5. RIM Blackberry Curve 8520 and 16 GB SanDisk MicroSDHC Card

RIM Blackberry Curve 8520, Free at Wal-Mart

And 16 GB SanDisk MicroSDHC Card

If you’re a parent, and you want your student to communicate with you on a regular basis, you’d do well to buy him or her a smart phone. But smart phones are pricey. T-Mobile’s new Blackberry, the Curve 8520 is probably the cheapest new smart phone on the market. If you shop at Wal-Mart, this phone is free with a new two year T-Mobile wireless contract ($50 with a renewed contract). However, we’ll be frank: there are a few features lacking in the 8520, namely a decent camera, a speedy data connection, a top-notch Web browser, a powerful battery, and build-in GPS. But look on the bright side: you can get your child a smart phone that includes a camera, a data connection, a Web browser, and a decent battery (sorry, still no GPS), for free. The phone also includes a much-improved media player, a slick new navigation track-pad, and a slew of useful applications. As such, it is the ideal smart phone for a budget-conscious student.

When we talk about smart phones, it has become de rigueur to use the iPhone as the gold standard. If iPhone 3GS wins gold, then the Curve 8520 merits a bronze medal—it is definitely on the podium. We give a thumbs up to the new design features included on this Blackberry, namely the flat, square track-pad that replaces the rolling ball navigator on other Blackberrys. This tiny trackpad works well and seems more rugged than the former design. Combine this pad with the traditional Blackberry keyboard, and you have a functional, reliable interface (some people actually prefer this to a touch screen). While we’re on the theme of ruggedized features, the majority of the sides and back of this phone are wrapped in a tough rubber material—this includes the camera button and the scroll buttons, which are sensible nubs on the right-hand side, as well as the media player buttons on the top of the phone that are marked with the traditional arrows designating playback options.

Speaking of playback options—those control buttons for music and video playback are new on the Blackberry Curve, and we like them. It makes this device feel more like a media player since you can navigate your library of media files directly, rather than through software menus. This feature is what makes this Blackberry appropriate for a music and video guzzling college student, rather than for a staid executive. The phone comes with a 1 GB microSDHC card, but if you really want to make this phone compete with the iPhone, you’ve got to up the ante. A 16 GB microSDHC card would give this phone the same amount of storage as the iPhone 3GS. A capacity of 16 GB equates to 4,000 songs, according to microSDHC card maker SanDisk, or 88 hours of video.

The Blackberry App World store puts the platform in competition with Apple yet again—and all the most important student-oriented apps are available, including Facebook and Twitter-related tools. That means if you’re trying to get your kid’s attention, you can try all possible means of communication: voice mail, text, Facebook message, etc. When all of these various messages end up lumped together in the “messages” inbox, he or she will have no excuses.

• 16GB microSDHC Card
• • STAPLES
  • $99.99
• • Newegg.com
  • $44.99
• • MalcomWireless
  • $56.99
• • Cell Mem
  • $57.99
• • E-Electronics
  • $58.95