Blackberry Curve 9360 in Merlot Review
By Blake Sanders on November 1st, 2011
First and foremost, the design of this phone is something to marvel at. Though it is still made of plastic, compared to the glass and aluminium models of the 9900s, it nevertheless has a sturdy, yet delicate feel to it. With the usual expected efficiency of Blackberry’s QWERTY keyboard, the handset presents a pleasant handheld experience – particularly when doing such tasks as typing or browsing the net.
Of course, the Curve handsets have always been known to boast a stylish design. The 9360 both embraces and adds to this, refining it slightly to make it even slicker and trimmer.
The phone uses Blackberry OS 7. This is a great benefit to all the new Curve models, as it offers some pretty significant features. The user interface is slightly graphically enhanced, with the higher resolution giving icons a sharper appearance, but it does not make any huge changes to the overall design.
With the new operating system comes the Social Feeds application, on the newest version. This is a great app for Blackberry users, giving the handsets a nice edge over other phones. It brings together all their social media accounts, allowing them to access, manage and control their social relationships in one easy usage.
Sadly the battery life is slightly reduced over the 9350 model, with 5 hours talk time over the 9350’s 5.5 hours. Not a significant difference but it could still matter to some, particularly as the battery life isn’t exactly extensive to begin with. The camera quality is OK and the phone is still not able to capture video in 720p. Its best characteristic is the LED flash, which is a long waited feature on the Blackberry handsets.
The phone also sadly lacks the touch screen capability of the newer models. This will be an issue to some more than others. It doesn’t exactly impede on the overall operation of the phone, but it will be missed by those who have come to expect it from their smart phones.
