How do you approach a review of an iteration of a BlackBerry device that is almost exactly the same as the one that came before it? The BlackBerry Curve 9300 is the first 3G Curve released to the market, and after the huge success of the Curve 8520, which incorporated the trackpad and rubber buttons to the familiar Curve garb, the 9300 is more of the same. In reality, the only difference is the speed of the device: 3G is much faster than EDGE, and makes a noticeable difference when downloading apps and surfing the web on a device. The BlackBerry, however, is not a data-intensive phone, and one doesn’t really need a fast connection to use BBM or load up the mobile Facebook site.

So why does this 3G Curve exist? Simply, because Bell and Telus do not have a 2G network to support the older Curve devices, and for the longest time were only able to offer high-end BlackBerries such as the Bold 9000 and 9700. This forced users looking for a cheaper BB to look at Rogers or Fido, something that Bell and Telus definitely want to avoid. Hence, the low-cost Curve 9300. (Rogers also has the Curve 3G, as will carriers from the States, like T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint, most likely).

The device is pretty sleek. The four familiar buttons (Phone/BlackBerry/Back/End) are now flush with the screen. In fact, they are all under the same piece of glass. The trackpad is raised slightly and gives it a very nice clicky quality. The keyboard is going to be familiar, as well, to anyone who has used a Curve, all the way back to the 8300 days. That is not a bad thing, but RIM has now two main keyboards they use for their devices: the chiclet-style Curve keyboard and the premium, more-flush style they use on the Bold and Torch lines. I prefer the Bold-style but that’s because I am used to it. I can easily touch-type on the Curve, though it is way louder than the former.

Around the side of the device you’ll find all-rubber buttons that appear more like bumps than anything else. I love this new uniform style they incorporated with the 85xx line and to see them continue it with the 9300 makes me happy. They’re very easy to press without looking, and give a nice amount of resistance. On the top of the device you’ll find the three media-playback keys: previous and next on either side, and in the middle the shared Play/Lock button. It’s a big awkward to have to hold the middle button down to lock the screen, and often when I don’t hold it for long enough it will send me to the Media page, thinking I wanted to play some music, when really I wanted to put it to sleep. Not a big problem, but I’m not happy with the implementation.

The screen resolution, to keep the cost down, sits at a paltry 240×320. Coming from a BlackBerry Bold 9700, which essentially doubles this resolution, reading text is a bit cumbersome; I would go so far to say that it is unpleasant. That being said, for a device grounded in text input and consumption, it is bright, and colours are reproduced accurately, if a bit saturated.

The back of the phone consists of the 2MP camera (sans flash) and the beautiful rubber-ribbed battery cover. I love the repeated square pattern that aides in gripping the phone, and gives the lowly phone a premium quality. The battery is the same as that in the Pearl and early Curve models (though not the 8900, which, although EDGE-only, still has a better display and camera with a flash). The biggest issue I have with the device, therefore, is the poor battery life. EDGE-based BlackBerries last for days because 2G uses much less power than 3G. When my Rogers 9700 is running low on battery, I change it to 2G-only and I can eek out 6-8 more hours on one battery bar. Not with this phone. See, Bell’s 3G-only network, while ridiculously fast, is also all you get. Changing the phone to 2G-only will cause you to lose service. There is WiFi onboard, but it doesn’t support WiFi calling like Rogers’ 8900. This is a huge problem for the device, and while I did get a full day out of it, it’s nowhere good enough for the average business user. I’d rather use an 8520 on EDGE and get triple the battery.

The Curve 9300 I got comes pre-loaded with a very mature version of OS5. In fact, I have noticed no problems at all with stability or speed. The 256MB RAM should be more than enough for all the apps and games you should ever want from the newly-minted App World 2.0. OS5 also supports the newest versions of BBM, Facebook, Twitter for BlackBerry, and generally any 5.0-supported app should work great. For me, that is reason enough to upgrade from a Curve 83xx. OS5 continues the RIM tradition of gradual refinement. With Twitter for BlackBerry and Facebook, social networking integration has been beefed up significantly. You now get your Twitter/Facebook messages right in your Message folder, and you can respond to DM’s and Facebook alerts without going into the apps themselves. Media playback, as well, has been handedly improved, and with the dedicated media buttons on top of the device, you don’t even have to turn on the screen to switch songs or pause your music. The device supports MicroSD cards up to 32GB, so you could give up your iPod if you so desired.

As with all BlackBerry devices I’ve owned or used, there are some glaring quality control issues with the Curve 9300 I was given to test. The battery cover creaks and moves when I push it down even slightly. This is probably from some deformed plastic during the manufacturing process, but is pretty inexcusable, and if I owned this phone, would bring it right back to the store. The Charcoal colour is quite attractive, overall, and you’ll likely find iterations of this phone from other carriers in myriad colours (Rogers offers the Curve 9300 in red, of course Rogers does not yet offer the phone in a different colour, thanks @Bla1ze).

Conclusion

I like this phone, a lot. If I were to lug around a BlackBerry for BBM use alone, this would probably be high up there on the list. It comes in from Bell at a reasonable $49.95 on a 3-year term, and a very attractive $349.95 without a contract. I see the device dropping quite quickly to $29.95, especially as the Bold 9700 has dropped in price to $99.95. Having to choose between the two, I’d spend the extra $50 on the 9700 in a second, but some people love their Curves, and who am I to suggest otherwise?

Thanks to Bell for the opportunity to test out this quality product, and check it out at their website, or in store.