BlackBerry Pearl 8100

BlackBerry Pearl Specifications

BlackBerry Pearl News Release

RIM is once again changing the mobile communications landscape [by introducing the BlackBerry Pearl]. This feature-rich smartphone incorporates best-in-class technology that is remarkably small and incredibly easy-to-use. The BlackBerry Pearl comes complete with digital camera, multimedia capabilities and an expandable memory slot for the first time, while continuing to provide the industry leading BlackBerry experience that users have come to love.

“The BlackBerry Pearl elegantly combines an incredibly small, stylish and full-featured smartphone with the gold standard in wireless email and the result is something special. Through the integration of hardware, software and service, we are able to deliver a mobile experience that stands apart in the industry. We are extremely excited to be launching this breakthrough handset and we look forward to rolling it out around the world with our carrier partners,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

Beneath its sleek and stylish exterior, which measures just 4.2″ x 1.97″ x .57″ and weighs only 3.1 ounces, the BlackBerry Pearl is a quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled mobile application powerhouse delivering the fast performance of the latest generation BlackBerry handset platform. The built-in 64MB flash memory is now expandable with a MicroSD card, giving users plenty more storage for music, pictures, videos, and data files.

The BlackBerry Pearl delivers exceptional phone quality with premium, easy-to-use phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones, and intuitive call management features such as smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding. It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth® 2.0 for use with hands-free headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver. BlackBerry Desktop Software synchronization via Bluetooth is also supported.

With a helpful Setup Wizard, the unique “push-based” BlackBerry service comes to life giving users synchronized access to both personal and corporate email accounts with attachment viewing and the ability to manage multiple accounts while on the go. The BlackBerry Pearl also comes with a newly enhanced version of RIM’s SureType™ QWERTY keypad technology that makes typing messages and dialing phone numbers quick and easy. The handset is supported on BlackBerry Internet Service as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, with a new set of IT policy controls on the latter to allow IT departments to administer camera and expansion memory settings on corporate handsets.

Images appear incredibly vivid and crisp on the BlackBerry Pearl’s large, ultra-bright, high resolution (240×260) display. Built-in light sensing technology automatically adjusts the screen and keypad brightness for optimum viewing of emails and attachments, pictures, web pages, business applications and games in indoor, outdoor and dark environments. The BlackBerry Pearl also introduces an incredibly intuitive user interface with a supple, responsive trackball that makes vertical and lateral scrolling fast and easy. Dedicated ‘menu’ and ‘escape’ keys on either side of the trackball along with context sensitive menus make navigation instinctive, smooth, and true to the BlackBerry experience.

Featuring a 1.3 megapixel camera with built-in flash and 5x digital zoom, users can snap a picture and instantly share it with friends and family by email, MMS or BlackBerry Messenger. Photos can also be set as caller ID images, and can be easily transferred between the handset and a computer using the included USB cable.

BlackBerry Maps delivers maps and step-by-step driving directions quickly and conveniently. BlackBerry Maps works together with other BlackBerry applications, enabling users to send maps via email and launch maps from other applications including contacts in their address book. BlackBerry Maps is currently available in North America only.

The BlackBerry Pearl comes with a media player and stereo headset jack so users can enjoy their favorite music and videos on the go. Music and video clips are delivered with rich sound and vivid color. MP3 and ACC music files and MPEG4 and H.263 video files are supported.

The BlackBerry Pearl will be available from T-Mobile USA in the United States beginning September 12. It will also be available in October from Rogers Wireless in Canada and a variety of carriers in Europe. Availability in Asia-Pacific and Latin America is expected later this year.

BlackBerry Pearl Reviews

Brighthand reviews the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and writes - “There’s no doubt about it, the Pearl is a huge step forward for RIM. This smartphone offers features that many current and potential BlackBerry users have been wanting for years. But, for all its progress, I think this company still has a ways to go. Its implementation of some of the new multimedia features in the Pearl is a bit clumsy and are in real need of polish. And it still lacks features business users want, like better and easier access to Microsoft Office files. At the same time, the feature that was RIM’s biggest advantage for many years–push email–is available now on many other devices. All in all, I think this is a decent smartphone, and certainly better RIM’s first one, the BlackBerry 7100 series. But it still needs some work if it’s going to stand up to the competition.”

CNET has a review of the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 - “The RIM BlackBerry Pearl is the first BlackBerry to offer a 1.3-megapixel camera, music and video playback, expandable memory, and a mapping application. The supersleek phone also continues to offer superior push e-mail capabilities, EDGE support, and Bluetooth. The RIM BlackBerry Pearl’s microSD slot is inconveniently located behind the battery, and call quality was subpar in our tests. The phone’s camera doesn’t record video, and we wish there were external controls for the music player and integrated Wi-Fi. Though nothing revolutionary, the addition of multimedia features and the already solid e-mail capabilities make the RIM BlackBerry Pearl an attractive device for business users and consumers alike.”

The Globe and Mail reviews the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 - “In the end, the Pearl is all about the sweet spot; for such a wisp of a thing, it’s an awful lot of machine. Considering how many things it does, and how well, you may be amazed to learn that no laws of physics were broken in the making of this phone.”

Digital Trends reviews the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and writes “While it looks sleek and fancy, there is no reason for a shrunken BlackBerry if it means shrunken text-input functionality. Still, if you don’t plan to compose long responses, but rather seek a little entertainment and have a desire to snap a candid picture to accompany your e-mail without looking like a hip-holster geek then you qualify as a Pearl diver.”

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