newBBie.com
Day 1 With My BlackBerry Curve 8330
To make the transition from my previous blog, My BlackBerry Pearl 8130, to this one, newBBie.com, I needed to start learning the Curve. As much as I have loved my Pearl, I couldn’t help being tempted by the Curve. Not for the full QWERTY keyboard, as I am totally OK with the Pearl’s smaller keyboard. But the larger display is significant plus.
Taking a step on faith that this site eventually will bring in enough advertising revenue to cover my expenses, I took the plunge into owning multiple BlackBerrys.
Getting my Curve up-and-running required a few more steps than my Pearl. Little did I know that I’d need help from Winston Churchill before it was all over.
Day 0
Before Day 1 could even begin, there was an obstacle. I went to my local Verizon Wireless retail store and asked to add a Curve to my plan. “Wonderful!” they said. “Just a minor problem…the Curve is so popular, we can’t keep them in stock. We’re going to have to ship you one. It’ll take a couple of days.” So, I guess that actually made it Day -2 or whatever.
Day 1
As promised, FedEx delivered my new Curve a couple of days later. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I ripped into the package. I guess I’m no longer a “real” man because I decided to read all the inserts and instructions before I started playing with the phone itself. OK, no surprises (yet). Need to fully charge the battery before using it. That could take a lot of hours–yeah, I had forgotten about that.
Day 1, Late PM
Battery is now topped off. Time to activate the phone. Ummm, I think I remember how to do that. Let’s dial *228. Expecting to hear “Welcome to Verizon Wireless Over-the-Air Programming…”, instead I hear a message from AllTel. What the…?!
I really took pause to reflect on what I thought I knew about how cell phones and wireless carriers worked. How could my phone possibly be calling AllTel? I remembered that life is full of mysteries and decided not to waste any time on this particular mystery.
I hung up and tried again. “Welcome to Verizon Wireless…” Now, that’s better. I pressed whatever digit it was to activate the phone, and waited. And waited. And waited. Then…“Activation failed.” No explanation. No suggestions. Just “Activation Failed.”
Day 1, Later PM
I soooooo wanted to be excited over my new Curve. I was already anticipating writing an article on this “first day with my Curve” thing. What kind of story was this going to turn out to be?
Having worked with electronics and computers for (too) many years, I’ve lived out countless similar stories. Never say die, or as Winston Churchill once said, “If you’re going through Hell, keep going.” I have to fall back on that quote way too often in my life. But it’s wonderful advice.
So, I dialed *288 one more time. Aha! Success! Sweeeet!
Day 1, Really Late PM
I spent a while poking around in the phone. Loaded my new Curve’s phone number in my Pearl. Called back and forth to myself using both of my BlackBerrys. So far, so good. Not that much different from the Pearl. Keyboard is quite different, including the tactile feedback.
Hey, wait a minute! The BlackBerry Browser icon is missing. Many readers have asked me about that problem. It never happened on my Pearl–or had I overlooked its absence, and it resolved itself before I noticed? (Remember, we newBBies do make mistakes.)
Thinking I knew the solution to that “bug,” I did Options > Advanced Options > Host Routing Table > (press Menu key) > Register Now.
It’s been a long day. Either waiting or dealing with problems. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Let’s put the Curve, and myself, to sleep for the night. Power down.
Day 1, +1
Sun’s up. Power up. The BlackBerry Browser icon was there on the Home Screen! Along with a Facebook icon that I didn’t remember seeing there before. OK, no big problem with that. Must be a Verizon thing. I had a new unread message–my BlackBerry was now registered on the BlackBerry network. Right–from last night’s HRT/Register Now.
Let’s try the browser. Opened it. Waited. Failed. Failed to contact server or something like that. Time to panic yet? “If you’re going through Hell, …” Right. Right!
Let’s try the browser, ummmmm, AGAIN! Waited…worked! Ooooo…really like that larger screen. Worth the wait.
Epilogue
To be honest, getting newBBie.com up-and-running has been a ton of work. So, I haven’t had time to play much with my new Curve. So, I’ll end here and use my next experiences for new articles.
I’m definitely excited about having Curve owners join what was formerly a mostly Pearl community frequenting this site. I hope you’ll excuse that my older articles (unless I find time to revise them) are necessarily slanted toward the Pearl 8130. I’ll be working at writing articles that do better at covering multiple models.
6 comments on this post
Kelly,
Don’t worry about the missing emails… at this point, I figured out how to solve most of the problems I was having for the last 2 weeks. At this point, I know more than the tech help at my Verizon store!
I’m very interested in the Curve, but am thinking I will likely stick with my Pearl for a while and see what the Bold is like when it comes out, too. I originally really wanted an iphone, but have to stick with Verizon, so maybe the Bold would be closer… (?) I am tempted by the memory and full keyboard, bigger screen in the Curve. Realized that I have to make the decision by tomorrow. I did originally like the size on the Pearl, as I’m carrying around so much stuff all the time on biz trips (ipod, speakers, cellphone, bluetooth headset, computer, XM radio, camera…) which is why I broke down and got VZ Navigator, too, so I would not have to worry about yet another electronic device.
I will definitely be checking back to your blog to see what you’ve discovered. Thanks for having one of the clearest blackberry help sites. It will be great when it’s very comprehensive on all the models. Glad you decided to make it more thorough.
I’m happy to report that my phone log is staying on the phone along with a couple hundred emails! I’ll have to watch what programs I add on the phone… Maybe RIM will update the phone OS again at some point. Maybe this community can lobby them, too!
You may also want to start an email newsletter for the blog, to point out new posts. A blog that I read often and think works really well (for you to look at for it’s structure & functions) is: http://chocolateand zucchini.com (totally different subject as it’s a food blog, but it’s been around for a while as the blogger and her boyfriend were techies so it’s been in the forefront)… check it out…
Have you dorked around with BBlight install to your 8330 yet?
I did, it;s quite buggy as yet. Seems to ONLY work with plug-in option.
Holster, activity, etc., nothing seems to work, and wouldn’t you know it, I want it to stay on out of the holster.
Tried re-boot, bat. pull…nothing…hmmm…
Any thoughts?
They,
Haven’t had time to play with BBLight on my Curve yet. Sorry.
BBLight is an OLD program that no one is keeping up-to-date. It’s VERY possible that it’s not fully compatible with the Curve.
Kelly
The 8310 Curve was my intro to the world of the BlackBerry. I considered the Pearl, but the keyboard was a killer for me. (I didn’t even look at the iphone/instinct silliness. Yeesh.) I had it easy, as the service provider set mine up for me. I fought against being dragged onto the smartphone bandwagon. I have to say, the thing has been a lifesaver, and I’m glad I made the plunge. I’m on the road, and often working in situations where a laptop is too cumbersome to carry, but where I need quick access to the ‘net. I’d have killed for this thing a few years back.
I hope you get good service out your Curve. Mine’s become my new best friend on the road. Best wishes with the new blog
Hi Kelly ~
Just have my Curve 8330 for about 25 days. I have a few more days to decide if I’m going to keep it or wait for the Bold or Storm. I’ve had the VZW XV 6700 Pocket PC for 2 years and love the touchscreen. With the slide out keyboard the phone is very bulky, so I decided on the Curve. Miss the touchscreen. Wish I loved the Curve.
Could you tell me the advantages of the Bold over the Curve. Also the disadvantages. What would you do?
Thanks for this site. You’ve made it so basic that even I can understand :-).
Elaine,
Thanks for the compliments on the site. I do work hard to write so everyone can understand.
If you have a chance to get the Bold, get it. I don’t know if you can return the Curve, then just WAIT for another phone. Myself, I don’t have any reliable date that I know I can get a Bold. I’d take a Bold over any other BlackBerry–solely based on the features that it should have when one is offered here. I will get one, and then I’ll be able to compare Pearl, Curve, and Bold more fairly.
At work I have a touchscreen phone, and honestly, I don’t like it anywhere as much as my Pearl or Curve. I can’t read it in daylight and it just doesn’t give me any advantage. But not all touchscreen phones are the same.
Kelly