Blackberry 9300: review, photos and reviews

The BlackBerry 9300 Curve 3G looks like a typical BlackBerry product. Its full physical keyboard is located under a 2.4-inch screen, and a 2-megapixel camera is located on the rear panel. Offering a 3G connection, as well as Wi-Fi, the phone promises fast Internet navigation and downloading applications and themes from the App World store.

Model overview

Great innovation in the BlackBerry 9300 (photo posted later in the article) did not happen. The famous physical keyboard is located in a case with rounded corners and a textured back surface, and the "chrome" frame surrounds the LCD screen with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels and a row of buttons near the touch panel. The MicroUSB port is located next to the 3.5mm headphone jack and the left-hand key, which by default calls the voice dialing. If the repetition of the phrase "Pronounce the command" quickly gets bored, it can be changed in the settings. The camera button is located on the other side of the phone, just below the volume key.

On the top are multimedia controls: play / pause keys, jump forward and backward. The keyboard and touchpad are almost identical to those used in previous Curve models, such as the 8900, as well as the Bold 9700. The main difference is that the 9300 offers Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G.

The manufacturer RIM is keen on demonstrating the media capabilities of its smartphones, and the 9300 was no exception. With special buttons on the top panel, the phone is clearly designed to be used as a media player, just like the iPhone or the Sony Ericsson W395 Walkman. Therefore, it's nice to see the presence of a 3.5-mm headphone jack, which gives you the freedom to choose any headset you like. The 2-megapixel camera is nothing special, it does not have a flash and autofocus, like the Bold 9700.

As you would expect from any BlackBerry phone, the Curve 9300 has the enviable features to create emails and exchange fast messages using the Messenger application.

Interface

Users of BlackBerry OS 5 with experience will feel at home. Home screen icons can be configured to run the most frequently used applications, features and web pages, and all menus are easy to organize into folders.

The interface separates the features of Windows software, but, in addition to the series of icons, there is also a text menu for navigation inside programs. It allows you to configure settings, perform functions and stop the software. This menu can scare away and confuse unsure users, for example, when they encounter endless lists of options, when the only thing that is required is to write a new text message. Because of these labyrinths, the interface is not as simple as in the iPhone 4, but similar to the Android OS.

The level of detail of the settings is high, but the principle of quick access to your favorite applications is the same.

App World, which can be launched from the phone menu or in the browser, provides access to several hundred downloadable programs. The BlackBerry themes will give the device an individuality: you can buy ready-made or create your own by setting fonts, background images, melodies, etc.

Most standard functions run very easily. To make a call, you can either click on the call button, or just start dialing the number or name of the contact from the home screen.

On most of the manufacturer's phones, it is too difficult to create new e-mail or SMS messages. Instead of just entering the mailbox and selecting the appropriate option, you have to launch the internal menu by clicking on the BlackBerry button, and then scroll through the list of options until the "Write SMS" item is found. It is a pity that for such a simple task requires too many unnecessary actions. You can send an SMS to a certain contact from the address book, although for those who did not use a smartphone before, this action will not seem natural.

Camera

The capabilities of the BlackBerry 9300 to photograph and record video are rather mediocre. When you start the camera application, the only thing a user can do is to zoom in and take a picture. To access additional and rather limited options, you must click on the button and enter another extensive menu. Here you can change the white balance, image size and quality, as well as choose a black and white version or sepia. It's nice to have such an opportunity, but, most likely, it only emphasizes the limited functionality of the camera.

To change the scale, simply drag your finger along the optical sensor. If you want to take a picture in landscape orientation, you can use the shutter button on the side, but in portrait photography, you need to click on the touch panel.

The enlarged images noticeably lose quality. The camera is not so bad at transferring colors, when there is a big difference between them. Shooting close-up due to lack of auto focus is fuzzy, but the photo is much better at a distance. Images are not exactly clear, but this should be expected from a 2-megapixel camera. Suffice it to say that this is not an ideal phone for amateur photographers.

Working with audio and video

In the Blackberry 9300, the firmware does not differ gloss when working with multimedia. Although the phone also displays information about the track and the album cover, the music player is very simple. True, it allows you to shuffle or play in a cycle albums, artists and tracks.

Other popular features are creating your own playlists or an automatic playlist with the participation of selected artists. FM radio is not available, so you'll need to record a lot of tracks so you can listen.

The sound quality is average, although the kit includes high quality Sennheiser headphones. But they are still better than the built-in speaker, which sounds awful.

The media player can be controlled using the buttons located on the top of the phone. This applies to both audio and video.

The following audio formats are supported: MP3, AAC-LC, AMR-NB, AAC +, WMA, eAAC +, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis.

Playing video on a screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels is not very impressive, but the video player is pretty fast. If there is not enough media content on your phone, you can visit YouTube on your mobile browser. It is better to use Wi-Fi. Supported formats are MPEG4, H.264, H.263, WMV9.

In the image gallery, all images are presented in the form of thumbnails, but viewing them on such a small screen is not entirely satisfactory. Uploading photos to Facebook and other social networking applications is easy - this should be done through the option of the internal menu. True, there is no such possibility for video, but you can share it by email or Bluetooth.

Suffice it to say that this is not the best phone for those who record video blogs on the go - the iPhone 4 with its front camera makes the recording much easier.

The headphone jack is located on the side, just above the USB connector. The best place for him is the top or bottom of the phone, especially if it is worn in your pocket. It would seem, considering the location of the media playback controls on the top panel, this should be the place for the headphone jack as well.

Battery life

According to user feedback, the BlackBerry 9300 3G can run at full battery power for two days. At the same time, photos were taken, e-mail was used, web pages were viewed and applications downloaded, and calls were made. This corresponds to the claimed battery life of 4.5 hours in talk mode plus 29 hours of music playback or 19 days of standby time. The battery is tiny (1150 mAh), and it helps the smartphone to keep its light weight.

Hard reset

The Blackberry 9300 Curve can be returned to the factory settings if the application crashes or other software errors occur. It should be remembered that this procedure will also erase all the downloaded files, software, images, ring tones and contacts in the internal memory. For hardware reboot, you must:

1. Press the Menu key, go to Options, Security Options and select Security Wipe.
2. Select the type of data to be deleted.
3. Enter the word blackberry and select Wipe.

You can also restart the device by pressing Alt, Shift and Delete at the same time. In this case, the data will not be lost.

What did you like?

It's hard to judge the model of the BlackBerry 9300, because it is very similar to other members of the family Curve. But, despite the fact that its specifications, compared with the competitors' smartphones, are not so brilliant, it's not the phone that is too shameful to own.

The main advantage of the BlackBerry 9300 is the presence of the keyboard, even if it is not as good as the Bold 9700.

As usual, BlackBerry email and messaging applications are at a high level, and users note the quality of the call and the excellent reception of the device.

What did not you like?

Users who are used to dealing with more powerful phones will be constantly disappointed by the weak performance of the smartphone.

Low screen resolution has reduced the cost of the device, but for owners it is poor comfort. 2-MP camera is extremely limited in its capabilities. The awkwardness of the menu system and the built-in browser will be annoying until the software is updated to more productive versions.

Verdict

If everything that is required from the phone is to work with e-mail, and viewing web pages and playing media files will be infrequent, the Blackberry 9300 will allow for a small price to satisfy basic needs.