Updated November 30th, 2006

The BlackBerry 8100, better known as the Pearl, truly is a thing of beauty. Sleek, black and compact, it’s one powerful mobile communications device that weighs just 3.16 ounces and will fit comfortably in a shirt pocket.

But while the Pearl is an amazing feat of miniaturization – perhaps too much so for users with large hands – Research in Motion’s Blackberry operating system is just now playing catch-up with the smartphone marketplace it helped define. And while the Pearl’s long-overdue feature face-lift is welcome, it still falls a bit short of competitors when it comes to multimedia capabilities.

Features. Instead of a trackwheel, the 8100 sports a translucent trackball for navigation – hence, the name, “Pearl.” It’s the first BlackBerry with a built-in camera: a somewhat paltry 1.3 megapixels with built-in flash and zoom, and the ability to send pictures via e-mail, MMS (multimedia messaging service) or BlackBerry Messenger.

The Pearl is also the first Blackberry to feature voice-activated dialing. It’s the first that can record and send voice notes and supports media playback for music and videos. In addition, downloading and e-mailing maps is now possible with the Pearl, complete with step-by-step driving instructions to help you find your way.

As a mobile phone, the Pearl features polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI ringtones, speakerphone, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, call forwarding and Bluetooth support for hands-free use with headsets and car kits. It has a bright 2.25-inch TFT display that supports 65,000 colors at a 240 x 260-pixel resolution. The screen incorporates light-sensing technology that automatically adjusts screen and keyboard lighting for indoor, outdoor and dark environments.

The Pearl includes a micro SD card for storing pictures, ring tones, audio and video files, and other data. Accessing that micro SD card slot is less than convenient: you have to pull the battery out to get to the slot.

The QWERTY keyboard features RIM’s SureType technology, which manages to figure out most of your words correctly as you finish typing them and can also learn new words. You can set up a BlackBerry e-mail account, connect to browser-based e-mail (like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or AOL) or access corporate e-mail (such as Microsoft Outlook or IBM Lotus Notes) using the Pearl. And you can do text messaging (SMS) and instant messaging (AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger and Y! Messenger).

BlackBerry’s Desktop Manager software allows for synching of organizer data such as contacts, calendar entries, tasks and memos between your device and your computer. The software also allows you to back up and restore data, and transfer files between your device and your computer.

The Pearl comes with a pair of earbuds and travel charger to juice the battery. Connecting your device to your computer with the included USB cable will also charge the battery.

Performance. The first BlackBerry Pearl RIM sent to The Geek Beat repeatedly froze whenever we tried to browse the Web or set up Internet e-mail. We’re not sure what caused the malfunction, but a replacement unit worked just fine.

The BlackBerry Pearl provides quad-band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks. Running on T-Mobile’s data network in Los Angeles, voice quality on the Pearl sounded clear both on the device itself and when tested with a Motorola H500 Bluetooth hands-free headset. The device does not offer integrated Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile loses its exclusivity with the Pearl starting Dec. 1, when Cingular Wireless begins offering the device. Though similar to the T-Mobile model, the Cingular version will offer Push to Talk service (which lets users see if family, friends or coworkers are available to talk before calling, and efficiently facilitates individual or group calls) and GPS navigation.

Texting of any kind is challenging on the 4.2 x 2 x 0.57-inch device’s tiny keyboard. Whether using the SureType text entry mode or switching to the familiar multi-tap mode, typing just isn’t as fast as with a single-letter-per-key configuration. Text messaging is reasonably fast; however, sending pictures and browsing can feel like you’re back on a dial-up connection. An attachment viewer opens many popular file formats, including PDF, JPEG, GIF, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Corel WordPerfect.

The Pearl’s camera offers three zoom levels and flash takes pictures in three sizes (1280 x 1024, 640 x 480 and 320 x 240) and at three quality levels (normal, fine and superfine), although in our tests even the superfine setting resulted in mediocre picture quality. A small mirror below the lens helps frame up self-portraits and you can adjust the white balance for different types of lighting. Photos can be saved to the phone or memory card or set as a caller ID image. They can be shared with others via e-mail, multimedia message or instant message. Unfortunately, the camera does not record video as many other mobile phones do.

The media player supports a variety of video formats, including AVI, MP4, MOV, and 3GP files. Video on the small screen looked fairly clean and bright. For music, the Pearl supports MP3, AAC, MIDI, WAV and other files. Audio comes out tinny, hollow and noisy. Button-based instead of on-screen controls for the media player would have been a nice touch.

The BlackBerry’s software could stand improvement by organizing functions and data into tabbed groups. Instead, the system presents a single, seemingly endless menu of options to scroll through.

The Competition. The BlackBerry Pearl faces spirited rivals, like the Palm Treo 700p, the Windows Mobile-based Verizon Motorola Q and the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. All of them are bulkier than the streamlined Pearl, but also feature larger, and therefore more usable, keyboards (especially the Sidekick.) As with previous Blackberry models, the Pearl excels when it comes to harnessing e-mail functions and integration into corporate e-mail systems. However, multimedia options are limited and the quality falls short of other media-enabled phones.

The Pearl comes with a fairly extensive suite of productivity tools compared to Windows Mobile devices. The device’s browser links you to some downloads — free and trial games; free ringtones and wallpapers; and apps, including Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, BlackBerry Messenger and a couple news aggregators. But for the vast majority downloadable add-ons, you have to go to a third-party vendor, Handango.com.

Getting to Handango’s sizeable library is not so simple. There is no clue in the Pearl’s interface that you can directly download applications nor is this mentioned in the Pearl’s manual (although there is a brief section on adding applications by synching with a PC). In fact, unlike the Sidekick, which offers a special download section and will bill your cell phone account automatically, the Pearl requires you use the built-in browser to download add-ons. You must also set up a separate account with Handango or go through the tedious process of entering your billing info with the Pearl’s tiny keys to make purchases.

In most other respects, the upgraded Blackberry OS has the edge over Windows Mobile, although we still give the nod to the Sidekick as the most intuitive of the smartphones currently on the market.

Geek-o-Meter: We give the Blackberry Pearl a 7 on the Geek-o-Meter. The smartphone’s elegance, slender form factor and improved functionality will likely appeal to a broader swath of business users than the youth-oriented T-Mobile Sidekick 3 and its great ease-of-use may win back some users tempted to the Dark Side by Windows Mobile. The lack of strong multimedia capabilities is an unfortunate shortcoming; however, we’re otherwise glad to see the BlackBerry catching up to other smartphones, feature-wise, and surpassing them in miniaturization.

The Specs

• Street Price: $199.99 with a two-year contract; $249.99 with a one-year contract

• Size (LxWxD): 4.2” x 2” x .57”/107 mm x 50 mm x 14.5 mm
• Weight (battery included):3.16 oz/89.5g
• Memory: 64 MB flash memory
• Expandable memory: MicroSD (amount of storage is determined by card capacity)
• Display: High resolution (240×260) portrait TFT color display. Supports over 65,000 colors
• Camera: Snap and send with a 1.3 MP camera with flash, self portrait mirror, zoom
• Keyboard: SureType QWERTY keyboard with SureType software

• Dedicated Keys: Send key, End/Power key, Mute key, Left programmable convenience key (Preprogrammed as VAD), Right programmable convenience key (Preprogrammed as Camera), Volume/Zoom key
• Navigation: Trackball, ESC key, Menu key
• Notification: Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator. Notification options are user configurable
• Ringtones: Polyphonic – MP3, MIDI
• Voice Input/Output: Integrated earpiece and microphone, hands-free headset, integrated speakerphone
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth v2.0; headset, hands-free and serial port profiles supported
• Headset: Stereo headset capable
• Battery Life: 15 days standby and 3.5 hours talk time
• Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks
• Media Player: Supported audio formats: MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eACC+.
• Supported video formats: MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.263
• Attachment Viewing: Yes
• Full HTML Web browsing: Yes

For More Information

• www.blackberrypearl.com

This entry was posted on Monday, November 6th, 2006 at 7:19 pm and is filed under HOME, TECH, CELL PHONES, TELEPHONY, GIFT GUIDE 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.