Now available on T-Mobile is the new mature Blackberry Curve 8520 with Optical Trackpad. The newer Curve does look a lot like the older Curves and has many features the same but this one has an optical trackpad and that’s what makes it stand out from the rest.

The new Blackberry Curve 8520 however has a smooth trackpad instead of the old rollerball, it also has a 2G radio RIM, and this device is available at Walmart for $50 with a 2 year agreement. The optical pad works extremely well, it makes navigation very smooth, if using a small amount of pressure the trackpad works at its best. The only problem that was found with the trackpad was if you get sweaty or wet fingers the trackpad shows little resistance.

Some other good points about the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 are: the keyboard, ok so the keys could have been a bit more spacious but they do have a great physical response. Then there is the body, it has a smooth back with a rubbery boarder, this makes it easy to grip, there is easy access to media keys including a standby/mute key. On the side of the phone you will find a camera button, voice dialing button and a volume button. It is compact so easy to slip in a skirt pocket.

It also has a radio; this phone however, does not have a high-speed 3G radio. But to make up for the short amount of 3G there is WiFi and BlackBerry OS to switch between connections. A big advantage to the inclusion of WiFi is that when connecting to a hotspot calls can be made over UMA. Unfortunately it will use your minutes. The camera on the Curve is 2MP, in daylight it took reasonable images, and it takes reasonable videos too. So all round the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a low-cost applicant of the Smartphone world.

Source – notebooks.com