Print
Sep 28, 2006 7:44 am US/Eastern
Tech Styles Review: The New BlackBerry Pearl
New BlackBerry Pearl Gets Thumbs Up And Moving
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The BlackBerry has proven itself a reliable and addictive e-mail device, but hasn't really been a popular choice for most consumers. For starters, the size made it feel as if you were speaking into a pancake than a cell phone and didn't allow it to slip nicely into your pocket.
Enter the BlackBerry Pearl, the latest device from Research In Motion -- makers of the BlackBerry. It takes all the good things they've done over the past few years on other devices -- like the slimmer 7100 series and 8700 from earlier this year -- a sharper brighter color screen and faster processor inside (which makes the device operate faster) and adds that too the popular always-on e-mail, ability to surf the Web on-the-go and make a phone call or two. But the Pearl also tacks on some features that no BlackBerry has had before.
Here's Looking At You!The camera phone has grown in popularity over the past year -- just about every cell phone has one. But for business users, the camera phone hasn't been so popular (the Treo line, for example, has an alternative version with no camera, since camera's are often banned from the conference room). The BlackBerry has long lacked a camera, until now. The Pearl comes with a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, which shoots surprisingly good quality pictures.
There's even a flash should you want to snap some shots in the dark. The camera is integrated with the rest of the BlackBerry, so you can snap a shot and quickly e-mail it to everyone you know. I found it a fun way to chronicle a ride I took on the Chicago "El" recently -- of course, I couldn't send the picture I took underground, there wasn't any service.
Do You Know Where You're Going?Pearl also comes with a useful mapping tool in the event you get lost. You can enter in any address in the US and it will find it and display it on a map; you can get turn-by-turn directions from point-to-point, or you can simply find on a map any address you have in your address book. With a BlueTooth capable GPS device, you can find out exactly where you are and then go from there.
Sure ThingThe Slimmer Pearl doesn't have room for a full sized keyboard -- or for that matter, a pint sized one like the larger BlackBerry's have. Instead, Research in Motion has opted to use a two-letters-per-key idea and a software solution called SureType that makes a guess at what you're trying to tap out. For the most part, it works fine, but occasionally you'll run into a word that has the same combination of letters on the condensed keyboard as another word, (three and there for example). In that event, you'll either send a text message or e-mail that says you'll "be three after lunchtime" or you'll notice the list of available words and pick the right one so the person receiving your message doesn't fear you'll multiply at high noon.
Overall, the 90 gram (or 3 1/8 ounce) BlackBerry Pearl hits the nail on the head for combining all the popular BlackBerry features from the beginning and a few newbies that make it much more usable and more like a standard cell phone than ever before.
Price: $199 with Service Agreement
Available: T-Mobile USA
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
