The BlackBerry Bold running a music app.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images News/Getty Images
The BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve are both BlackBerry smartphone lines with full QWERTY keyboards and trackpad-based navigation. They are superficially similar, but there are subtle differences between the phones with each having its own advantages. In general, the phones in the BlackBerry Bold line feature higher resolution screens and cameras, while there are more wireless connectivity options available in the BlackBerry Curve line. As of March, 2011, the latest model BlackBerry Curve phones are the 9300 and the 9330. The latest BlackBerry Bold phones are the 9000, 9650, 9700 and 9780.
Physical
The BlackBerry Curve is 4.29 inches tall by 2.36 inches wide by .55 inches deep. The Bold 9000 is slightly larger at 4.48 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by .59 inches deep. The Bold 9650 is 4.43 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by .56 inches deep. The Bold 9700 and 9780 are the same size as the BlackBerry Curve. The BlackBerry Curve is the lighter than the Bold at about 3.7 ounces compared to the Bold's 4.8 ounces for the 9000 and 9650 and 4.3 ounces for the 9700 and 9780.
Screen
The Bold 9000 features a 480-by-320 pixel LCD display which is slightly lower resolution than the Bold 9650, 9700 and 9780's 480-by-360 pixel LCD display. The BlackBerry Curve's screen is much lower resolution at only 320-by-240 pixels.
Camera
The Curve 9300 and 9330 feature a 2.0 megapixel camera without digital zoom or flash features. The Bold 9000 also features a 2.0 megapixel camera. The Bold 9650 and 9700 each have a 3.2 megapixel camera. The Bold 9780 has a 5.0 megapixel camera. All of the Bold smartphones have an LCD flash feature. BlackBerry Curve and Bold smartphones can capture still video or recorded video.
Memory
The BlackBerry Bold and Curve lines both support expandable memory via microSD cards to augment the internal memory. The Curve 9300 features 256 megabytes of internal memory and the 9330 features 512 megabytes of internal memory. The Bold 9000 has 1 gigabyte of internal memory. The Bold 9650, 9700 and 9780 each come with a 2 gigabyte microSD memory card.
Wireless
Both smartphone lines support Bluetooth technology, but only the BlackBerry Bold line supports stereo Bluetooth technology. The Curve 9300 and 9330 and all of the BlackBerry Bold smartphones support Wi-Fi but only the Curve 9300 supports 802.11n high-speed Wi-Fi connections.
Battery Life
The BlackBerry Curve 9300 is rated to a standby time of 19 days while the 9330 is rated to 10.5 days. The Bold 9000 is rated to 13.5 days while the 9650 is rated to 13 days. The Bold 9700 and 9780 are rated to 21 days and 22 days respectively.
Photo Credits
- Ethan Miller/Getty Images News/Getty Images
