BlackBerry Pearl 8130
Average Ratings
Not good enough
Couldn't wait for this phone to come out. Had Motorola Q and all I heard was how great Blackberry's were. After using it for a few weeks I cannot understand how people like this phone.
Bought one middle of Nov. Bluetooth headset kept disconnecting. Verizon support says get a new one. Second one did same. Read on Blackberry forum that you have to keep the led that indicates bluetooth connecting to keep flashing so there probably wasn't anything wrong with the first one.
Second one then had the trackball stop working. Got a third phone.
This one started to drop calls.
Got a fourth one. EV would keep going off and would switch to 1x. Had other phones next to it showing EV. Verizon said get another one.
The last two ran into the memory leak problem. Lost text messages when memory would get low. Also if it gets low you can't make calls. Again read on the forums this is a known problem. Have to take the battery out every few days. Worse than the Motorola Q though people complain you have to do it with that. The Q goes at least a week so the Pearl was worse.
Verizon finally acknowledged the two software bugs and said they hope RIM will come out with a fix. So I returned it and went back to the Q
Pros:
Loved the small size
Great for email
Good sound
Cons:
Buggy software
Have to pull battery every one or two days
Not enough third party apps
Not great reception
Can't save any third party apps to memory card so memory starts off low even without the memory leak bug
Very Impressed - Best Blackberry to Date!
I switched to the 8130 the day it was released from Sprint as I was highly anticipating its arrival. Previously used the 8800 from AT&T and temporarily used the 8830 with Sprint but I desired the latest and greatest and the 8130 was just that. The phone adds Sprint TV and Radio to the mix, a 2mp camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, along with the smaller form factor (which I was skeptical about due to the smaller keyboard and screen). After using it for 4 days I will definitely stick with the 8130! I forgot how nice it was to have a smaller phone in my pocket. For email/texting the small screen doesn't really make a difference. Web browsing isn't quite as good as the 8830 though, but downloading Opera Mini 4.0 always helps. The 3.5mm headphone jack is great and it includes a set of stereo headphones with a mic too. Phone-as-Modem is a great perk with Sprint and is included in the Blackberry plan. All in all I'm extremely impressed. Do NOT look past this phone as it is hands down the best phone/smartphone I have ever used!
*PROS
- Besides the usual Blackberry pros of push email, simplicity, blackberry messenger and all that crap...These features place the 8130 above all other Blackberrys.
1) Smaller than 8830
2) Sprint Phone-as-Modem capability is great!
3) Additional side convenience key on the right is really nice
4) Sprint TV and Radio free!
5) Sprint On-Demand free!
6) 2mp camera with video and flash
7) Ringtones seems louder and more crisp than 8830
8) Media Player has been enhanced for easier mp3 playback
9) Reception, great!
10) Much improved vibration over 8830
11) GPS with Sprint... free!
*CONS (but not really)
1) Obviously no QWERTY keyboard but Suretype is not all that bad at all
2) Processor seems slightly slower than 8830 but I may have loaded too many programs
3) 64MB of shared memory is slightly low for a new phone
4) CDMA eats up battery life compared to GSM
**Just Buy the Phone or go for a trial run and you'll see!**
Fantastic BB Pearl 8130
Migration from Mike to PCS with Telus to get this device. Have owned a number of excellent mobile phones, but this 8130 surpasses them all and there really is no comparison. First I find it very annoying to read others Cons about something they knew about before they purchased the bloody device. That is not a review// This unit does everything it is advertised to do by BlackBerry..and then some.
Excellent device, coming from an iPhone
OK - I owned the iPhone for three months before switching over the the Pearl. Here we go:
The Verizon 8130 (which is NOT the Pearl2 that everyone seems to be referring to it as - the Pearl2 is also known as the Komet, with wifi and a 3.2mp camera, GSM only) has been with me for three days. When I first got it in my hands my initial reaction was "Wow - this is SMALL!" The form factor is simply perfect. The keyboard takes a bit of getting used to - but Suretype is fantastic. It works quite well at predicting your words and placing punctuation where it belongs (for contractions). The BB 8130 is also a fantastic *phone* - which not many BB devices are known for. RF signal is fantastic, and voice quality on both ends has been fantastic. The browser is allright, but I'd recommend going with Opera Mini. Media player is actually better than I'd have thought - very basic, not as pretty as on the iPhone, but much better that what I expected on a business device. The fact that the card slot supports up to an 8GB card is great news. In comparison with the iPhone - it is definitely a more complex device, but is quite a bit more capable than the iPhone. Things like copy, paste, MMS, etc... are things that are warmly welcomed after coming from the iPhone (which lacks many features one would expect in a "smartphone"). Email is definitely the killer app on this phone, push is awesome, and Gmail functionality is flawlessly integrated into this device. RIM has worked with Gmail extensively to provide a near-push experience. The iPhone extremely user friendly, but you can't do simple things like copy/paste, MMS, download apps natively without hacking, etc... They're very different devices, but overall, even if at&t was perfect in my area, I'd go with the Pearl.
great phone
From my one day of using it, the phone is great. Just to be a critic...
This is my first BB and I'm coming from a brick of a phone, the LG VX8000. Compared with that, the Pearl feels a little fragile. The quality seems excellent, it's just the fear of dropping something so shiny and sophisticated...
The "Suretype" typing system does an outstanding job completing the words you type. Problem is, to turn it off, you have to go into a drop down menu. So if you want to type "NYTimes" into the web browser, for example, something utterly rejected by Suretype, you have to click the blackberry menu button and scroll down to click "enable multitap". On the bright side, Suretype learns every word you type so each word/name only gets rejected once. Still, from my point of view, it's a hard sell with no toggle button... If you just leave it on the multitap mode though, with two letters per key, typing is easy. It's just a shame not to get the full use of suretype. If there's a firmware upgrade that allows this, Suretype will be a sure thing...
It's unfortunate that VZ disabled an extraordinary GPS module to try to steer people to their lucrative VZ Navigator service. This leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth (except whoever got the bonus check).
Despite those things, this phone is awesome.
pros:
small size
very customizable
fast
stable
feels solid
a lot of 3rd party applications
VZ network and customer support
cons:
no suretype/multitap toggle
battery cover on mine feels loose
VZ disabled a perfectly good GPS module
Best phone I've used..ever.
I've gone through more phones over the years then I can remember.
This pearl is without question the best device to date. Size is perfect, the RF is outstanding, the email/messaging is perfect and the suretype - not exactly qwerty, but after a week of using it, works just fine for me.
Battery life on the phone is great as well.
This is the first time I've found a phone where I'm not thinking "well, this will work until the next cool thing comes along".
It functions perfectly as phone - which is what all these things are first and foremost (or should be.. ) and the handling of email is done nicely. pop3 accounts are kept in thie folders, message delivery is instant.
I honestly can't think of any con's. This is pretty much the device I've been waiting for. Previously, I was carrying a Razr2 and a Motorola Q (for email) -- the razr2 is a great phone as well, but lacking email, forced me to carry a 2nd device - the Q. The Q I could never get used to using as phone, felt like I was talking into a calculator. Plus, it's horribly laggy - everything takes a second or two to catch up... where as the pearl is fast. Being able to take the two devices I had to lug around and put them into one -- that feels like a phone and has the voice quality of the razr2 - hard to beat.
Get the pearl, you won't be sorry.
Bye Treo
I have been pleasantly surprised by my 8130. I have used a Palm Treo 700w for the last two years and needed something different, reliable, and that would not be locking up every couple hours. I have been using the 8130 since Friday and I have not had any problems. The first thing I noticed was the form factor, it is very small. I do occasionally hit the side keys but the screen and keyboard are very nice. Vibe is strong which is important to me and I have had excellent reception. It only took a couple minutes to set up my imap email accounts and what can I say, it just works. In ten minutes I was receiving emails and this is my first blackberry.
Strengths
Strong signal
Quick, easy email set-up
it looks great
Loud ringer and strong vibe
Loud ear-piece with no buzzing
People tell me they do not hear background noise while I talk
Built very solidly even though it is very light- does not feel cheap
Cons
Side buttons easy to hit accidentally
Trackball takes some getting used to
It isn't the curve
Over all it is a great phone, I am very happy. I was able to make a call in my basement which I could not do with my lg vx8700, Treo, or razr. I highly recommend this phone for those who want great calls, excellent email support, and a small form factor. Great device Rim, and Verizon you seem to be headed in the right direction finally, thanks for the cheaper data plans.
Lovin' It!!!!
I submitted a review about the Palm Centro just last week, I believe, but that phone went back and fast!!!...(Thanks Sprint for the 30 day return policy...)...anyway, I left Sprint 3 days ago with a pretty new BlackBerry Pearl 8130, and after 3 days to play with it, all I can say is "Awesome". This is a fantastic phone. Despite its small form, this thing is a powerhouse!! It does everyhting you need and maybe some things you dont.
Ill admit I was very leary to try the SureType texting method on the small 8130s keypad, but after only 3 days, I can text a little faster than I did with my Centro, which has a full QWERTY on it.
Phone calls are clear as a bell and plenty loud enough to hear.
This device is soooo customizable, I dont even know where to start. I especially like the fact that you can use downloaded mp3 files of any sort as your personal ringtone.
Pictures are great considering the 2 megapixel camera, and the flash is a nice touch.
The screen is a good size and easy to navigate.
I gave this phone a "5" for the simple fact that I can find nothing about it that I dont like.
All in all, if you're looking for a small phone that does it all, then look no further than the BlackBerry Pearl 8130. You wont be dissapointed...
Pearl 8130 - Verizon
Users need to define the top 3 factors in phone satisfaction. For me this is a quality phone first, small size second, good battery time third. This phone does a super job accomplishing these tasks. Speaker and ear are super clear and volume levels are more than adequate. Size is optimal for comfortably fitting in pants pockets. Battery life is adequate for normal use. After that, contact management is next, and then reading emails, then basic internet access, then playing music, then video playback, then being able to easily get data in and out of the device, then control and customization of access, buttons, etc. This phone does all of those things well.
After a week of using, I have found the sure type system to be more trouble than its worth. Perhaps constant use would increase my skills, but I have opted to turn that function off and I am happy. If you are a heavy typing user or if you are accustom to a full key board like on a Q or previous BB, then you will probably be disappointed in this phone if texting or emailing from the phone is a top factor for you.
My biggest problem with the 8130 is web browsing. Because of its static design its screen size simply can not compete with the flexibility of the iphone. Even with Opera Mini web browsing is still quirky and old school. I am convinced that there is nothing any manufacture could do to fix this, given the size of the screen. If web browsing is important to you, then this phone is simply going to be a disappointment.
Music and video playback is still menu / list driven, but its very fast and the quality of both are excellent regarding local device files. Streaming video or music from the internet is not something I have had much experience with.
Data management is a breeze with the included software. Contacts, calendar, etc all move back and forth with ease.
There is nothing cooler than taking a quality photo on the fly and then pressing a couple of buttons and emailing that photo to anyone.
Great Phone
I received my Pearl yesterday, had a little trouble setting up the email account, but that was no problem Verizon took care of that. Great Customer Service. I really like this phone feels a little strange after having the Palm 700W for a year or more. Once I got going the email delivery is great. Will take a little getting use to the keyboard and that ball. I thought there would be a problem getting my contact info from one phone to the other but NO. That was not a problem at all.
Pro's
1. Verizon reception is strong and clear
2. Nice size phone light in weight
3. Emails delivered fast and viewed easily
4. Bluetooth is great in this phone I mean really great.
5. Love the voice dial feature
6. Love the transferring of my contacts from one phone to the other.
Con's
1. I feel that the ball could be a little bigger and stronger feel to it.
2. Keyboard could be just a little bit bigger.
Over all this is a great phone. I should have gotten the Blackberry instead of the Palm before.
