How much if a limiting factor is the BB Curve's lack of 3G?

[spirez]

Just about to upgrade and am torn between the Bold and the Curve. The camera's no big deal so the only difference really are the looks and the net.

I prefer the look of the curve, but the lack of 3G is putting me off and seems a bit antiquated. Has anybody had these side by side and compared loading times for sites/videos? How does it affect the map system?

Orange offered me 400 mins, unlimited texts and internet for £20 with a free curve. i haven't asked about the bold price yet.

I really like the nokia 6700 too but want something with a little more features, although they did offer it free on the above tariff for £15

 

[Paul RN]

Wouldn't bother with anything that didn't have 3G

Edge = Max 473.6 kbit (ie 0.5 mbps)
3G = 3.2mbps or 7.2mbps depending on chipset

 

[spirez]

So on paper it definitely looks shite but in terms of real world performance does it make a lot of difference?

I also looked at the omnia HD but they want £115 for it, which i'm not mad on paying being a student.

 

[Revels]

Doesn't it have HSDPA or have I just made that up?

 

[Dip]

It does make a difference. Depending on what your going to be doing. I.e. surfing on the move will be slow as snail. I hate when my iPhone can't pick up 3G in certain places.

 

[spirez]

Ah sod it, went with the curve. TBH i'll only be using it occasionally for things like facebook and twitter so cant see it being a problem. They wanted £100 for the Bold. This was free with a bluetooth headset and 4gb sd card for £20 per month.

I dont know if the sales guy was just spinning me a yarn but he was saying that because the BB data package is compressed, it means that pages would load quicker than on a regualr non 3G phone.

 

[Paul RN]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RedGFahnseM

Not sure its very scientific but page loads in 23s seconds on 3G and in just over 2 minutes on EDGE

 

[spirez]

Guys just for a reference, i just loaded that national geographic page from the above video over GPRS in 45 seconds using the Opera Mini Browser. Will try again when i get an EDGE connection but i'm in uni accomodation and struggle to get it in my room.

The standard blackberry browser took 1:30.

Edit*

Just used a browser that is still currently in the beta phase called Bolt and downloaded that same site in 30 seconds!

So if anyone's worried about the lack of 3G i'd say it's not a massive issue. Bearing in mind this was over the slower GPRS network, so i'd expect EDGE speeds to be slightly faster.

And you can set the phone to wifi so when browsing around city centres a lot of them now have wi-fi coverage anyway.

Bascially the Blackberry 8900 Curve rocks!

Anyone who's after a feature packed smartphone that doesn't cost a bomb should definitely check this little bad boy out.

 

[Mike_182]

We've had every Curve we've dished out to people back as people are sick of how slow they are at browsing/maps/attachments in emails.

Very, very short sighted of BlackBerry, but then that about sums them up. Charge for a phone, charge to use mobile data because it kind of goes a funny way over the internet, rather than straight to an organisations mail server. Brilliant idea - tits.

 

[MikeC]

EDGE is 2.5G, no real different to GPRS, just a different infrastructure, 3G, 7.2Mbs HSDPA FTW

 

[Gally]

Should have bought a bold!

 

[spirez]

We've had every Curve we've dished out to people back as people are sick of how slow they are at browsing/maps/attachments in emails.

Very, very short sighted of BlackBerry, but then that about sums them up. Charge for a phone, charge to use mobile data because it kind of goes a funny way over the internet, rather than straight to an organisations mail server. Brilliant idea - tits.

That does surprise me tbh, u sure every curve isn't a bit of an exaggeration? I travelled from birmingham to london the other day using google maps with no problems. The standard browser is slow but I'm on opera mini at the mo and its fine. Not lightening quick but it rarely poses a problem. This page just loaded in 20 seconds, no big deal.

The facebook app can be slow and tethering would be pointless but these minor negs don't outweigh how much of a great phone this is.

The push emails alone have made the phone worthwhile for me. it was free on £20 p/m with 400 mins, unlimited texts and data, hardly a bad deal!

I looked at the bold but it was £100, bigger, uglier and the camera isn't as good. 3G isn't worth that much to me!

 

[mas]

I get 1200 minutes, ulimited net & email, unlimited texts, 8gb memory card, free phone & bluetooth headset thing.

£22.50 a month. Cannae complain!!

 

[Gally]

Good deal Sambo. I get ulimited texts, web/email, 500 mins for £24 a month. Free BB bold through vodafone.

Cracking deal.

 

[mas]

Ano, when i told orange i was considering leaving them to get the iPhone.... they got a manager on and he literally was throwing all sorts of deals at me!! LOL!

 

[Gally]

Ano, when i told orange i was considering leaving them to get the iPhone.... they got a manager on and he literally was throwing all sorts of deals at me!! LOL!

It's it's always fun when they do that! I got my mum a cracking deal with vodafone after I said she was looking at O2 for her next phone!


They are gimps sometimes!

 

[Mike_182]

That does surprise me tbh, u sure every curve isn't a bit of an exaggeration? I travelled from birmingham to london the other day using google maps with no problems. The standard browser is slow but I'm on opera mini at the mo and its fine. Not lightening quick but it rarely poses a problem. This page just loaded in 20 seconds, no big deal.

The facebook app can be slow and tethering would be pointless but these minor negs don't outweigh how much of a great phone this is.

The push emails alone have made the phone worthwhile for me. it was free on £20 p/m with 400 mins, unlimited texts and data, hardly a bad deal!

I looked at the bold but it was £100, bigger, uglier and the camera isn't as good. 3G isn't worth that much to me!

Nope. EVERY Curve. It just doesn't make sense the way they did it - why make a phone nowadays WITHOUT 3G? Even Apple learnt from that mistake! I'd settle for the boring old original 3G, that would be a start (384k or whatever it is!)

We now only give out the Bolds - if you put them next to each other they're not THAT much bigger, but so much more useful!

 

[mas]

The bolds screen is not as good, the track ball feels cheap and the build quality isnt as good IMO.

The only thing it has more, is 3G - Which I do agree, why the foooook would RIM make a brand new phone, newer than the bold, equip it with everything else... but not 3G! I just dont get the logic!

 

[Dave138]

It might have been a half decent phone if it had 3G. Without it, it just makes every day tasks a pain.

 

[spirez]

Everyday tasks such as? I updated all my library books over GPRS last night and it took no more than a few mins whilst i was lying in bed. Saved me from powering up the laptop.

Honestly i think the phone is great. If i didn't i would have sent it back for an N97 or Omnia HD that i was originally looking at but this does everything i need and more.

Have you used the curve for a significant amount of time? What did you struggle with?

Let's not forget it also has wifi, which it defaults to a lot of the time when walking round town etc

 

[172Ben]

it doesnt need 3g, due to the way it compresses web pages etc.

 

[Dave138]

Comparing it side by side with my iphone (my mate has the curve), it just takes a while to do things such as loading webpages, using apps like shazam, FB etc.

Decet phone but would be better with 3G.

All IMO of course.

 

[David]

makes absolutely no difference to me.....wait there is a big difference, my battery lasts fuckng ages compared to the bold!

 

[Gally]

The bolds screen is not as good, the track ball feels cheap and the build quality isnt as good IMO.

The only thing it has more, is 3G - Which I do agree, why the foooook would RIM make a brand new phone, newer than the bold, equip it with everything else... but not 3G! I just dont get the logic!

Pmsl! Might want to double check that fact mate.

 

[Sarah]

I dont have 3g at all on my network, welcome to 2000! lol

I have no problem using my berry.

yeah its a bit slow at times but i only use my phone when im on the move, and would expect it to be a bit slower

 

[mas]

Pmsl! Might want to double check that fact mate.

Ok.

Ive Double checked.

And yes, I was correct.

http://forums.pinstack.com/showthread.php?t=89376

Ta.

 

[Gally]

Oh so the guy on the forum who just bought one said the curve has a better screen! There is a shock!

 

[mas]

Well no, if you read the title... the curve has a better resolution.

Not just the guys opinion.

 

[Gally]

That's like saying the camera is better because it's a 3.2 when it's been proven megapixels means f all!

 

[mas]

Well, no, its not. A camera and how many megapixels it has is a completely different thing.

The higher the screen resolution, the better the quality. Its a fact, not an opinion.

A true HD television is 1080p, which has a higher resolution. Thats why its HD. You can get 720p, but everyone knows that its not as good quality.

 

[Budgie]

It is limiting when compared to the iPhone. No questions. Wifi is the only way it even starts to keep up. Even that's hit and miss. If you move anyway away from a router it loses signal!