Even though the makers of BlackBerrys still seem to be obsessed with silly one-word names, the Curve is a good attempt at a viable converged device, writes Rupert White


Obviously tired of mere numbers, the Canadian BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has succumbed to marketing speak once again: the latest BlackBerry is called the Curve, though it appears no more nor less curvy than any of its stablemates.



Nonetheless, RIM's latest device is a trimmed down full-keyboard BlackBerry aimed at its new target audience, known to RIM by the hideous portmanteau 'prosumer'. There is some truth in this grotesque word: people operating small businesses, like so many lawyers out there, have different needs to your average City suit.



Corporate lawyers who get their BlackBerrys for free do not mind having a mobile and a BlackBerry - in fact, many prefer it that way. But anyone paying the bills personally for several devices might just want one that also does everything their mobile phone can do. This is what RIM has been trying to deliver, so with the Curve it has beefed-up and enhanced the multimedia elements, creating a more friendly media player. There is also a much better camera, but a camera, of course, can get a lawyer into trouble in court.



More important perhaps to lawyer-users are the following plus points. The Curve has a surprisingly usable keyboard, much better than that on the BlackBerry 8800 reviewed in March (see [2007] Gazette, 22 March, 15). The Curve feels much lighter than the 8800 - it is amazing how much difference 20g can make. It has a more neutral grey colour scheme, so out goes the nightclub chrome and black, and it is nearly a centimetre shorter. RIM has shrunk the format just enough to make it feel OK to use as a phone without a headset, something that could not be said for the 8800. It has also adopted the idea of rubberised sides from Palm's Treo, which is no bad thing.



There is still no high-speed 3G, but contrary to what you might read in, for instance, Technology Guardian, this is also no bad thing. High-bandwidth systems in mobiles tend to drain batteries and cost users money for data. For good battery life and low data costs, staying with GPRS is serving BlackBerrys just fine.



The Gazette's two weeks with a Curve have been a pleasant experience. It has the keyboard the Pearl needed and is not as bulky as the 8800. It is unassuming, light and easy - in other words, back to BlackBerry basics, but with all the recent improvements. Report card: keep up the good work.