Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Limpag: Globe releases BlackBerry Curve By Max Limpag Cell talk
CORPORATE CLIENTS. Globe has just made available the BlackBerry Curve to its corporate customers. If your company is one of the customers of its Enterprise Business Group, you can get the phone for P21,000 or for free, if you’re on the BlackBerry plan P2,000. I’ve never tried a BlackBerry before. I used to think the device was a bit clunky. But the newer versions look better.
For a fleeting moment, I had BlackBerry envy. What BlackBerry is known for is its e-mail and messaging service.
The service allows you to send and receive e-mail messages on the device, wherever you are. The BlackBerry Internet Service, according to Globe’s press statement, “allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate e-mail accounts, including most popular ISP e-mail accounts.” The phone also supports instant messaging for Google Talk, Yahoo!, and Messenger. Many companies issue BlackBerry devices to their workers because it gets more work done. By issuing the devices, workers no longer stop working when they step outside the office. They are never out of the office loop.
SMALLEST, LIGHTEST. The BlackBerry Curve, according to the company statement, “is the smallest and lightest full QWERTY BlackBerry handset.” The device measures 107mm x 60mm x 15.5mm. It comes with a “liquid silver finish with chrome highlights.” The phone also comes with a new media manager developed based on the Roxio East Media Creator 9. The application allows users to organize media files on their computers, create MP3 music files from CDs and “automatically copy or convert pictures, music and videos for optimal playback on the BlackBerry Curve.”
CAMERA. The phone also comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera with 5xdigital zoom and a built-in flash. It also has a self-portrait mirror so that you no longer have to guess while taking shots of your own self. With the mirror, you’d know if you’ve aligned the camera properly to get your photo inside the frame. The phone also comes with a microSD slot that’s expandable up to 4 GB.
ADVANCED FEATURES. The EDGE/GPRS/GSM gadget includes “noise cancellation technology to offset background noise.” The BlackBerry websites indicated that the unit can be used as a modem for your laptop or PC. The Globe press statement did not mention this, but anyone who has some background working with phones and PC connectivity can make this work. I wonder how long Globe will continue charging per kilobyte of download for Internet connectivity. I feel a “per hour” charging is more consumer-friendly and will encourage more users to use their mobile devices to connect to the web.
