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New year, new phone?

Posted on 3 Mar 2009 at 18:03

As we head into 2009, Paul Ockenden decides it's time to pick out a new smartphone from a stellar line-up.

There's another last-minute contender, albeit one that you wouldn't normally put into a line-up with devices such as the iPhone and Touch HD. I'm talking about the new BlackBerry Curve 8900, and I think that I may have found my perfect phone, for the next few months at least. It's an upgrade to the 8310 model I've been using to-date, but unlike the original Curves this one incorporates both GPS and Wi-Fi reception and has a stunning new high-resolution screen, which at 360 x 480 pixels beats not only the Bold but the iPhone itself. And its battery life is even better than the already good Bold. Inevitably, there are a couple of niggles: its data and power connectors are now micro USB, whereas most of my leads and chargers are the more common mini USB; the vibrate mode is feeble to the point of being useless; and it doesn't have 3G on board (although given the BlackBerry system that's far less important, and having only a single radio transceiver contributes to the great battery life). I certainly don't think it will be the phone for everyone, which is why in my full review I awarded it only Recommended, rather than putting it on the A List. But for me, I think it's pretty near perfect.

I've a sneaking suspicion, though, that I'll continue to carry the iPhone 3G too when travelling. The ability to quickly grab new games from the App Store is something I'll find hard to give up, but it isn't just that - there's just something about the iPhone that makes it hard to part with. I fear I'm turning into one of those iPhone fanboyz I've always so despised...

Dual or duel?

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I'd be investigating dual-band 802.11n wireless kit soon. My testing has now started and it's going well. Being a long-term, real-world evaluation it's still a bit early to start talking about results, but I do have some interim observations to offer. First off, one of the main suppliers of dual-band wireless kit to the consumer and SME markets has been reluctant to supply me with any kit to evaluate under real-world conditions, although I know the company hasn't been nearly so reticent when it comes to normal, quick reviews. Of course, there could be several innocent reasons for such behaviour, but I'd be lying if I denied that this reluctance to allow detailed testing has aroused slight suspicions about how the kit might perform alongside the professional gear that I have set up here. I have a solution to this, though - if the review kit doesn't turn up soon, I'm simply going to buy it in the retail channel.

My second observation is that although there are several devices on the market that claim (quite truly) to be dual-band, they're by no means all created equal. It's important to read the small print, because some of these routers and access points will work either at 2.4GHz or 5GHz, but not both at the same time - you'll need to switch the device between the bands, which sometimes even requires a reset.

I think that one of the main advantages of proper dual-band kit is that it enables laptops and similar devices to seek out the stronger signal at any physical location, so it's important that they're able to connect using either band. And indeed, for maximum throughput, some systems can even maintain two connections using both bands at the same time. With these either/or devices, you simply don't get this advantage. I'll report back any further findings over the next few months, so watch this space!