Initial impressions are great, but as long as I am carrying around a larger-than-necessary (but still small) phone, why not figure out exactly what kinds of things I will always have at my disposal.
Orb
The first thing I had to try was watching streaming TV from Orb. Orb is an application that runs on a “server” (a dedicated, always-on desktop that meets the minimum requirements) and streams television, video files, audio files, and more via a web interface and a media player from anywhere in the world. It’s incredibly liberating to have access to what you have at home wherever you are, especially when away from home for an extended period of time. I will get more into detail with Orb in the future, but at the level it applies to the BlackBerry it is something like having a Slingbox. You pick a channel, it makes the change at your home, and then streams the video to you in Windows Media, Quicktime, Flash, or other formats.
I suspect that part of the reason the 8700g couldn’t handle Orb was because of it’s lack of processing power. The other part, I suspect, was due to the lack of Wifi support. The Curve, however, passed the test. On a reliable wireless network I am able to view streaming television without much of a problem and without many hiccups. I do not think that the BlackBerry Media Player renders the image quite as well as it could (it doesn’t even fill up the screen in full-screen mode), but it passes as a way to follow the big game (with audio) in a pinch. Over the cell network, it is not quite so reliable. I have been able to maintain a moving image for a fair amount of time as long as I was staying on the same “tower,” but the quality achieved is far less than what you will get over Wifi. The other thing I’ve found out is that if you back out of the stream, it will stop and you will need to re-initiate the stream. This is unfortunate when you receive a message and want to check it. This might be a lack of processing power, and it’s really a minor issue when you consider the added benefit of the device.
If you are an XM or Sirius subscriber, you can also set up the online offerings to work through Orb to be able to listen to your XM radio through Orb and on your BlackBerry Curve. Again, it works better over Wifi, but an audio-only stream is fairly reliable over the cell network, too, especially if you turn the stream quality down to a more manageable level.
It is also important to note the significant upgrade to a standard headphone jack (3.5mm) from the mini-plug some of the BlackBerries have. This allows you to watch or listen to the media in privacy with headphones.
[One technical note, for those of you who might have stumbled on this post for that reason: In order for this to work on your Curve, you will need to go to the orb web interface with the browser on the Curve and go into settings and then click "stream." You then need to set it to 3GP format (.sdp). A co-worker had it set to .asx and the media player could not handle the stream.]
Bluetooth
While Bluetooth is nothing new on cell phones, the only thing I wanted to mention about this was that I have been successful in getting the TomTom One XL to synchronize with it, namely to get traffic and weather updates. I had no such luck with the 8700g, and it was something I wanted to try out with my GPS device. I have had one particular issue with the TomTom as it relates to this, but the issue is surely a problem with that device and not the BlackBerry (and I will talk about then when I do an Everyday Joe review of the TomTom, itself. Needless to say, the traffic service is a valuable ability to have in terms of saving time commuting during rush hour. On several occassions I have been re-routed to encounter less delay time, particularly on my drive home, and the Curve is what enabled me to have this service.
Built in camera
Again, the camera is nothing terribly new to the cell phone. The added ability to take video with the phone is pretty nice, though I have not found a very practical need for this. The great thing about this device, though, is the ability to take a photo and quickly send it out via email or, better, upload it to Facebook. This is extremely fast if you are on wifi, and still quite usable over the cell network. It’s a lot of fun to be uploading photos from a sporting event or even while travelling. It makes your own experiences more interactive (with those who choose to participate).
Summary
These three features/abilities make the phone much more valuable as they turn a device you already have on your hip into a way to keep tabs on the big game or your favorite TV show, a data connection for GPS and other devices, as well as a way to share your experiences in a painless way.
BlackBerry Review Series: Introduction | Part 1
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