Verizon has sent me over the BlackBerry Curve 9370 Smartphone for review today, and for me it’s my first BlackBerry ever. Inside you’ll also find a sim card, something which is new to find on many Verizon phones, but in this case it’s necessary because this phone is a globe ready device. Its current price of $99 with 2-year Verizon contract, it’s got plenty of competition for other smartphones, some of which are 4G LTE enabled.
Provided By: Verizon Wireless
Retail Price: $409.99
Price: $99 with 2-Year contract and after $50 mail-in rebate
Closer Look:
The BlackBerry Curve 9370 comes in a sleeved box; the front of the sleeve features a large clear photo of the phone itself. The Verizon logo is present at the bottom right as well as the name of the device in the bottom left. The back of the sleeve is full of features and Specifications. Removing the sleeve reveals the phone box itself; the front of the box features the blackberry logo.
Once you get the packing open you are going to find a molded plastic casing inside that houses the phone, along with all of the accessories and guides that are nice and neatly arranged to ensure that they are going to stay in place during the shipping process.
Included in the retail package is the BlackBerry Curve 9370, 1000 mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, pre-installed 2GB microSD memory card, and user guides.
The Curve 9370 features an 800MHz processor with 512MB of RAM, It’s quite thin, coming in at 0.43” thick, and lightweight at 3.49 oz, which makes it quite comfortable to hold. Even though the Curve 9370 is made out of plastic, it feels reasonably durable for daily use. Below the screen are four main keys and the optical track pad in the center, below that is the keyboard.
Here’s the back of the phone, on the back you’ll find the 5.0MP camera and flash. The back has a soft-touch coating, which provides for a nice grip with the BB logo there as well.
The back comes off easily with a pull of the tab; under it you’ll find the battery compartment , 2 GB microSD card and the sim card.
Features & Specifications:
BlackBerry 7 OS
The easy–to–use next generation BlackBerry OS delivers the smoothest and fastest BlackBerry experience to date. It also comes with new, pre–installed apps and services like Social Feeds and BlackBerry® Protect™.
Easy–to–use
Fast , iconic BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard and trackpad navigation
True push for real time email, instant messages, and application updates
Slim and stylish
The slim BlackBerry Curve 9370 smartphone is super easy to slide in your pocket and feels “just right” in your hand.
Ready for everything
No matter what you’re into, BlackBerry Curve 9370 smartphone has what you need to keep up, including a powerful processor and super fast browser. And with a 5 MP camera with flash, you’ll be ready to capture all those fun and memorable moments.
Camera
- 5.0 MP camera, Face Detection, Flash, Image Stabilization, Scene Modes, Geo–tagging, Digital Zoom
Video
- VGA Video recording (640×480)
Music
- Integrated speaker and microphone,Hands–free headset capable (3.5mm 4 Pole)
- BlackBerry Media Player
Global Ready
- Customers must activate pre–installed SIM Card and a Global Service plan or feature to enable roaming outside of the U.S. in GSM and UMTS Network.
- International Roaming (CDMA) is available on all Verizon Wireless devices and does not require an activated SIM Card. (Global Data Plan or Feature is suggested)
- For Outside of the U.S. Services, Rates, Coverage, and Countries by Technology please visit www.verizonwireless.com/global
Web
- BlackBerry Internet Service(BIS) –add up to 11 email addresses to the BIS, including 10 supported email accounts and one BlackBerry email account
- WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n enabled
- Social Feeds
- Social networking for BlackBerry smartphones
- VZ Navigator capable
- Assisted, standalone and simultaneous GPS
- Visual Voice Mail capable
- NFL Mobile capable
- VCAST Media Manager capable
- V CAST Videos capable
- V CAST Tones capable
- VCAST Song ID capable
- Back Up Assistant
- BlackBerry App World support
Communication
- BlackBerry Enterprise Solution(BES) –works to provide functionality such as single mailbox integration, remote address book look–up and more (1 email address)
- Text, Picture, and Video Messaging (MMS)
- Instant Messaging applications for BlackBerry
- Password protection and keyboard lock
- Global Ready
- English, French, and Spanish Language support
- Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3
- Device Supports Update–Download Upgrades Over the Air
Bluetooth
- Bluetooth®(v2.1) inc. Stereo (A2DP), Headset (HSP), Hands–free (HFP), Serial Port (SPP), Dial–up Networking (DUN), Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile (AVRCP). OBEX Profiles: PBAP
Specifications
Network
- Dual–band: 800 / 1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO Rev 0/A networks, Quad–Band EDGE: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Dimensions
- 4.29 in x 2.36 in x 0.43 in
- Weight 3.49 oz
Operating System
- Powered by BlackBerry® 7 OS
Display
- Display: 480 x 360 pixel HVGA+ color display , Transmissive TFT LCD , 2.44” (measured diagonally) , 16M colors
Keyboard
- Full QWERTY Keyboard w/ Trackpad navigation
Battery
- Standard Lithium Cell: 1000 mAh
- Talk: 330 mins talk time OR
- Standby: 14.5 days
- SAR info: Head: 1.51 W/kg Body: 1.00 W/kg
Memory / Processor
- Processor: 800 MHz
- Memory: 1 GB Onboard Flash Memory, 2GB pre–installed MicroSD card, 512 MB RAM
- MicroSD memory support: up to 32GB
Software:
The Curve 9370 is running BlackBerry OS 7, In addition to the standard RIM apps, you also have some social media ones like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as messaging apps such as Google Talk, Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger. Verizon include their apps for VZ Navigator, VZW Tones, V Cast Videos and Song ID. Productivity users will enjoy that the handset is preloaded with Documents To Go, which quickly allows us to create and edit MicrosoftOffice files.
Camera:
Even though having a 5MP camera is nice, it’s a bit upset that it does not support autofocus. Not only that, but I found the image quality to be lacking, as colors are washed-out and some pictures appear to have a bluish hue. Indoor shots are filled with an abundance of graininess and digital noise, which masks any fine details, though the LED flash is potent enough to light up the shot, but at times it can over expose the image.
Multimedia:
There music and video player is able to handle H.264 and MPEG-4 video formats, but could only play them at a maximum resolution of 640×480. We can’t imagine too many people watching full-length movies on the tiny 2.44” display, so this isn’t a big hit against the device.
Internet:
The BlackBerry Curve 9370 still only uses their 3G EVDO Rev. A data network, though Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n is supported. The web browser worked just fine and was able to load up complex web pages without a problem, though I didn’t like having to use the trackpad for scrolling around the page, and found the zoom to be pain to use. Not only that, but the small display discourages prolonged internet use.
Performance:
Reception was fine, and voice quality was good in my tests, especially through the earpiece; voices sounded loud and with no background noise, the device was able to maintain a connection and did not drop any calls or data connections while in use in the Northeast Ohio area.
The included 1000 mAh battery is only rated at 5.5 hours of talk time on a full charge, and under mixed usage I was able to get about 10 hours before requiring a charge.
Conclusion:
For my first time using a BlackBerry I can say I’m impressed overall, it’s a great phone for a business user with the added global support. The 800-MHz processor in the Curve delivered a moderately fast experience. Opening and switching between apps took about a second. The keys on this phone are small, and take a whole lot of time to get accustomed to; they’re really small and I made a lot of mistakes while typing. When using the keypad it does light up, this is nice.
The $99.99 BlackBerry Curve 9370 offers all the features BlackBerry users have come to expect in a very compact design.
The Blackberry 9370 on Verizon Wireless gets the Xtreme Tech Junkie’s Great award!
