Anyone have an opinion of the Blackberry Curve?

The Blackberry curve does include GPS software.
However, you will be charged every time you use that GPS software.

I love mine, it’s easy to use, intuitive and sturdy.
As long as I fully close my applications the battery life is good.

Blackberries are great phones for people who always on the go, or just like always being connected. Personally, I am an iPhone person, but I do find some of the blackberry phones to be very nice and very sleek. The operating system on a blackberry can be a little challenging to get use to but once you have it down, you’ll never want to put it down.

I have the 8310 (with GPS). My service plan does not include per-use charges on GPS usage as @The_Compassionate_Heretic suggests.

@bythebay‘s suggestion to “fully close” network apps (like Google Maps) is right on. Also agree it’s tough… will practically bounce off concrete all day long.

I personally despise mine. It’s slow at everything. Hardly has any built-in memory (is expandable, though). The web browser is atrocious and nigh unusable. Consider dl’ing the Opera Mini browser if you expect to use the web a lot.

The scroll ball is maddening at times (perhaps, in part, because the bb is so slow to keep up).

As far as work goes, it’s fully integrated with access to my company’s intranet, including corporate IM. I can even telnet with it to machines inside the cor-wan. While painful and slow to use (compared to the iPhone), it’s better than nothing.

I had the 8130, and it was a good little buddy for 2 years. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that call quality was medium-bad. But every other aspect of the phone was great. You don’t need to use the subscription GPS service; Google Maps will take care of you for free. But if you want an iPhone, look into AT&T’s refurbished 3G’s – $80 for the 8GB!

My daughter likes hers very much. She uses hers mostly for texting, though. She doesn’t bother much with the other features. It does tend to practice “butt-dialing” fairly often, and always calls my phone when it does. However, it has tolerated being chunked into a purse, and then being chunked into an athletic bag, then being chunked into a storage container in her car, and then being stuck in a pocket. Her Razr couldn’t tolerate any of that.

@wildpotato : Oooh, that could be a deal breaker- the reception. I have a Razr now which seems to never have any bars, and consequently, uses a ton of battery searching for signal. Though, maybe the 8330 is better? I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!

I’ll ask about GPS billing. The husband would not be happy with extra charges (He makes Scrooge look flashy). For this reason, iPhone is also out of the question. :(

I have one for work on Sprint. Though the Sprint reception is better than Nextel (WTF? They’re owned by the same people!), the coverage anywhere outside major metro areas or major freeways is crap, but that is just the network, not the phone. The navigation (unlimited in the package) is great, especially for a non-dedicated GPS device. 3g network speed is also a huge bonus as I can connect my laptop to the Internet using the BB as a modem with near-DSL speed. I brought it to Kaua’i with me and took some pretty good pics to send back to the office for the benefit of those NOT on vacation. I still consider it a “leash” since it is only connected to my work email, but the extra features (esp. navigation) are nice bonuses.

**I should also note that my husband has an older BB (2 years) and he says mine (8330) is far faster than his and also gets much better reception.

@bythebay : Very cool. I think this is the one I’d like, then.

@ubersiren The reception was fine; it was how clearly I could hear others and how well they could hear me (not very) that was the problem. Voices came out just…bad. I always had to strain a bit to hear what people were saying- my bf’s Shine was much better, and we were standing next to each other and are on a family plan, so I don’t think reception was the problem.

@wildpotato Good point. I noticed the same thing with mine. I hardly ever use it as a phone since I don’t give out my work number. I think I’ve received three calls, and none of them had good sound quality. I use my personal phone (LG Lotus) if I need to make a call away from my desk.

@wildpotato : Oh, I see. This is good news.

@ubersiren – If you currently have a Razr, almost anything would be an improvement. That is what my daughter had before the Blackberry, and it was awful.

No idea, but I hate Blackberry in general. Too much for me.