Research in Motion is going through a rough patch and has lost significant market share to Apple and Android-based smartphones. Gone are the days when its BlackBerry devices were the household name for smartphones for businesspeople.

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is an attempt at a reversal of fortunes with a smartphone that does not sport the traditional physical keyboard but is touchscreen only, targeting budget-conscious users.

With 512 MB internal memory expandable through a Micro SD slot, a 5-megapixel camera, assisted GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA (fast 3G), the Curve 9380 does provide decent, entry-level specifications for a smartphone intended for mainstream consumers. The operating system is OS version 7 and comes pre-loaded with a lot of apps.

This model is comfortable to hold, not too large with its 3.2 inch display, and fits into small pockets. The screen is good though small (indeed smaller than iPhone or most Android-based smartphones out there) and makes typing long messages (which is easier with a physical keyboard) a bit of a problem. Scrolling is also a problem without the use of the scroller button as in nine times out of 10 we opened an app rather scrolled up and down. We did not like the side buttons which are stiff.

Phoning and sending/receiving SMS is ok.

Our verdict? This is an uninteresting phone which dumps one of the most important features – the physical keyboard – which BlackBerry users love and may keep them faithful to this brand. There are better, and less expensive smartphones, in the market. A miss from RIM, for sure.

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 was made available to i-Tech for review by Vodafone Malta.