New BlackBerry Makes Wi-Fi Calls
T-Mobile’s new BlackBerry Curve 8320 could be the hit handheld of the fall season.
On the heels of AT&T’s uninspiring BlackBerry 8820 comes what may be the hit BlackBerry— even the hit handheld—of the fall season. Today, T-Mobile announced the BlackBerry Curve 8320, which combines the popular BlackBerry Curve cameraphone with the ability to make calls over 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi networks.
The 8320’s Wi-Fi calling feature is part of T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home system, which charges an extra $10 per month for unlimited calling from Wi-Fi areas. While you can use public unencrypted networks, call quality is much better at home using a specially-tweaked router that T-Mobile sells for $49 (with a $50 rebate, so it’s essentially free).
When I reviewed Hotspot@Home, I experienced trouble with handing off calls between Wi-Fi and cellular networks—but that was months ago, so I’m looking forward to seeing if handoffs have improved. The Wi-Fi can also be used for e-mail and Web browsing, but it doesn’t improve BlackBerry Internet performance much, as its system is already optimized to work well over slow networks. Otherwise, the 8320 is a Curve, which is a good thing.
When I looked at the Curve for AT&T (review coming soon), I found it to be one of the best smartphones available—combining terrific phone performance, excellent e-mail, surprisingly good MP3 and video options (including support for real music player headphones) and a 2-megapixel camera. AOL, Windows Live and Yahoo! IM clients come built-in on T-Mobile’s version of the phone. Plus, it features a 3.5mm headset jack, so you can use real music player headphones. We’ll have a review of the new T-Mobile Curve next week. The T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8320 will cost $249 with a two-year contract, and it goes on sale today. Choose from a new golden color or a more traditional silver hue.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2186717,00.asp
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