BlackBerry Curve 8520

We’d all love to own a top-notch smartphone, but with all those advanced features, iPhones and BlackBerrys don’t come cheap. Either you’re paying hundreds of pounds for the phone up-front or you’re saddled with a long-term monthly that will eventually cost more than the up-front payment. Smartphones that don’t break the bank are few and far between, and they start looking distinctly less smart when build and features are compared with their rivals.

This new model in BlackBerry’s Curve range is for those of us who simply don’t have pockets deep enough to justify an iPhone. It’s a smartphone that’s been trimmed in price without compromising on its core functionality.

Features:
Reading the features and browsing around the phone, it’s difficult to see what’s been left off to bring it down to a reasonable price. The construction might feel a bit more plastic than the pricier models but it remains light and pocketable. It’ll do all the usual things you’d expect from a mobile but also offers a Wi-Fi connection. This means that if you’re somewhere with a Wi-Fi network, you don’t have to use your data allowance.

It doesn’t have GPS but will take a stab at your location using other methods, such as phone-mast triangulation. The device will accept media from a MicroSD card, so you can put songs, videos and pictures on it, and it has a standard headphone socket so you can plug in your favourite listening device.

Performance:
It’s the software that really makes the difference with a phone like this and BlackBerry doesn’t disappoint. It may not have the touchscreen of some of its rivals but the interface is manageable and bolsters the range of features on offer. With downloadable apps from third parties, there’s little that the device won’t do.

At 320 x 240 pixels, the screen is smaller and less detailed than on other smartphones. Also, battery life isn’t top of the range and the device only suports EDGE (2.5G) as the fastest internet connection (not 3G), so it won’t provide web access on the go at the speed of the latest iPhones.

Ease of use:
The trackpad on the device makes it simple to navigate around its screens but it isn’t quite as sensitive as the trackballs that have remained BlackBerry’s staple control mechanism. Most BlackBerry applications use a long menu of options to control them, which takes a bit of getting used to. While it isn’t the most glamorous of navigation mechanisms, it does the trick.

Value for money:
Presuming you want to get the phone without paying up-front, it was available at the time of writing on £25-per-month contracts from both Carphone Warehouse (using Orange Dolphin £20 plus £5 BlackBerry Bolt on) and Vodafone (£25 Talk 24-month 300-mins package, BlackBerry charges included in price). Previously, you’d have had to get into the £35-per-month category to get a BlackBerry or any other smartphone on contract. This kind of price is far more tempting.