbacks:

1) Must hold A button to lock screen....confused me a bit at first, but oh well

2) charger doesn't always stay in the phone if you have a "skin" on it. Be sure you really push it in well, and don't mess with it.

3) Web surfing can be frustrating sometimes....sometimes shows mobile site, sometimes original full site.

I have owned an I-Phone, and while this might not be the web-surfing beast that device is, it also does some thing better.
1) Better navigation...Sprint nav is fantastic.

2) Still allows internet tethering. Those of you with I-Phones with latest firmware updates probably cannot share your internet connection anymore without jailbreaking (and voiding your warranty). No need to void warranty...download program tether ($49.99) available thru sprint's provided BB Apps application and you're good.

3) Available for networks other than AT&T

4) Better office applications

I owned this phone for 4 months and loved it. It worked great and made managing my work emails and calendar much easier. However the phone became very hot one day and completely died. I took it back to the Sprint store and they tried a new battery and it would not work. They said that the phone is completely fried and I would have to get a new one. I am very disappointed with this phone.

Besides the lack of a camera flash and a couple other small annoyances, this phone is the perfect entry level BB for myself and my friends. Blackberry has definitely produced a winner in the mass consumer market for their phones.

This phone has pretty much all the features that its competitors have along with its storied and well developed blackberry e-mail system. The fact that it can be had for less than $50 after mail in rebate is an excellent value.

If you're looking for a phone that keeps you organized, connected to all your family and friends, entertained, and more, this is a great phone. The e-mail, contact lists, and the way all messages are combined into shared boxes is truly efficient and easy to use. The keyboard is responsive and fast..and much better than any touchscreen out there. The only annoyance was the sometimes short battery life, but this is remedied by turning off the WiFi and Bluetooth radios and closing extra applications. In terms of cellphone service coverage, Sprint has truly vastly improved over the last 5 years. I along with my friends took our BB 8530 phones up and down the East Coast and had excellent service the entire way: e-mailing, chatting, texting, sending pics, receiving pics, facebooking, etc. There were a handful of dead spots, but coverage and reliability was rivaling Verizon Wireless (former VZW subscriber of 10 years!)

The fact that unlimited use of their voice command GPS network (LIVE traffic updates and rerouting!) is truly amazing and at least worth $200 in my opinion. Their Sprint TV network is not bad either with various channels that include LIVE ESPN.

Please be aware that Sprint's Family plans are the best currently on the market. To be able to have unlimited mobile to mobile calling, unlimited texting, unlimited data, for less than $45 per person per month is freaking amazing. If you don't want to burn your cash on flashier smartphones, get this phone. You won't regret it :)