Verizon now selling the BlackBerry Curve 8530

By on Nov 20, 2009 at 8:46 PM
Retail November 20, 2009

vzw-bb-curve-8530

It might not be fancy or scream “look at me”, but Verizon’s now-available BlackBerry Curve 8530 is a smartphone that gets the job done. Kitted out with a 2.5″ display, 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS and 256MB of flash memory, the Curve 8530 is also the first full-QWERTY BlackBerry from Verizon to feature RIM’s new optical trackpad and OS 5.0. Other than that, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Stereo Bluetooth, support for microSD cards and dedicated multimedia keys round out the rest of the phone’s features. Of course at $99.99 on contract there are a lot of better smartphones that are similarly priced, but for BlackBerry lovers fond of Verizon and always looking to save a bit of coin, you can’t really go wrong. Plus it comes in two colors: Black and Smoky Violet (imagine the color of your grandmother’s ugliest pant suit). Yay?

Read

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
51 Comments

Related Articles

  • Mog

    Verizon has a *thing* about purple, don’t they? Chocolate Touch, Rival, that one Moto flip…now this…

    Hey, I don’t mind. I love purple. Maybe if Verizon likes it so much they should marry, er chance their logo to it.

    Just sayin’. :)

  • betchplz

    This is a terrible “deal” at 99.99 on Verizon. With how much you’re paying per month to be on Verizon it should be below $75.

    • A man

      Right, because saving an extra $25 is really great in the bigger spectrum of spending you’ll be doing with Verizon over 2-year agreements….

      • http://www.xomba.com/wwwverizonwirelesscom_%E2%80%93_verizon_bill_pay_%E2%80%93_online_bill_pay Gerald Jones

        Saving $25 is definitely a big deal in the cell phone contract world.

    • betchplz

      I said less than $75, not $75. Right? Go back and read it again.

      • http://www.webcamwithmicrophone.org John Smith

        55 is here now

  • Vernon McJules

    It actually is a pretty good deal for existing customers. They gave me an upgrade price of $49.99. Can’t really go wrong with that price for a BlackBerry.

    • Kyle

      Sure you can. The Eris is $50 more.

  • Mog

    I don’t know. It’s $299 contract-free in T-Mobile’s new “Complete” package, which includes a “free” month of unlimited everything service ($80) and I believe activation ($35), making the phone itself really only cost $185. That makes paying $100 for it on-contract (or $129, on t-mobile.com!) seem rather silly…

    …but you could argue that Verizon’s network makes this BlackBerry *worth more,* as well. (Same with their higher rates, ai-yai-yai…)

    • Gristle

      Is BIS included in the T-Mobile price?

  • bob turner

    As with all devices….the first couple week of sales its jacked up…. It’ll be free in about a month.

  • Mog

    Or in a week, if there’s a Black Friday sale. ;)

  • Robert Seijas

    Honestly, I demo’d one at a Verizon store for about 15 minutes and I was very unimpressed with build quality. It felt creaky, especially the keyboard.

    • Bruce

      I bought the phone today. No flash on the camera. Pictures are not as good as the originalIcons are lame. The computer is not set up yet to sync contacts because the phone is new. It does not feel as heavy duty as the original curve. Wall paper only shows in certain 1 mode. All else is about the same

      • Kyle

        That’s because it’s not the original Curve’s replacement. The Curve’s replacement is the 8900. This is a cheap version of the phone, and shouldn’t really be called the Curve at all. It’s confusing for customers, especially T-Mobile and AT&T customers that can choose either the Curve 8520 or the Curve 8900. They are completely different phones.

  • xman

    No EV-DO Rev A???? WTF Why bother

    • Bruce

      I do not get any of that

    • VZW

      At least is has 3G. AT&T and T-Mobiles don’t. And this has WiFi along with the others, so get over it.

      • Kyle

        EVDO Rev. 0 is hardly 3G. The internet on my BlackBerry 8830 crawled along at a snail’s pace (it had Rev. 0).

        HSDP+ is also ’3G,’ but it blows EVDO Rev. A out of the water.

        On a side note, I find it funny that BlackBerry has trouble putting WiFi and true 3G in a single device when everyone else is capable of combining the two.

      • ifinditfunny

        That the storm2 has 3g and wifi and yet you’re allowed to post :) smiles and goodday.

      • betchplz

        I doubt the EV-DO speed had much to do with the crappy browsing on the Blackberry.

        Rev 0 should be fine on this basic device.

      • StevenGlansburg

        Rev 0 is no better than EDGE. I know you are a fanboy, but come on now, accept it.

      • Biggles

        Rev O is much better than EDGE, at least AT&T’s EDGE. EDGE max speeds fall as 3G according to int’l standards (>140kbps), but it’s so slow in practice on AT&T’s network, they list it as 2.5G. Pathetic. Rev 0 customers get ~800kbps typical.

  • jorGeorge

    While most companies continue to innovate their products and technologies, RIM continues to de-innovate. The cellular industry has never seen such a trend! Will other companies cling on? Only time and the consistent decrease in RIM stock will tell!

    • crazylegs

      clueless comment. this is intended to be the very low end of the product lineup where you attract consumers that wouldn’t normally buy a Blackberry – not a BB with the latest and greatest. Do some critical thinking!

  • http://pastatech.wordpress.com Raymond

    Battery life seems way worse than on the 8520, prob cause of the 3G.

  • Iasthai

    $28.88 at Walmart with a 2 year contract. Buy it tomorrow and get a $100 gift card.

    • Kyle

      I wonder why. Probably because it’s a p.o.s.

  • JEF

    How does this compare to the Tour?

    • Kyle

      Get the Tour. The Tour is a great device.

      It has a nice feel to it, and it is heavy, a quality that I like in a phone (mostly because it is indicative of quality).

      I actually got to use a friend’s Bold 9700 the other day, and I personally believe that the Tour is a better phone in terms of build quality.

      Go for the Tour.

      • Vernon McJules

        I would agree. The Tour is the best BlackBerry I have used. Very fast and overall great experience. If you are looking for the best Blackberry on the market, go for the Tour!

  • BBstorm

    why does AT&T think they have the best selection of smartphones….when verizon has every phone they have and 2 droid phones?? and a great blackberry selection….so wtf??

    • StevenGlansburg

      ONE iphone makes up for like 10 of Verizons best offerings. sorry.

      Side note: I don’t have At&t and could case less about their success

      • Biggles

        ONE iphone keeps my kitchen table from wobbling. One of the legs is 0.48 inches short. That makes the iphone better than anything Verizon offers, despite the horrible 3G coverage on the iphone, because they don’t have anything less than 0.5 inches.

        Side note: I got the 3G for pennies on the dollar because some fanboy had to get the 3GS long before his contract was up for renewal. Luckily AT&T caved to all the whiners and I can eat breakfast in peace.

      • BigBoy

        ONE You could have saved $ by simply cutting off your penis and using that as a shim for the 0.48 inch gap.

        Side note: or just bought a proper kitchen table and kept some dignity.

      • fan_of_fanboys

        I am a VZW fanboy but thats the funniest post on this whole thread.

  • Gina D

    I love how the lowest formed denominators on the totem poll (Verizon Wireless Retail Sales reps) always defend their employer by telling people who don’t like it to “get over it.”

    It’s perfectly fine to complain about a poorly built product especially at VZW’s monthly rates.

    I love RIM/ BlackBerry but I too feel this device is cheap. VZW should sell this on Inpulse or whatever prepaid service they offer now.

    • fan_of_fanboys

      As opposed to AT&T’s rates? And it is the same phone only slightly better than what T-Mo and AT&T are offering and while we do not know AT&T’s pricing for this phone we know VZW has it cheaper than T-Mo does.

  • warhed

    Rather get something than a outdated blackberry regardless of how “new” it is….

  • dan

    It’s only rev. 0…

  • BBstorm

    True but not everyone wants an Iphone

  • Danny

    Even though T-Mobile will sell this prepaid for $299 no strings attached, wanna bet Verizon will still apply a fat $350 ETF if you sign up for this cheap Berry on a monthly plan and need to cancel shortly thereafter?

    **waits for the next Big Red store employee to defend their ETF policy and blame the consumer….**

    • fan_of_fanboys

      If you cannot from a business standpoint (and it is a business we are talking about) understand the new ETF then you need to keep you entry to mid-level position at whatever company you work for.
      What’s sad is the because of a few people trying to make a quick $ we have to be subjected to the new ETF. But as a parallel thats why we have cops and laws: to protect to majority from the minority.
      Your average consumer completes their contract. If you move to a area w/ no coverage, death, military deployment then ETF is waived. Only the people attempting to scam and of course people who want to end their contract b/c they are upset and want to leave would have to pay it.

  • John
  • Gina D

    @ Danny…. looks like we found our first participant a couple of posts up! ;-)

    @ fan_of_fanboys: Of course everything makes sense to you. You work for Verizon. All bogus fees and such from a bloated company already making billions in revenue are always justified. We seriously wouldn’t expect you to state otherwise.

    • fan_of_fanboys

      Well you obviously didn’t completely comprehend my post. I didn’t say I backed the idea or thought it was a great idea. I said from a business perspective it does make sense. And you obviously don’t read my other post because I don’t defend other fees that don’t make sense and I have criticized VZW several times, as well as defending other companies and the products/services. And if for some reason you think because a company makes a lot of money overall they should accept losing money from a aspect of their business then you obviously don’t understand the point of a business.

  • Amroth

    Another BlackBerry?!? Give me a 16g Pre, please!

  • http://twitter.com/nevaehkisses sidekickaddict

    me no likey verizon ….. verizon tried to take my arm and leg back in 04 but the blackberry bold is sweet

  • fan_of_fanboys

    This is a terrible phone build quality wise. It feels cheap and I would not recommend it. Whether you get it from T-Mo, VZW, or AT&T. There are much better BBs on the market to be had for not much more. Its only redeeming unique feature is the trackpad and soon enough every BB w/ a keyboard will have it.

  • AceBoogz

    BB needs to step up their game….FAST! I have a droid and the only thing missing from the droid that BB can’t do is push email (yahoo, msn etc) and push Facebook. Look…Im not hating. Its a business phone so I can understand the lack of a great UI. However its almost 2010 and BB still looks the same. RIM has until the end of 2010 to get their act together or they’re going to eventually go down the drain….. from a consumer standpoint that is. IMHO.

  • Ru3LaS1

    Best Buy has this phone for $49.99

blog comments powered by Disqus