Description/Observation
The artifact features a black and silver front, with a keyboard, button, trackball navigation system, and a fake display. This is because the artifact is a display/dummy phone, which lacks functionality and is only used for display purposes. The device has the following dimensions: 4.29"/109mm x 2.36"/60 mm x 0.53"/13.5 mm, and weighs 110g.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900, developed by Research In Motion (RIM), later to be known as simply Blackberry, aimed to expand beyond corporate users to a broader consumer market. Positioned as a more compact, lightweight, and affordable alternative to the BlackBerry Bold, it retained key BlackBerry features while making design trade-offs for cost and portability (Leung, 2022).
Designed for professionals, students, and everyday users, the Curve 8900 integrated seamlessly into the BlackBerry ecosystem, offering productivity and messaging tools without the high-end price. RIM’s engineering and design teams balanced aesthetics with functionality, creating a sleek, metal-accented device with a 480x360 display and a full QWERTY keyboard. Unlike the Bold’s premium leather-textured back, the Curve 8900 prioritized convenience and accessibility (West & Mace, 2010).