Blackberry Curve 8520 Smartphone Wows UK Reviewers

Testers in UK have been impressed by the latest Blackberry smartphone - the Curve 8520 - that just came out of RIM's manufacturing lines.

The keyboard-equipped device was unveiled late in July and lacks the pearl trackball that is the trademark of traditional RIM smartphones. Instead, there's a trackpad.

It might lack the 3G connectivity and come with a 2-megapixel digital camera, it still managed to get the Telegraph's reviewer to say that it was "compelling" and that the newly-introduced trackpad is "impressively nimble, accurate and enjoyable to use".

The rest of the specification though is surprisingly good; it has a 512MHz processor - same as its big brother, the Curve 8900, a slightly bigger screen (2.5-inch vs 2.4-inch) with a smaller resolution (320x240 vs 480x360), a lesser battery life, a worse camera, no GPS, a thicker profile.

Recombu's review concludes by saying that the music offering was impressive and that it's a great thing that this Blackberry is not as expensive as the other ones. Still the lack of 3G was a turn off although this is compensated by the WiFi.

We managed to get the phone for as little as £16.67 per month on an O2 contract through Dialaphone via a special tariff called "O2 Bonus".