Covet your best friend’s or boss’s brand new smartphone? Yes, we know how that feels. If only the likes of us could save enough to get the smartphone that costs as much as putting three kids through college!
Thank God for budget phones that will whet our appetite while we save our pennies. BlackBerry Inc. just launched its latest budget smartie a couple of weeks ago, a sequel to the BlackBerry 9220 which we had reviewed some months ago.
The BlackBerry 9320 is a quintessential BlackBerry with its bold, QWERTY keypad fitting snugly in my hand. Although the body feels a little plasticky, there’s a grey metallic trim running along the bezel that lends the device a hint of sophistication.
Just like its predecessor, the Curve 9220, this device comes with a dedicated BBM key - definitely one of the most frequently used keys in any BlackBerry smartphone.
The device comes with a 2.4-inch TFT display with which most BlackBerry budget phones are designed. The screen too was usual BlackBerry fare, making for decent display - nothing too stunning but nothing to let you down either. It’s bright and makes for decent visibility under direct sunlight.
When it comes to apps, the Curve 9320 has nothing to offer that its predecessor didn’t already. The SNS solution offered is ‘Social Feeds' that integrates your Facebook updates, Twitter account, BBM and RSS feeds. You can stay clued in to your virtual life through this one client. Within the app, you can slide across the BlackBerry trackpad to browse through your favourites or flagged items. If this isn’t to your liking you can always log in to the standalone Facebook and Twitter apps pre-loaded on the phone.
The Curve 9320 has an upgraded camera since the 9220. However, it’s still only a 3.2-meg clicker. The image quality, much better than with the 9220, gave us snaps only good enough to be shared with friends or maybe once in a while posted on Facebook or some such. While we have no complaints about the colour reproduction, the overall focus is compromised and images inevitably turn grainy even with the slightest dip in ambient light. As with the Curve 9220, it’d be unfair to expect crystal clear images from this budget smartphone too. However, there are other smarties in the market within the same price range that deliver really good pictures.
Although this is being marketed as a budget phone, we think the price tag it comes with warrants a host of better features, build quality and interesting apps. Those who have already invested in a BlackBerry 9220 don’t have enough reason o go for an upgrade. And, those looking to buy a smartphone in this range have a bunch of options that might be better value for money. Even if it’s only and only a BlackBerry that you want to go for, the only reason to buy this would be the dedicated BBM key and the latest version of the BlackBerry 7 OS. It’s up to you to decide whether these reasons are compelling enough.
Love – Affordable, good sound quality on voice calls, latest OS
Hate – Plain vanilla features, average camera
Rs 15,990