The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is one of the most affordable and feature-rich smartphones on the market, packing in RIM's brand new BlackBerry 7 operating system and offering other goodies including NFC. Is it worth buying, however? We've been taking a look at the most comprehensive reviews on the web – read on for our BlackBerry Curve 9360 review round-up.
Know Your Mobile's Richard Goodwin was one of the first to get a hands-on with the BlackBerry Curve 9360, and was impressed with the build quality and design: “The device is extremely striking looks-wise as well. It’s thinner, sleeker and oozes premium-grade appeal with its metallic framework and solid build quality. What RIM has done with the design is impressive and we have to say the device looks and handles beautifully.”
Goodwin went on to say “it’s stylish, high-powered, well built and should be thoroughly competitively priced… It could be the biggest handset the company has ever produced”.
On the BlackBerry Curve 9360's performance, Tech Radar's Phil Lavelle pointed out:
“OS 7 was promised as a faster operating system. And to be fair to RIM, it has delivered on this. That's because this baby whizzes along, leading you to believe that there's more in there than just an 800MHz processor.“
Lavelle was also struck by the size of the BlackBerry Curve 9360, stating:
“The first thing you notice is just how thin this smartphone is. The Curve 9360 feels almost like it's not completely finished, as though you're holding a dummy unit in a shop. It's only 11mm thick, and light as a feather at 99g.”
As with any BlackBerry, however, it'll be the keyboard that most people are interested in, and despite the compact size the Curve 9360 is more than usable:
“Typing on the BlackBerry Curve 9360 is an easy enough affair. The physical keyboard lacks the size of the Bold 9900 and is of the typical Curve variety, which is more spaced out and clicks a lot more. BlackBerries first got their name because the keys looked like the seeds from the BlackBerry fruit. And here, that's more apparent than ever. Big shovels of hands may have issues with the small keys, but for the majority of us it's perfectly usable.”
CNET's Nicole Lee recognises what a useful handset the BlackBerry Curve 9360 is for those on a tighter budget, claiming: “While the RIM BlackBerry Curve 9360 is a decidedly lower-end phone than RIM's Bolds and Torches, we think it's a great option for those still loyal to the BlackBerry brand.”
Worth buying then? We think so. Offering everything we've come to expect from a BlackBerry smartphone – from the excellent QWERTY keypad to decent build quality and easy messaging, at a price that won't worry your credit card, it's well worth a look if you're on a tight budget.
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