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More…The BlackBerry has long been synonymous with business. Known best as an addictive corporate tool for professionals who need always-on access to e-mail, Research In Motion's device has had something of a staid image compared with today's multimedia-savvy phones.But that's about to change. With the BlackBerry Pearl 8100--the first BlackBerry to offer a camera, an audio player, and a video player--the BlackBerry loosens up and sheds its business-only image. In my tests of a shipping version, I found the makeover mostly successful.
Research in Motion Blackberry Pearl
Pricing
$104.99 - $188.99 From 5 Vendors Get Best Prices »
- Spec Navigator
- Processor
- Display
- Operating System
- Camera
- Form Factor
- Battery
- Storage
- Dimensions
- Carrier
- Cellular Frequency Technology
- Features
- Audio
- Connectivity
- Included Hardware
- Included Software
- Media
- Messaging
- Sync
- User Interface
- Video
Display
| Diagonal Display Size | 2.25 inches |
| Display Resolution | 240 x 260 inches |
| Display Type | Color |
| Number of Displays | One |
PCWorld Rating, February 3, 2009
10 User Reviews Add your own »
$104.99 - $188.99
From 5 Vendors
Get Best Prices »
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Phones »
Pros
Stellar messaging capabilities
Adds a camera
Cons
Lacks a full QWERTY keyboard
Keys can be difficult to press
Bottom Line
This sleek cell phone adds a serviceable camera and multimedia features to BlackBerry's already terrific e-mail capabilities.
RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100
Blackberry Pearl Review, by Liane Cassavoy December 20, 2006
Available now from T-Mobile (for $350 with a two-year contract), the candy bar-style Pearl has a pleasingly shiny black-and-silver finish. It is noticeably lighter and more petite than its predecessors, and--unlike most BlackBerry devices--it looks remarkably like an ordinary cell phone. The small size comes with a trade-off, however: The Pearl's keys are tiny, and, thanks to the slick finish, slippery--two traits that make the keys difficult to push. The keys are so small that pressing them with a finger is nearly impossible; even dialing with a fingernail is difficult.
Like the BlackBerry 7100 series, the Pearl features a SureType keyboard--a modified QWERTY keyboard that saves space by combining two letters on most keys. Once you start to type, the SureType system suggests words based on the letters you've entered. When SureType guesses correctly, this system is a huge time-saver; when it doesn't (which happens often), typing is a time-consuming chore.
The SureType keyboard is not the Pearl's only departure from typical BlackBerry navigation tools. The jog wheel typically found on the right-hand side of the device has been replaced with a white trackball that sits on the face of the phone, directly below the display. The trackball turns an incandescent white when the phone is active, making it look like--you guessed it--a pearl. While the effect is aesthetically pleasing, it's not a functional improvement. I found the trackwheel harder to use than the jog wheel on other BlackBerrys; it also makes one-handed operation more difficult.
In my use of the phone, I found call quality a mixed bag. On some calls, voices sounded loud and clear, but on others I noticed an echo or muffled voices. Talk-time battery life was excellent, however: the Pearl last 8 hours, 34 minutes in our tests, earning a score of Very Good.
One of the big attractions of the Pearl is its multimedia capabilities. The Pearl's 1.3-megapixel camera is easy to access, though it lacks a dedicated shutter control (you press the trackball to capture shots). You use the 2.25-inch screen to frame photos, and roll the trackball to zoom in or out. While the controls make operating the 5X digital zoom easy, I also found them frustrating: Occasionally, I accidentally rolled the trackball instead of pressing it, causing me to zoom in and miss a moment I had hoped to capture. If you're shooting in dark environments, the built-in flash can help illuminate your scene.
Picture quality was about what you'd expect from a camera phone. Bright colors often looked washed out, and the snapshots sometimes lacked crispness. Unfortunately, the Pearl doesn't capture video; but it will play back video clips, which look fantastic, if small, on its 240-by-260 TFT display.
In addition to sporting a camera, the Pearl is also the first BlackBerry to include a music player. You can transfer AAC, MP3, and WAV files to the device via the included Desktop Manager software, which is easy to install and use. You can also store music files on a microSD Card (not included). While this is the first BlackBerry to support an expandable media card, the card slot's location behind the battery is as inconvenient as it gets. To add or remove the card, you need to first slide the back off of the phone and then remove the battery.
Like the camera, the media player lacks dedicated controls. Nonetheless, I found the Pearl easy to use for playing music. The player itself features a nice, clean interface. I found it a breeze to scroll through my music collection, as well as select tunes and pause them.
Die-hard BlackBerry fans will be glad to hear that the addition of all these consumer-friendly features hasn't lessened the device's prowess as a stellar messaging device. The Pearl supports the RIM push e-mail technology that has made the BlackBerry so popular, and adding a POP3 e-mail account is a snap. You enter your e-mail address and password, and within minutes your messages will be delivered to the device. It also supports AOL, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo instant messaging networks.
None of the new features on the Pearl are earth-shattering; most smart phones have offered music players and cameras for some time. And the phone has rough spots in audio quality and key design. Nonetheless, when you combine its well-executed features with RIM's messaging capabilities and the Pearl's sleek look, this device is a winner.
Liane Cassavoy
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
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89
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80
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82
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Phones
89
100
84
57
Performance
| Battery Life Average (hh:mm) | 8:34 |
| Battery Life Word Score | Very Good |
User Reviews
Average User Reviews for Research in Motion Blackberry Pearl
5 Reviews Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 5 reviews
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Reviewed by: xxbxkid17
Duration of ownership: 5 Months
Strengths: product was awesome.recieved it on time and phone was sexy.like new i will buy again thank you pricego. i love you guys
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Reviewed by: GypsyJon
Duration of ownership: 6 Months
Strengths: It is a good phone that you can check email on.
Weaknesses: Its PDA functions are poor. This is the first phone I have had since 1996 that does not know when you enter a different time zone. You have to "tell" it which time zone it is in. Further, when you change time zones, ALL YOUR APPOINTMENTS CHANGE by the same number of hours!! This is a terrible software weakness that I never was told about until I bought the thing.
Overall: Fair at best, but generally poor. Easiest way to enter calendar data is to use Google Calendar, sych it with Outlook on you computer then sych the Blackberry with Outlook. The Blackberry has been way way oversold. Can not wait until I am due for an upgrade and I will ditche my Pearl.
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Reviewed by: zemus00
Duration of ownership: 9 Months
Strengths: Easy to use, great sound quality
Weaknesses: Not much memory space without memory card
Overall: I loved this phone for about the first 6 months until it randomly started deleting my messages and call logs. It would even delete messages before I ever got them! After a good bit of digging it turns out my phone was just out of memory, but instead of telling me, it just started deleting things. A few times there were important numbers just in my log that were deleted, and it was extremely irriting. So BEWARE of the memory on this phone. If I get another Blackberry I will probably just buy a memory card right out to avoid all the trouble. Other than that, it's probably my favorite phone I've ever had. I suppose everything has its downsides!
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Reviewed by: etmargallo
Duration of ownership: 3 Weeks
Strengths: Has a sleek, compact design and not wide like other PDA/Smartphones. The screen colors look very crisp and clear. The built-in themes/interfaces are actually designed really nice. I like how you can easily add other apps into it, i.e. Gmail, Google Maps, and much more. Battery life seems to be very good as well. The desktop manager is straightforward and easy to use, just drag, drop and copy files. However, I did wish RIM would've made a program with their desktop software to easily manage your address book. Camera is pretty good, also has flash to assist in darker situations. Music player is cool too. You can also put in an extra Micro SD card for more storage.
Weaknesses: Trackball was weird at first, but got use to it. I like it now though. Haven't gotten scratches yet, but it does seem like it would be prone to getting them. Loudest ring volume doesn't seem loud enough. The settings for the alarm sucks, its too limited.
Overall: This phone is a really good buy. I did the contracting renewing of 2 years. I use to have a RAZR, and I will never buy a Motorola product again. I guess it's too early to tell, but the Blackberry Pearl seems to be built and designed very nicely to last long. It has all the cool basic features and it's especially excellent for messaging and checking email.
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Reviewed by: uskoala
Duration of ownership: 1 Month
Strengths: useability, smart and friendly, everything works
Weaknesses: Keyboard took a little time to master, but in a day or two it was great.
Overall: Used it up and down California a couple of trips and never out of contact. Now I know why they are called CrackBerrys... it's so much fun it is hard not to use it all the time. The porting of address book and calender was a snap. I have always hated this part of a new device and BlackBerry has it down to a click or two. Every one I meet wants to try it... and they all say "WOW" I really like this slick little device, 10 out of 10...
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: hirenghiya
Strengths: Good nice handy tiny little phone covering most of the features you expect in cell phone
Weaknesses: Not find yet
Overall: I have given my daughter a phone as a present as she was looking for a phone which young girls can use. The blackberry ruby seems to be a good phone for young girls and she is so happy to start using this cell phone
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Reviewed by: roberto1
Strengths: Stylish, small size
Weaknesses: Takes a while to get used to.
Overall: I like how this phone looks like but it is quite difficult to use. It is stylish and thin compared to the older Blackberry models. The qwerty phone keys are hard to use.
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Reviewed by: newhemidude
Strengths: great call reception, great applications, email on the go, good looks, micro SD slot, play movies, games, music all on the go!
Weaknesses: battery life could be better
Overall: I've had this phone for 4 months and I'm addicted to it at this point. I have a bunch of movies on it so I'm ready for any plane ride! It has great reception, works great with the bluetooth (Samsung WEP200) I have for it and I can download tons of applications for it. I also have email on the go and the voice dialing works decently. This phone has everything I need and some things I didn't know I needed. I also love the size of the phone. Perfect for your pocket.The only thing that could be better is the battery life. Depending on usage it can last 1 day to 3 days. Not horrible but also not great.I would definitely recommend this phone to anyone!
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Reviewed by: ash00moo
Strengths: great phone!!! no regrets!
Weaknesses: none!!!
Overall: I ordered this phone about two weeks ago and although there was a bit of confusion on what type of cell phone i needed such as the carrier, i received my cell phone. Everything was perfect and just the way I needed it. I will definetly be ordering more things from pricegrabber in the future.
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Reviewed by: chaujoshua
Strengths: Nice window with all the usefule application
Weaknesses: transfer and view picture is too slow
Overall: This product is very good and easy to use. The best feature of this phone is trackball. Camera is good. Also, you can put the microSD in and get more storage for store the picture and video. Overall, it is very good and I would to buy it!
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