>> Everybody loves hot curves, and in the phone world that same rule applies. I'm Brian Tong from CNET.com. And today, we've got the light shining bright on the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310 from AT&T.
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People talk iPhone all the time, but if you haven't noticed, it's really BlackBerrys that rule the world. Today we're looking at the Curve, and it's one of the most popular in RIM's line, combining a full QWERTY keyboard in a sleek and smooth design. This quad-band phone is uber comfortable to hold and the rubbery sides make it easy to grip. It also has that famed trackball that makes using the device a pleasant experience. So let's talk features, specifically for the 8310 model that's on AT&T's service. The biggest goody the separates this guy from the other Curve is the addition of GPS. It uses the TeleNav GPS service with color maps and real text to voice direction. Now that's huge because you can pay attention to the road without looking down at the phone. There is a $10.00 monthly cost for unlimited use, but for people on the go, it's well worth it. Now, outside of GPS goodness, the Curve is one of the best, if not the best, messaging smart phones on the market. It's compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, and supports Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell Group Wise for corporate email in real time. You'll also get Popper iMac email support for up to as many as 10 email accounts. Pretty much every popular document is viewable through the email client, and you have text messaging, multi media messages, and instant messaging. It's a messaging machine. The 8310 is loaded with a 2-megapixel camera, which holds it own against other smart phones, Bluetooth, a 3.5-millimeter jack to use your own headphones, and pretty good call quality. Now battery life was rated at four hours, but our labs pushed it out to five, and more is always better. So what are we missing in the Curve? Well, this model has a great GPS package, but there's a trade-off because there's no Wi-Fi. T-Mobile's 8320 model is loaded with Wi-Fi, but there's no GPS. So in a perfect world, we'd have both of them. There's also no 3G support, so we're left with good old EDGE. 3G is where it's at, and we're still waiting. And the web browser's also pretty dated, especially compared to Safari on the iPhone. The 8310 has instant messaging, but you're limited to using BlackBerry's own messaging service. Now, T-Mobile's version allows you to chat with all the big time clients, like AIM, Yahoo, and Windows Live Messenger. Now this is still a great phone, but we wanted to point out some of the differences between the AT&T and T-Mobile version. There are still places to improve, and we can't wait for the next generation BlackBerry Curve. But, it's still clearly the most popular smart phone on the planet, and it knows what it does best. Messaging, messaging, and more messaging. I'm Brian Tong for CNET.com and this BlackBerry smart phone continues to stay ahead of the curve.
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