Curve 8520 Sim Free Smartphone - Black

My first 'smartphone', and I am glad I chose this one - it oozes quality at a reasonable price. Yes, it is SIM-free, but make sure your provider supports the Blackberry BIS - mine didn't, so I had to change from Tesco to O2 in order to access full e-mail and browser functionality. Once your e-mail(s) is/are set up, you can delete messages on the handset alone, or on any of your e-mail accounts as well The screen is very good and clear, sound quality is excellent, and the menus are really easy to use once you get used to them - it is different from previous phones I have used, and I think I prefer it that way. Text messages appear in an e-mail-like string, rather than as separate messages in an inbox and outbox, which takes some getting used to, but again I think I prefer it. The camera is basic, but perfectly adequate for outdoor shots - if you want superb resolution, flash etc, then buy a camera! I worried about typing on such small keys with fat fingers like mine, but the keys are raised and I find I make very few mistakes and can enter data quite quickly. The supplied software CD allowed me to transfer all my contacts and diary entries from a Palm Tungsten onto the Blackberry quickly and without any problems at all. I bought a larger capacity micro SD card (8Gb - the phone was supplied with a 2Gb card) to ensure more than adequate memory, and I would advise investing in a silicon skin protective cover - this is a snug enough fit that the phone can still be used with the Blackberry pouch case.

We all have different reasons for buying a particular phone. I had a Blackberry a couple of years ago but was enticed away by some of the more exciting features on other phones. They offered email, but it rarely worked as it required a strong G3 signal and I got increasingly frustrated. So I'm back to a Blackberry as it works brilliantly, first as a phone and secondly, for email on-the-move. It offers a Facebook app for those who want it and offers others as well - but for business people on-the-move it's a very cost effective business tool that sits happily in my shirt pocket. Navigation is good and positive using the small track-pad and it's easy to access multiple email accounts; contact lists and memos backed-up from Outlook. So I can carry my office PC in my pocket. I can't comment on this particular model compared to other Blackberry's but this gives me everything I need at a reasonable cost and I'm delighted with my purchase.

My phone was set up for T-Mobile, so whilst its sim free I was still unable to alter the home web page setting which takes you to T-Mobiles mobile web page, with their banners. This included a banner for 'exotic' material which is earning someone cash. Given the phone might have been going to a child I think this is actually immoral if not even illegal. I gave the phone one star for that reason - and because I'm returning the phone I've not set it up so I can only guess at how cool it is to email and send BB messages and so on. Beautiful looking phone which is actually a mini computer. The quality of the calls was sound and the screen itself allows people struggling to see phone screens reading with ease. Internet is a snap - my connection was immediate. Faster than my laptop! As for the T-Mobile home page, this is apparently hard coded into the phone - you cannot change it in the options. If anyone knows how to change this in the options then let us know. Right now I have no mobile phone as I got another Blackberry off Virgin and that order got stopped due to communication problems with the call centre staff. This is the first item I've returned to Amazon, I'm not a serial complainer. That said, offering soft porn ads is beyond the pale really and I will take steps to complain to whatever authority oversees the mobile phone standards (if there actually are any in the UK)

A nice little phone but there are issues with internet use. You will need the blackberry service or bolton for using it on wap. If you dont have blackberry services you wil find that when you put a sim in the phone your ability to connect to wi-fi will stop. You can however get around the wi-fi problems by adjusting a few settings. Dont be put off by this, its just a matter of finding the settings information to get your wi-fi working again. I searched for about half an hour until I found the answers on a bb forum. Also I noticed that it locks up when you attempt to view certain pictures. I concluded that the problem was with SLR compatibility. When I deleted the pics that were taken with an SLR camera it no longer locked up. Other jpegs and bmp's were fine. The email client is dependent on having the bb service and there is no PDF viewer. Other than the little hiccups... The sim free blackberry boots up quicker than the branded one! Im happy with the phone for the price.

got my son this for Xmas. Chose sim free one as Virgin network only do them on a contract package which wasn't good........only 100 mins and 500 txts per month for £15 (my son has unlimited txts, internet access and 400 mins for the same price). Having phoned Virgin 3 x, and being told he can't have Blackberry Messenger cos he's not on a BB package with them, FINALLY on boxing day i was given the right advice from a Virgin customer advisor- to enable Blackberry Messenger you have to send the word yes to 789333 - which then activates the BBM etc. So he's extremely pleased with his new toy - and so am i cos he can use all its functions! recommended for moody teenagers!

I just thought i'd say that i ordered this phone, and though it says sim free it does not necessarily work for every sim. I ordered a 3 sim and it asked for a MEP code. I then called T-Mobile to find out my code and they said it was cost £15 pounds, take 28 working days and then you would also have to be a T-mobile customer for up to 3 months. This frustrated me a lot as i did not have the time, i did not want to spend the money or be a T-mobile customer for 3 months. The phone itself is good quality and has great reviews for a reason.

This is an absolutely brilliant phone...No issues whatsover with setting up various things ...except, To set up your personal email etc you need to contact your network provider to turn on the services ...this is not written anywhere in the manuals and so had to google why those things are not working ...apart from that its a dream to use ....

If you want to splash out and get a Blackberry, then this is a good way to go if you don't want to splash too far. The keyboard is easier to use than my Nokia E63. Picture is clear. Sound is clearer than any phone I've had before - I wasn't expecting that benefit. Despite being at the lower end of the Blackberry scale, this phone does the job.

Bought the phone for my wife as she likes to text often. She prefers the qwerty keyboard instead of touchscreen. She has always wanted a blackberry and I think she loves this phone. It is constructed with more plastic than most blackberry models but she likes it because it is not too heavy. Phone performs flawlessly and would recommend. It is a refurbished phone but looks just like new.

I just got this phone and so far am extremely pleased with it. The tutorial is a great intro to the phone features. The trackpad makes the screen easy to navigate. I also made a call with it and call quality is fairly good--the friend I called had just gotten a new T-Mobile phone, so not sure if the slight echo was on my end or hers. I got used to the keyboard fairly quickly and have sent a few texts. Although the keys may be smaller than other models, I was still able to text with no trouble. The battery wasn't fully charged so it's charging now. Not sure about battery life, but will see how long it takes me to go through a full battery. This phone has so many great features, is light and easy to use--even for someone like me, who hasn't had a smart phone before.

EXCELENTE TELEFONO. FUE UN REGALO Y SIRVE MUY BIEN. EL SISTEMA OPERATIVO CUENTA CON VARIOAS OPCIONES DE FACIL USO. RECOMENDABLE

the 8520 phone actually works well on at&t! no matter how much you learn the iphone keyboard, a blackberry full physical qwerty still wins, hands down. the spell checker and predictive type on bberry is better vs iphone and with the physical keyboard you misspell a lot less. since you can sync your itunes on here you only "miss" the iphone for its apps which really only work best on wifi. 8520 is lightweight, fairly thin, very light, has nicely spaced keys, and really cool media controls blended into the top of the device. nice use of rubber here on the device too lends some durability to glossy plastic finish. I jammed a 16G nand flash card into it too so i have music, movies etc with me. I bought the unlocked version since i use the 8520 when traveling to US from abroad .... without a full blackberry data package you lose out on things like email and blackberry messenger - but this is my 2nd/travel phone so i dont care too much - I use it when in the US with pay as you go on at&t - i get what i want a phone that works, easy texting, wifi browsing and music/video. iPhone is my main phone abroad but it wont stay that way once renewal time comes. I could easily see 8520 being my main phone but if you want the mobile internet experience (3G) and slightly cooler packaging then go for the 9700, but you pay for it - a lot more. given cost differential I would easily buy 8520 over 8900 ...8520 just feels a tad cooler too vs 8900 still too corporate. yet both are pretty similarly equipped. if you had full blackberry data package with this as your main phone u r probably happy person. i am more than happy with this as 2nd/travel phone. Cool thing about this unlocked version is i can buy pay as you go sim card, slip it in and work no matter where i am. in past my edge (non3G) blackberries actually run things like google apps and internet fairly well. i am sure 9700 with full 3G is better but necessary??

worked for the use