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Review of the New Blackberry Pearl Cell Phone

RIM unleashed the email device called the Blackberry several years ago, taking the business world by storm as email on the go became as standard and easy to use as a cell phone. Special software interfaced with your company network email account, forwarding messages to your portable Blackberry, allowing business users to send and receive email and view attachments such as Word document and Excel spreadsheets. But now RIM is moving beyond the world of the corporate email warriors and their Blackberries, with the new Blackberry Pearl.

blackberry pearl
The Blackberry Pearl is aimed at more leisure and fun users, with a smaller form factor, a media player, and a 1.3MP digital camera, which all Blackberrys prior lacked. The Pearl measures about 4.2 inches by 2 inches, and it is almost as slim as the Motorola SLVR (as in "sliver"!), weighing 3.2oz. To shrink the size down, RIM has given up the full keyboard-thumbpad featured on the Blackberry and replaced it with a 5 key wide by 4 key tall keypad, with most letters sharing a key with their neighbor (ie, QW is on the "2" button, ER is on the "3" button, etc.). If you are already an accomplished thumb typer, this new layout may throw you off. But it works suprisingly well due to the intelligent software (SureType) that anticipates the words you are typing, inserting the correct letter on the button you push. For example, if you are typing "example", you would start by pressing the "ER" key, then the "ZX" key, then the "AS" key, for E X A... The possible combinations from those letters are EZA, EZS, EXA, EXS, RZA, RZS, RXA, or RXS - scan them yourself quick and you will see that only EXA.. leads to a real word, and if you hit "M" next the Pearl knows you are typing EXAM or EXAMPLE.

BlackBerry Pearl Features - Pictures

While we found the SureType software to be very accurate, this tiny keyboard doesn't compare to a standard Blackberry or a competing Palm Treo - if you plan on doing a LOT of email typing, consider the full size Blackberry, since that is what it was designed for. Another change made to the traditional Blackberry design was removing the thumb scroll wheel from the upper right side and replacing it with a white trackball just above the keypad -- this is the "Pearl". It is used for scrolling through menus and such. Phone functions are generally comparable to a Blackberry. Battery life was very good - no need to charge everyday with the Pearl. Like all Blackberries, the Pearl can also handle instant messaging, text messaging, web browsing, organizer duties, and more. BlackBerry maps also work on the Pearl, letting you browse and zoom in on maps of particular areas - a nice feature that comes in handy the more and more you use it and get used to working with it. The Blackberry Pearl is currently only available from T-Mobile, priced at $199 with a two year contract. The Pearl has Quad-Band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks, allowing international roaming between North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

BlackBerry Pearl Specs

  • Dimensions: 4.2" (H) x 1.97" (W) x 0.57" (D)
  • Weight: 3.1 oz.
  • Keyboard: SureType QWERTY keyboard with SureType software
  • Integrated speakerphone, Bluetooth hands free headset support
  • Display: 240 x 260 pixel color display, 65K colors
  • Battery: 900 mAhr Li-Ion Polymer, Up to 15 days standby time and 3.5 hrs talk time
  • Frequency: Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE
  • Camera: 1.3MP
  • Bluetooth Capable (v1.1)

Where to Buy the Blackberry Pearl Cell Phone

The BLackberry Pearl will be available through T-Mobile outlets in the US and by Rogers Wireless in Canada in early August or September. Like most new phones, it will cost from $199 to $249 when purchased with a new one or two year phone contract.

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