BlackBerry Pearl 8100
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 26, 2006 by Eric Lin
Our In Depth review of the sleek BlackBerry Pearl consumer messaging phone. NEW: video review added. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
No picture msg w/o data pack
Love the phone, just got annoyed with t-mobile. Seems picture messaging is disabled on the Pearl unless you purchase the $19.99/mo data pack for the it. You can't send picture messages with a normal message option like 1000 for 9.99.
My roommate has the Pearl with Cingular. He is able to send picture message without any data pack.
Boo t-mobile.
Not happy, at this point
I bought my phone 3 weeks ago, and am still struggling with learning all the in's and outs. My pro's consist of the size, style and weight. My con's are that there is limited information on the use of the phone. I have yet to find anyone who knows how to get the Internet access to appear on the screen so that I can access the internet, including Cingular staff. I have no idea what the full functions are, of the phone. I actually switch back to my old V400, until I get everything figured out.
A Gem or Flem?
The Pearl is a very tantalizing device. I almost despise blackberry for its limited functionality, unability to work well with Microsteal's office, and the dull non media oriented base of the phones. I currently own a cingular 3125, treo 650, 8125, z525a, treo 600 and a 7100.
The PEARL is a real gem! for sure. It jumps almost all the hurdles I have set up for against the blackberry software. The only thing I can really say is I really dislike the no A2DP that is the biggist knock against it. I don't even mind the mediocre and limited blackberry software. The phone is amazingly small, light, and has an appeal that almost anyone seems to enjoy because its so small yet is suppose to be a blackberry.
WoW!!!!!!
OMG! This phone freakin sucks!!!!! Don't get me wrong but I'm on my 3rd BB Pearl. I have had hands on experience with this phone mainly because i work for T-Mobile. We got major returns on the Pearl. Me and my customers wound up having the same problems but several of the returns were because the pearl was too much phone for them. People think that because this is the first BB with a camera and MP3 player that its gods gift to the world. Its not! Now because its a smart phone you must power cycle it at least once a day but I've had to do it over 7 times a day!
I have encountered audio problems in my first 2 BB Pearls(phone would not ring, couldn't hear caller tunes or the ordinary ring when i called someone, the sound would go out compleatly(even when listing to my MP3 Player, it doesn't charge when your talking on a low battery it just keeps it from cutting off and it gets really hot, the lock where your SIM card goes is very fragile i have broke mine and several customers before but its easy to fix, EDGE is supposed to be like DSL/Cable speed but it isn't on this phone. Its slow as a turtle, and the worst part is that it supports T zones but it doesn't support T zones games. You must go to bplay and buy one of those $7.00 games.
The best thing is that T-Mobile has 24 hour customer care and its obvious that since we won 4 J.D. Power and Associate awards back to back we have the best customer service because you will literally sit on the phone trouble shooting your phone for a max of 2 hours. Trust me i had to and i work for T-Mobile. Also if you have a BB Pearl please upgrade your software. It'll keep it going.
Phones I've Had: (Not That Many)
Nokia 6010,6030
Motorola V300
Samsung T809
Samsung T509
BB Pearl (3)
PROS:
MP3 Player
Camera
Style
Fully Customizable
CONS:
Ringers not that loud! Hint:(make your own. its easy)
Camera sucks
Cant record or play videos Hint: (videos get sent to your album and you can view them there)
Constant Malfunctions
EDGE Sucks!
Good but not Great
I owned the pearl but the back of the phone is now broken and I just recently purchased it. I also recieved a 3125 from my work for free I enjoy that phone much more.
D for DEFECTIVE
I love this phone. It's small, it's attractive, and I am a long time Blackberry user so the new features on this phone (camera and MP3 player is a PLUS)!
Unfortunately, I've had this phone for ONLY 3 weeks and had 2 already. The first Pearl I got was defective. The alarm and the ringtones were soft even though I put it on the HIGHEST volume. It got to the point where I couldn't hear my alarm or my phone ringing. And one day the software crashed on my phone out of nowhere. I had to exchange it for another Pearl and my 2nd Pearl is defecctive as well. The buttons won't work. When someone calls me it won't even show that I'm getting a phone call and my internet wouldn't go on any websites. I was like "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PHONE, IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 WEEKS AND I HAVE PROBLEMS AFTER PROBLEMS WITH IT?!!!"
So, I'm on my way to go to T-Mobile to exchange this phone again and I have no idea what phone to get. I might as well just stick with my Blackberry 8700, it doesn't have a camera or MP3 player but at least it didn't give me any problems.
One last note, the MP3 player SUCKS on the Blackberry Pearl.
Love it...
This device is the best converged device to date and I have had them all. I switched from Verizon to T-Mo just for this phone. (And a much more reasonable rate plan especially on the data side.)
I like everything about this device so far. It's size is great. It's not for fat hands and fingers but many electronics are not. Sorry but if you have fat fingers, get one of the larger berries. I'm a stocky, tall guy and I drive a truck. I can drive in a car, but it's not as comfortable. I have big hands but not fat fingers to the keyboard, though small, is very usable for me.
Batter life if good for a small, multimedia device. The camera is the best 1.3mp I've ever seen. The music and video player are great and the is sharp, bright and vivid.
I have always wanted a fully functional converged device in a small, professional looking form factor. RIM has finally filled that need with the Pearl.
You could pick some things to death if you like but for me, I have no cons. It does what I need it to do and it does it very well.
With a camera, memory card,excellent scroll wheel and multimedia functions, RIM has finally given us a fun as well as functional berry for a change.
A Great Phone for Small Hands
The title says it all. The Blackberry Pearl is a great phone but its size is an issue with those of us with large hands and fat fingers. The keys are on the small side so it is very easy to make mistakes by hitting the wrong key.
I had no problems with the speakerphone and I loved the zoom feature on the camera. The web browser using EDGE is pretty fast too.
Pros:
looks fantastic
size - much smaller then any previous BB
EDGE
Screen is awesome - great color and clarity
MP3
Memory card slot
Cons:
battery life was somewhat short (12-15 hours) and kept turning off the radio so I could not surf the web even tho the battery showed almost a full charge - defective maybe?
size of phone - afraid of dropping it felt so small in my hands and slippery if hands are wet i.e. rain or sweat
size of keys - too many typing errors
reception was not as good as my SK2 for data or cellular
sure type was a PIA would rather have a full keyboard
All in all would I own this phone? If the physical size of the phone and keypad were a tad bigger and the battery life and reception better yes I would keep it.
If you have small hands enjoy a great phone. As for me the search continues for a new phone.
