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
Better than I thought
I sold my 8700 and got this only because of size. I really hated giving up a full keyboard and the larger screen. I'm happy to report it was worth it! The size is great, i'm used to the keyboard and it really performs. I haven't even taken advantage of some of the bells and whistles but it was worth the price!
This is a keeper.
No phone is perfect. NO PHONE IS PERFECT. I have had over 60 phones in the past 5 years.
In the past year alone I have had:
Nokia 6230
Nokia 6102i
Nokia 6061
Motorla V551
Motorola Razr's Black and Silver
Motorola Razr V3i
Motorola Sliver Black
Sony Ericsson W600i
Sony Ericsson W810i
LG CG300
LG CU500
Sasmsung D807
Smart Phones and PDA's
BB 7290
BB 7130
BB 8700
Treo 650
Audiovox SMT 5600
Cingular 3125
Point is I know phones pretty well and I work in the industry.
I have never had a phone in my life that is such a great combination of Style, Performance, Functionality and Fun.
Buy the new Cingular Version of this wish PTT and Telenav, and you won't be dissapointed.
And on the 8th day, God created the 8100 Pearl
I love this phone. It does everything, and it does it quickly. I only use smartphones, and this is by far the smartest yet.
You MUST install Google Maps (free) to enjoy this product fully. Let's say for example that I want to find the closest T-Mobile store. I can search for T-Mobile, and it will locate it on a map, give me the phone number, and even give me a brief review of the store. Then I want to get directions, so I ask it to give me directions to the T-Mobile store. It will calculate the best route and give me turn by turn directions, even with traffic time (up to date traffic delay). I can tell it to show me the traffic and it will show me where I'll be having slow-downs. I can look at the satellite view or the map view. It's sooo much fun!
The web browser is FAST. I used a 7290 (GPRS) and the 8100 (EDGE) to load cnn.com. It took 2.5 minutes on the 7290 but less than 10 seconds on the 8100!
The size and weight of this phone is great! I love how thin and stylish it is, and I barely notice it on my belt.
Buy this phone, I promise you won't be disappointed!
The Greatest BB Every!
I love this phone... finally a small blackberry that does everything! It even has expandable memory! I love you Pearl!
Best Phone Ever!!!
I love this phone!! I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile just for the phone knowing about t-mobile's horrible coverage...
pros:
looks
camera
email
cons:
picture messaging!
no video capture???
i just love this phone!
trackball = love
I love this device! I've had it for a little over a month now.
pros:
size.
screen is wonderful.
the trackball is fantastic and I don't think I could go back to more standard forms of navigation now.
I downloaded a french translator so now I don't have to carry my huge dictionary around with me (I'm a french minor).
UI is so logical is boggles my mind!
battery life is decent (and recharges quickly).
the maps and directions are great.
formats web pages to fit screen.
vibrate then ring.
suretype is the best phone typing program I've encountered.
practically everything can be personalized.
size.
size.
cons:
the keys sit up on a rubber and feel flimsy (they aren't, but it feels like it) and as others have noted the plastic battery door is extremely flimsy.
frequently froze (I finally called tech support and they had me reload the software).
no video recording.
a raging case of crackberry.
This is an excellent phone for people like me: college student who wants the functionality of a pda but the multimedia business customers don't desire (camera, expandable memory), fits nicely in pocket for going out, can be used as a modem (do research for papers anywhere), with bluetooth speakers you can listen to music in class without anyone knowing, there are a lot of productivity programs to download that make college life more efficient (translators, etc).
screen protector is a must have!!
AWESOME!!
I LOVE my new BlackBerry Pearl! This is the first BlackBerry I've owned and I know now that I cannot live without it!
The screen is bright and beautiful, there's many applications on it.. it's THE best!
The only drawback are the TINY keys on it, and the fact that I am a master T9 texter so I have to get used to this tiny keyboard so I am REALLY slow at typing on it right now.
**AND can anyone tell me how to turn off the IM sound??! I've disabled the sound in the profiles for it to only vibrate, but yet it still *BINGS* and i can't have that happening at work!**
The Phone of My Dreams
While there isn't any perfect phone out there, this one is perhaps the closest candidate for the title.
RIM really put their heart and soul into the Pearl. The size is surprisingly small and yet the screen is more than enough for any function you choose to do.
The track ball is nice and seems to work just fine however it might have been wise to include a directional pad that surrounds the trackball to use in conjunction with it. Or it may be that I just need to get used to using the trackball by itself.
Pros:
form factor and size
functionality (email, bluetooth, music player, etc.)
Beauty -- I can't stop looking at it!
Cons:
No WiFi
No directional pad to augment trackball
While not everyone will use email or some of the other advanced data functions that the Pearl offers, I would still recommend this to almost anyone since a quality phone is always a treat.
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
I work at a T-Mobile Kiosk at the mall and I used to spend all my time drooling over the Pearl. Now that I actually own one, I'm even more amazed. THIS PHONE SELLS ITSELF! I used to have an account with Nextel, and of course I had to have a BlackBerry. Unfortunatley I felt like I was carrying my whole house with me whenever I went out with that thing in my pocket, and anyone thats ever owned one has complained about that stupid wheel on the side at least once. RIM must have finally listened to its customers when it made this jewel of a phone. Heres a quick look at the pros and cons.
Pros:
-Small sleek design. No more "Is that a BlackBerry in your pocket?"
-A CAMERA!!! (THANK YOU RIM)
-plays mp3's AND has a flash card slot
-Large crystal clear screen
-No more painful navigation with the 4 way trackball
-Still has the full QWERTY keypad
-Long battery life for a smartphone
-Ability to send and recieve email from 10 different addresses
-Its cheaper then almost any other phone with the same features
-USB 2.0 and an included cable means you dont have to take your flash card out to load music on it...and It doesnt take forever like every other media phone does. SWEET!
Cons:
-Takes a while to turn on
-May make your friends jealous?
This phone sells itself for me. All I have to do is hold it up and say "Yep. It's really a BlackBerry."
