Jenneth Orantia27 February 2008, 10:46 PM
Vodafone’s take on the BlackBerry Curve adds GPS to the mix, using the telco’s newly launched Compass service.
Apart from that, this device has identical specs to the original Curve, including quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD expansion and a two-megapixel camera.
Vodafone Compass is a service that transfers Australia-wide maps over the network on-the-fly. Prices start at $2.50 for a day pass, and the annual subscription is a reasonable $79 a year. Most of the basic navigational features are supported, including car and pedestrian modes, a Points of Interest database and a choice between maps and text directions.
But the service is just as easily characterised by the features it doesn’t have. At time of writing, 3D map display, multiple waypoints, assisted GPS and contacts integration were still missing, but a Vodafone spokesperson claimed these would all be rolled into future updates to the service.
Of course, the BlackBerry’s key strength is its email functionality, which, when combined with an excellent thumbboard, makes the Curve an exceptionally potent little communicator. It’s not as full-featured as on some other smartphones, but the remarkably fuss-free email experience makes the lack of frills forgivable. Plus, the Curve has stellar battery life, scoring eight hours of video playback in our run-down test. This should equate to roughly four days of medium-to-heavy real-world usage.