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
Loving it...
I'm just into it 5 days and I love it. I'm migrating from Verizon to T-Mobile for this phone. AND to get away from Verizon. C'mon T-Mobile, build the network you keep talking about!
I had a blackberry before, but it was like carrying a lunch box. This is sleek, small and solid. Build quality, sound, screen and battery life are all superior.
This may be helpful: I bought this phone not only to get e-mail, but wireless updates of my Outlook calendar and contacts. Even though I quizzed the T-Mobile sales flunky for 40 minutes I didn't hear you needed Blackberry Enterprise Server software to make that feature work. It's about $3K for 5 users! They just train 'em to sell 'em.
Happy ending: called Blackberry and found out you can get a single user version for free. I'm sorry, but that makes too much sense. So, I'm working on being very pleased.
A little more crack, a little less berry. The Crackberry Pearl 8100
Before I get in to the pros and cons of this phone I have to say this phone is excellent and by far one of the best phones on the market.
PROS
- The phone is just beautiful
- At the moment it's exclusive
- Not very expensive
- Packed full of features
- Size
- Ability to make any sound file a ringer or tune for any other event on the phone that requires a sound
- Fast startup, unlike any Motorola
- Long battery life
- The screen is the best on the market
- Seems durable at the moment, the built quality is terrific and the phone seems delicate and very "fancy". I haven't dropped it but I often put it in my pocket with keys or other items and I have no scratches at all
TEMPORARY THINGS ABOUT THE PHONE
- The novelty of showing your friends your friends all the features, like video and capabilities
- I dont want to say that the suretype keyboard is a con because once you get used to it (which you will) its incredibly intuitive and fast when entering text
- Some people say that phone is very hard to use, which in the begining it is but once you get used to it it becomes very easy to navigate and use although the menu is slightly complex. Anyone who tells you the phone is too hard to use is too stupid to be using the phone
CONS
- The speakerphone is a joke
- Call quality is not bad but could be better
- The trackball seems solid but delicate
- The camera quality isnt great
- You cant take video with the phone
- The ringer isnt very loud
- The keys are a little small
- Currently its exclusive to Tmobile
I have used the sidekick3, which is terrible and honestly is a phone for posers. The pearl evokes the soul of the sk3 in a candy bar form. The phone is small and beautiful, stunning when you first pull it out the box. The phone is intuitive to anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence, ive never actually looked at the user manual. It takes some time to get the phone full configured but you can customize almost anything about the phone, I would recommend the phone.
Switched from a Treo 650
This review is geared towards those with a Treo who may be considering the Pearl.
I have been using a Sprint Treo 650 for a couple of years now and was considering the 700p. However, I wanted something with a smaller form factor that had similar features. I picked up the Blackberry Pearl last week and so far absolutely love it.
Pros:
Blackberry "push" e-mail technology works great. I have three e-mail accounts (including my Yahoo account). E-mails are pushed to the phone and don't have any of the Send/Receive problems that I had with Snapper Mail on the Treo.
No Touch Screen - Amazingly I haven't missed the touch screen at all. The roller ball is great and allows you to move around in e-mails / web pages easily.
EDGE service is very fast
Form Factor is great. Much smaller and lighter than the Treo.
My Treo constantly dropped calls with Sprint. I have yet to loose a call on T-Mobile.
CONS:
I miss the Text Message "Chat" like interface on the Treo. Although it is similar on the Pearl, it is not as intuitive.
The phone is so attractive everyone wants to pick it up and play with it!
Pick this up!!!
I had always wanted a BB but felt them to be too business oriented for a college student. RIM really delivered with the Pearl. It's is the perfect mix of phone and data device. The push email took about 10 seconds to set up and works like a charm. Camera works well and the Pearl can play pretty much any type of media I've put in it. A huge plus is that any .mp3 you have on your computer can be put on a media card via the mini usb cable they include, now my whole itunes library is at my disposal for ringtones.
Every time a new person sees my Pearl they have to mess around with it and they all say the same thing "I wish my phone contract was up so I could get one." This phone is sexy, lightweight, very small (no blackberry bulge) and has a great looking screen. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs mobile email and a solid phone with some fun features.
Great Compromise Device
A very good first(real) attempt at a crossover device by BlackBerry. Aside from the invaluable push email feature, the new Pearl has a great form factor and screen. A very nice attractive fascia - taking design cues from the Vertu. The trackball is actually easy to get used to and is in my opinion, better than the traditional scroll wheel. This is a good phone for someone who just needs instant email and
Pros
- Looks Incredible!
- Camera is good in daylight
- Excellent Earpiece Voice Quality
- Good Reception
- SureType performs better than T9
- Super Fast BlackBerry UI (for commonly used functions)
- Controversial Trackball is a actually quite good!
Cons
- Camera does not work well in low light - flash is nearly useless
- "Lacquered" surface will scratch easily
- Buttons a tad bit small - mistypes will happen at first. Need a lot of practice
- Seems Delicate
- Trackball durability?
- SureType not as quick & easy as full QWERTY
- Terrible Built-in web browser
- Speakerphone is somewhat shrill. People will have a hard time hearing u clearly when u are in a noisy environment or in your car.
VERY VERY VERY NICEEEEEEE
Pros... small, web nice...trackball nice (keep it clean) mp3 player (jamming), easy to use once u get use to it... stylish
Cons... u have a added storge but wont activate with the current 2.0 appl on the phone ,have to upgrade to a 2.1 from blackberry setting up the phone to talk to the computer,,,a pain.. but once u get it...sweeet
STANKYYYYYYYYYY
really did love and wish they came out with another
Ok, so I got this phone for the company work that i do, and I simply had seen my self breaking this phone. For example. I dropped the phone and the trackball popped out. I know it was me that dropped the phone. i really did love the phone but I cant afford it to be dropped and broke and dropped and broken again.
Texting:
This was a great text messaging picture messaging phone, the phone was very cool and it was easy for me to get my emails on. I was extremely fast with the SureType keyboard and I just really in genral loved the phone
Cool Phone
Really like the phone i had the razr before and it was an ok phone but the blackberry (BB) is a feature packed phone and i never look at what the phone is like just the features it is a great phone but the keys are two small for my fat fingers.
Pros.
~The Camera Is Good Not Much Of A Flash
~Great Screen
~Track Ball Makes It Fast
~The Phone Works Fast When Reviewing Pictures
~Micro SD Card Slot
~Good Media Player
Cons.
~NO VIDEO (sob)
~Not A Flip I Love The Flip Phones But I Bought It And A Week Later They Came Out With The Pearl Flip
~Micro SD Located Under The Battery.
~Flash Is OK
Well That Was My Review for the Blackberry Curve 8100. It Is A Good Phone But I Would Not Request It To Any One.
Simply the Best!!!
I have had over 50 phones and a few different blackberries. This one is the best! I wanted a phone that fits in my pocket in my pants that isn't so big like the other blackberries and this is it!
The email is great, blackberry rules the email! the browser is good enough especial since i upgraded to the new 4.5 device software! The camera is probably just fair!
If you want a phone with a great call quality and reception, with great smart phone features this is the best of both world's, nothing else can compare.
Worst Phone I've Ever Owned!
I've owned many phones, on many different carriers. I am not impressed with this BB Pearl. I'm on my third one, I keep having to get it replaced by T-Mobile. Each time I get a replacement phone, a different problem arises. The same issues I've had with all three phones are listed below.
Cons
*Battery life (I've had to charge the phone everyday)
*Speaker-phone gets stuck on during calls and won't turn off
*Flash on camera stays on until I take out the battery
*Very slow loading any application
*Freezes constantly and needs to have the battery taken out
*Randomly shuts itself off
*Trackball gets stuck
Pros
*Attractive phone
*Trackball is nice when it works properly
*Decent camera
*Brickbreaker game
*Fits nicely in pocket/purse
