Discover the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone with dedicated media keys, new trackpad navigation and easy media sharing.
written by corrieellen on 03/09/2012
So I've had my Blackberry curve since about January 2012. To begin with I was more than excited! It was my first blackberry mobile, and after all the hype surrounding it I couldnt wait to start. The phone is attractive, a deep purple which a QWERTY keyboard. However I have more criticisms than compliments. It takes about 3 minutes to get into the phone. The trackpad sticks like mad. I have even had to use another phone for weeks due to the trackpad not working and not being able to do anything with the phone. The phone has a decent memory, and the camera is average. The app world only ever works every so often with myself. The blackberry logo on the back is stuck on with glue, and comes off easily. The play/pause/lock buttons come off. The keypad gets dirty easily. The phone is quite expensive for what you are getting. I assumed BBM would be free, but it is far from it. The speakers are quite good, and the phone can store a lot of music. I reccomend getting a case for your blackberry as I have had a case since day one and my phone is still in a relativly new condition, only scratches on the screen. I think maybe my phone was a 'bad batch' phone, so would reccomend as many friends have this phone and it works perfectly.
written by Mi55Behaviour on 10/07/2012
I got blackberry a couple of weeks ago, and i have to say I'm just a little bit impressed! I used to have a Bold at work so I thought I knew what I was getting, but I was pleasantly surprised with the revamped design which is excellent. The new style pad works really well and is much better than the old style tracker ball. Setup was really easy and I have synced emails, calenders & contacts from a previous blackberry (great!). The handset itself feels good - even for those calls that go on and on (much better than my boyfriends iphone which is an awful shape!) useablity is pretty straightforward for all standard features. All in all for a fraction of the cost of other smart phones this is a great little buy! Well happy!
written by Tr1xx on 09/06/2012
This was a massive leap forward in technology for me, changing from my previous simple mobile phone on PAYG. I love how you can use a standard USB cable to synchronise Contacts, Calendar, Tasks etc. with MS outlook on a PC. You never again need have out-of-date details. Wi-fi, web access, email are all superb. BBM is incredibly useful if you have friends or family with a Blackberry. Auto-correct works perfectly (I loathe predictive). Battery life is very reasonable considering my usage. Web browsing is effectively unlimited due to the way BBs operate. Wi-fi enables rapid access to web pages & email if you have a wi-fi router at home, work or on holiday. Almost instant push email is incredibly useful. The keypad is a bit fiddly but can be helped by cultivating your thumbnail. Twitter works well if you're so inclined. I find "Documents To Go" a great addition for viewing PDFs, Word, Excel & Powerpoint files. The relatively low cost of my contract makes this phone an absolute bargain of the decade. On the downside, the camera isn't particulary great and the omission of a flash is unfortunate. Absence of sat-nav means I will be imminently upgrading to the 9300 model.
written by ash4elisha on 24/04/2012
its a really good phone, although it can be quite difficult to navigate your way around as the menu system is bloated with options, but you will get used, I love the push email options, and the GPRS speed is suprisingly quick, for a low speed connection. the battery is okay for only a day, but it may last longer if you stop fiddling with it like i do
written by Rixtar on 29/02/2012
Ok , This is a epic phone! There are things that other people have disliked , for example battery life the actual phone App availability The buttons But i love this phone!!! I do not understand what is wrong with the battery life! It is amazing! The buttons are fine once you have got used to them! The only bad thing is the apps , they are not very good , and there are not much on blackberry app world. Other than that , BBM is great! Its a great way to socialize! i am addicted! Its great for facebook and twitter and any other social networking site. This is a great phone , i recommend it to anyone!
written by Adam89 on 05/12/2011
I had this phone for over a year purchased it new as an upgrade to the existing phone I had. The phone worked nicely when using it as a mobile phone only, after a few weeks the downsides to the phone started appearing, below I will list the points I can think of that annoyed me to no end with this phone- * Internal Memory as rubbish (due to the fact that all downloaded apps MUST be saved to internal memory, and there is no way to expand this), after I had downloaded only a handful of apps the phone told me that the internal memory was full and some data must be deleted. * As soon as the battery reaches blow a quarter life remaining (25%)then the phone starts freezing when you are using any apps, virtually spits its dummy out (so to speak). * My battery had a complete meltdown after just over 12 Months (all-be it constant use)and refused to hold a charge, it had to be replaced, thankfully I managed to find a replacement genuine blackberry battery online for half the cos that local phone shops wanted for one. * The Wi-Fi on this device is Dismal to say the least, it drops connection even in strong connection areas (I was literally stood next to my wireless router (I also tested this with my other halfs 8520 and had the exact same problem). There are however some good points to the phone: * The phone looks sleek and nice, easy to hold (feels nice to the touch). * Phone call quality is awesome. * Texting is easy, using the querty keyboard. * once you are connected to the internet (assuming it holds the connection) the web browser is very useful and easy to use. * BBM is very useful if you have friends/family that also has BBM (blackberry messenger). Overall: This phonem is brilliant as a \"phone\" but for most other things you would be better using it as a Frisbee.
written by drinmurf on 04/09/2011
I was going to get the 9300 but decided not to because there is literally no difference apart from the fact that the 9300 is 3G and the 8520 is not. I am so happy with my BB. BBM is a fantastic feature, easy to use and very handy. Querty keyboard is very simple to get used to and feels really nice. The phone feels heavier than the 9300 which personally i think is a good thing. At first i was worried about the size of the screen but it is very easy to get used to. I cant really see why people pay an extra £100 for the 9300 when there is no difference between the two. Get the 8520!
written by Pinky91 on 20/08/2011
I have been using a Blackberry 8520 for a year and half now. I was initially quite excited to have a smart phone, as I can access the internet and download apps, however once I started trying things out I had soon realised it was not worth it as the internet is very slow and downloading too many applications can slow down your phone. Also, after a year my phone is slowly dying on me, the battery life does not last as much as it use to and my keypad is constantly breaking – this shows this phone needs a higher shelf life for wear and tear – smart phones are bound to be used a lot due to the variety of functions it offers. The main thing I love about the blackberry is blackberry messenger – as it allows me to communicate and socialise with my friends/family free of cost and this is what makes the Blackberry very addictive – cant live without this app!
written by Leanne44 on 16/12/2010
This phone is amazing, seriously efficient, long battery life and massive amounts of space. All of my emails are sent directly to my phone and I can read and reply anywhere on the go, internet connection is great, and I love using Blackberry Messenger. The application centre is crammed with all sorts of apps for the phone itself e.g. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Tumblr, Windows Live Messenger. On this phone I can do just about anything the same as I can on the computer only I can also make calls and send texts too. Fast and durable the phone is practical for anyone with any use, perfect present too. The only thing is it may take a while of getting used to and comes at a high price but it is definitely well worth the money, you can do so much its like your life organiser in the palm of your hand!
written by on 06/12/2010
this phone is very helpful when doing emails or texting but when using the browser it is quuite slow and the voice controll dosent understand half the things i say to it but overall i think this phone is brilliant with all the things i use it for and the qwerty keyboard is very helpful when you need to write something fast or if you cant be botherd with long things and you want to get it over and done with.
written by on 29/11/2010
For me an absolutely dreadful phone. Based on the folowing;
Battery life - needs charging at leasy every other day, more often if used much.
Notification of messages / missed calls. A very small envelope is shown in the top of the display and it's not at all clear what they mean, this is compounded by;
Absolutely awful menu's and lists. Too many, too complicated and very confusing.
Very tiny querty keyboard. If you have small digits, maybe you can get by with it, but I found I was always accidentally typing incorrect letters, and having to retype.
Overall, not a happy experience for me, have now gone back to a basic Nokia.
Simple and sweet.
Less is more...
written by Burchester on 13/11/2010
Top phone.. maybe Blackberry isnt hip now what with the iPhone and other phones with all the huge screens, but give me a proper keyboard anytime. It has all the features and apps that you really need, plus email management is better than anything out there. Size is good and easy to use. Of course the price i got it at doesnt hurt :P Used a phone deal comparison site so it came a lot cheaper. Mind you after a few months I might have changed my tune about touchscreens lol!
written by JonSea16 on 02/11/2010
Blackberry Curve 8520
For - Light, compact, very intuitive to use (far easier than my old Samsung). Nice little touches like the LED that flashes when a message has arrived. I really like the optical tracker ball (although for the first day I found it very sensitive). It is a 2G phone but most of the time I am using it in a WIFI area so this is not normally limiting. So far it has been very reliable - I have just needed to reset it once when it froze during a power-off.
Against - the keyboard is a little small for my large hands - I use my thumbs for texting etc. The browser was working fine until recently - I have encountered a problem in selecting links from Google - other users are reporting the same issue - I have yet to find a fix.
written by jamzack on 17/10/2010
I actually got this phone as a "downgrade" from the Bold after it got wet, I wasn't disappointed at all, I prefer the sensor in the middle as opposed to the bolds ball which had a habit of sticking! I find the internet a lot slower on loading time but I rarely use it and stick to the apps side of it which is a lot quicker. I also like the bbm (blackberry messenger) function, if you have friends with a bb, it's a great way to keep in touch, especially as it's free too!
written by cavalierkc on 27/09/2010
I got a great deal on this phone. Originally I wanted an iPhone, however seeing as the iPhone would cost me twice as much a month when I would mainly be using it for phoning and texting.
You have to get a bolt on package for use of data transfer and e-mail etc. Overall this was still quite cheap all-together.
The phone is easy to use, the internet is fairly quick. You don't get the ease of use with the internet as you get with an iPhone, however it's not much of an issue.
You can get many apps with the phone, these can be useful for different purposes.
I really like the Blackberry messenger application which allows you to instant message another Blackberry user free of charge. That's a nice touch.
The only regret I had was wondering if I should of waited for a deal on the Blackberry Bold. From experience there isn't much difference in the two phones. The Bold is more refined and has navigation on it. That's the main difference I have found.
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Tr1Xx's Comment
Written on: 09/06/2012
"Each to his own" I suppose. Personally I don't have any issues with the icons, although I did have to read up on one that misteriously appeared (voicemail). I usually get 3 days battery life, but "Witter" can be a drain if you leave it running on a popular hashtag like #BGT. Regarding keypad, try growing your thumbnail a bit . . . I find that immensely helpful. I could never go back to a basic phone after owning this one.