Blackberry in teenage mode

The BlackBerry Curve 8520

This new model retails for only Bt13,900 compared with more than Bt20,000 for other BlackBerry models.

The 8520 is definitely for teenagers who enjoy checking social networks and sending messages on the go. It has dedicated media keys on top and a standard stereo jack for plugging-in earphones. The phone plays very good quality music, but the tiny screen with 320 x 240 pixels may not be good enough for watching video.

Like other BlackBerry smart phones, the 8520 supports BlackBerry push mail and you can link it to 10 e-mail accounts. E-mail messages will then be delivered directly to the phone.

It also supports BlackBerry Messenger, for chatting with friends who also use BlackBerry phones.

The social-networking applications, which are available for download from the Research in Motion (RIM) website, make the 8520 appealing. The applications include clients for connecting to Flickr, MySpace and Facebook.

I tried the Facebook client on AIS network and I could use the 8520 to read my homepage and could type messages on the page easily thanks to the qwerty keyboard. Although the keyboard is tiny, it was not hard to type with my thumbs.

The Windows Live Messenger application is also easy to use on the 8520.

I could not find a client for Twitter, but managed to connect to the AIS WAP homepage and could use Twitter from a link provided there.

Web pages and social-networking applications on the 8520 are easy to navigate with the phone's trackpad navigation. It works like the trackpad  on a notebook computer, allowing you to scroll through menus, icons and pages by gliding your finger over it. However, it is very sensitive and you may need some time to get used to controlling it.

The 8520's user interface is intuitive. I managed to test the phone without having to consult the manual. The phone pops up text to announce the name of an application when you move the cursor over it.

Unfortunately the 8520 does not have 3G, but you can use Wi-Fi.

It also comes with 2-megapixel camera. The quality is just so-so.

If you buy a Blackberry 8520, you should subscribe to an unlimited data service, such as AIS BlackBerry Unlimited for Bt650 a month, because the smart phone needs to be online all the time.

Specifications: Blackberry Curve 8520

Wireless networks: quad-band, 850/900/1800/1900MHz Edge

Camera: 2 megapixels

Memory: 256 Flash memory

Display: 2.46-inch transmisive TFT MCD with 320 x 240 pixels in more than 65,000 colours

Video format support: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV3

Audio format support: AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 PRO/WMA 10

Picture format support: bmp, jpg, png, tif, wbmp

Connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g enabled

Battery: 1150 mA-Hr lithium cell

Dimensions: 109 x 60 x 13.9mm

Weight: 106 grams