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
"god" the 8100
I've had this phone for a few months now and today it has received my seal of approval. For a 2 year contract with ATT the cost is relatively low. The data side of the phone is good. The only downside is no media streaming. The voice side isn't as good as it should be. The reason it got my seal of approval is because I literally drowned my phone, completely submerged it in water. Took the battery out and dried out the internals. I'm writing this review from the drowned device. The only problem I'm having is the trackball button working intermittently. Need I say more?
Still an excellent phone
I have had the Pearl 8100 on T-Mobile for just over a month now, and I must say, this is hands down the best smartphone I have ever used.
Pros:
E-mail is a snap
Edge Web Browsing is still fast
Calendar
Smart-type actually learns as you use it
Text messaging is great
TONS of Applications for free from Blackberry's website
Great Reception
Cons:
Blackberry Maps is pretty featureless
Does freeze up sometimes
Slow startup times
Ringtones are not that loud
Does not do word documents
All in all, this is a solid smartphone, I have used:
-Motorola RAZR V3M
-Motorola Q
-Samsung Blackjack II
-Palm Centro
And the Pearl tops them all, hands down. If you are looking for a reliable, very functional phone, the Pearl is absolutely it.
Love It
I replaced my Z3 for the Pearl. Never thought i would leave motorola but i am really impressed .......!!!! Windows Live Messenger is also a plus... Lol !!!
why did they make this phone
my husband and i hate this piece of crap!. we bought the overpriced piece of garbage and i am on my second one and his just stopped working. it so wasnt worth it. it was too confusing, the trackball stopped working,and it just plain sucks
The best smartphone out there
the blackberry pearl 8100 is a very good phone and I will tell you why
Pros:
* its very small and pocket size so you can put anywhere litterly.
* the Internet is fast with edge.
* the email interface is great
* the texting on XT9 is very fast.
* the camera is very fast
Cons:
* the back cover is a little flimsy
* it can get scrathed easyily
* the phone can lag sometimes
Overall I would prefer this phone
If your fingers are big then get the curve
Contact me at xxahrimsxx@yahoo.com for any questions
Great Phone...When It Has Recption.
i bought my blackberry pearl last week,upgrading from a Treo 650, horrible mistake. it started off as a wonderfull phone. but then the trouble started. i drove up to a frends house and it hardly had recpition at all, whell my frend with a RAZR V3xx had almost perfect recpition the whole way. that is the olny issue with this phone. i am taking it back and exching it for a palm Centro.
BlackBerry Pearl
I have had two of these. The first one was great.. until day two. I noticed that the space and enter buttons stuck and made an annoying squeaking noise like they were getting stuck on something. I sent that phone back because I was told that this was not normal and it was only a defect in that specific phone. I went back to my old phone for a month, and tried the Pearl again. After only two days of having it, it started to have the same problem with the keys, except this time, three keys had the problem. The sticking and squeaking really annoys me. And for $300, a phone should not do this. What are the odds of getting two phones with the exact same problem. Its a shame because everything else about this phone is perfect. I will definitely be returning this phone this weekend; for the second time. And going back to my sidekick..
Great PDA, lowsy phone service
I loved everything about this phone except the service. I sounded like I was in a drum the person on the other end in the majority of my conversations. I dropped SEVERAL calls!
I found that if the phone had 2 bars or less it might as well have none at all. I live in a metro area, but it is a very mountainous terrain. I am so disappointed that I had to return this phone.
Pro:
compact size, centered number key pad, large display, push to talk capability, instant email notification, good picture quality, blackberry messenger
Cons:
Spotty service, blackberry data package required, no video capability, group inbox (email, text, pictures, etc all to one inbox)
Nice Phone, overall.
I got this phone for a friend (The T-Mobile one); and before I give it to them, I wanted to play around with it. I'm a Windows Mobile kinda guy, but this phone is impressive.
Cons (few, but still there):
No video.
Can't sync and do other things simultaneously, like you can on Windows Mobile phones.
It takes a while to load when turning the phone on.
I may never get used to the keyboard. Who really can?!
Pros:
Scrollball.
Camera, despite the lack of video, is still good.
Compact.
Good reception everywhere.
Speedy internet.
Great phone, overall; but if I ever get a RIM phone, it'll be the Curve, as it has a QWERTY keypad.
Not too shaby
Ive only had this phone for a couple weeks and it is my first smart phone but so far i am pretty impressed.
PROS: 1.camera is really nice
2.I like the fact that you can customized almost anything (including the text font and size)
3. battery life is pretty good
4. voice dialing is easy
5. magnetic case automatically turns backlight off to save battery
Cons
1. flash on camera is dull
2. have trouble sending or receiving bluetooth files though i believe this is a at&t issue
3. keypad is hard to get used to(but this is my first QWERTY)
