BlackBerry Curve 8310 (AT&T Wireless)

The original BlackBerry Curve was a huge success, and RIM decided to play the Curve game again and build in GPS
with the Curve 8310. Does it offer enough "bang" to upgrade? Find out after the jump.

The Curve 8310 still has the same 2.4 inch screen, the same killer keyboard, the same 2 megapixel camera, and the same thin and light form factor we've come to love. The major difference is that the 8310 has GPS functionality built-in provided by TeleNav and the Curve now comes in two colors, titanium and red. The $9.99 per month service allows you to get full GPS coverage with a standalone GPS, but brings it into the smartphone realm so you don't have to lug around two devices.

The 8310 still is a great phone, the call quality is excellent and the speakerphone is very loud. It's 2 megapixel camera is still the not the best, producing somewhat soft images both indoors and out. The media player is pretty basic, but it probably isn't the main use of such a business-oriented phone. We're still kind of wondering why the MicroSD card slot is still behind the battery though, but we're happy they stuck with the 3.5 mm headset jack (why get rid of it?).

Web surfing isn't the best experience, and doesn't offer the same formatting you would receive on say, an iPhone or your notebook computer.

Using the TeleNav GPS Navigator in the Sacramento area and it worked great. Some nice features were the ability to use the GPS in pedestrian mode, since it's much more portable than a regular GPS mode. We also liked that it asked for what route style we wanted: fastest, traffic optimized, shortest, prefer streets, prefer highway, or pedestrian.

One feature we would have liked on the 8310 is 3G support for high-speed data connectivity, are we still living in an EDGE world? Overall, the BlackBerry Curve line of devices still impresses us, from the unprecedented email capabilities, to the sleek design. If you don't need GPS however, stick with your current Curve 8300 until a larger upgrade becomes available. The BlackBerry Curve 8310 is available today from AT&T for $149 with a 2-year contract.

Pros
* Sleek and light design.
* Built-in GPS capability.
* Loud speakerphone, decent call quality.

Cons
* Still no 3G support.
* MicroSD slot still behind the battery.