There´s no point denying it – the 8520 has been shorn of several features in order to make it as cheap as it is, but we really don´t think that´s a big deal. There´s no 3G, for example, but it is Wi-Fi-enabled (perfect for web browsing and Wi-Fi calls). The camera´s only 2MP, but the rest of the media options are fantastic. The music player is a little gem, there´s a bunch of fun games and other apps onboard (with countless others available for downloading at your whim too). The 8520 is the first Blackberry, in fact, that features dedicated media keys. You´ll find these useful little things along the top of the handset for easy-as-you-like control over all your music and videos. And of course, being a Blackberry, you´ve got a highly responsive and very robust feeling QWERTY keyboard for the most comfortable, accurate typing of any phone currently available.

So while you´re also going to have to choose between black and frost when it comes to buying this thing, the biggest shock for your eyes is going to be just how cheap it is. It does everything it´s supposed to and does them very well indeed. But without features that are in many ways superfluous, it manages to offer all this for a almost crazily low price.

 

But with all this talk of cheapness, you should be aware that the 8520 is far from low quality. One example that RIM haven´t just cobbled this thing together with no regard for it is the fact it´s the first phone they´ve included their new touch sensitive optical trackpad (replacing the scrolling ball made famous by earlier models). This impressive piece of kit works just like a tiny version of a laptop trackpad, making all your navigation and scrolling intuitive and quick. You can play around with the sensitivity of it view the options pages to, meaning that no matter how nimble or clumsy your thumb, you´ll soon be fling through all the phone has to offer.

 

 

 

Milk? Cheap. Bread? Cheap. Penny sweets? Cheap (but not as cheap as they used to be). But smartphones, and Blackberries especially, are not something that we´ve ever had the pleasure of calling cheap before, but it´s possible now and something you´re going to be hearing a whole lot more now the 8520 is out. This is very much a streamlined, almost no-frills Blackberry, but that in no way should make you think it´s poor quality. of a few high-end features, but what´s left is still absolutely fantastic. There´s no better best choice out there if you´re typing all day thanks to the famous RIM QWERTY keyboard. So don´t worry yourselves about what this phone doesn´t have – like any decent bargain, you should be thankful for what it does give you.