BlackBerry 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 wellThe 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.

I must say I am very dissapointed in both the vendor & Amazon for not policing these people. This product was selected as being described in very good condition, it certainly is not, having two chunks missing out of the casing & with camera button split almost coming off and screen touching background in centre. yes it appears to work ok, but is a sad piece of equipment to pul out of ones pocket! I paid a high price for a second hand item, expecting a merchantable product. No address & zero response from both Amazon & seller. A sad experience & bitter lesson

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.

I got lucky with the company who sold me this phone...It was new and the kindly boxed, it in an almost spotless original packaging !The phone itself was well known to me..so no surprises there neither bad nor god...I've had a good buy for a more than a reasonable 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!

This phone is really bad. The only good thing about it, is the BBM (blackberry messenger) but that can be really annoying at times, and I stopped using it after 2 weeks.The phone itself is pretty much pointless. If you are expecting a phone on which you can play games on, etc - don't get this. All you can do is call/text and listen to music (some formats don't even load).The appstore is a terrible rip off from the Apple App Store - on the blackberry version you can find rip off's from games like fruit ninja, which can just simply crash the phone or freeze it - they lag too.The settings on this phone are just terrible - There is so many pointless stuff - I had a problem once where the Internet Browser just didn't want to load, it turned out the phone turned the setting from Wifi to some other pointless setting. I don't even know how to change it, and it doesn't say that. The only thing that shows up is "The internet couldn't load, blablabla." Unless you don't go looking for 5 hours into the settings, you won't find out the problem.This phone is pretty much terrible. Don't get it.

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.

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.