12 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Blackberry Pearl 8100
Date of Review: Mar 25, 2007
The Bottom Line: You want a phone that does it all while looking good? This is it! Grab your phone and never be "off-line" again. Great reception too!
This review is on my experience with Blackberry Pearl (8100) w/ T-mobile service.
Specifications
Product Features
* 1.3 mega pixel camera to capture those special moments
* MP3 player lets you listen to your favorite music on the go
* Menu and escape keys on the front of the device for easier access
* Bluetooth technology lets you experience hands free and wire free features
* Four way trackball for easy navigation
Dimensions
* Size (LWH): 4.2 inches, 2.0 inches, 0.57 inches
* Weight: 3.17460317460317 ounces
Product Features
Included battery: Li-Ion
Talk time: Up to 3.5 hours
Standby time: Up to 15 days
Band (frequency): 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz
I had this phone for almost 3 months now. Wow, what a phone! Its sleek, classy, and cool. The T-mobile version is all black with chrome sides and grey highlights on the buttons. The Cingular version have grey buttons all down the middle (which looks a lot worst imho). The screen is wonderful and the colors are vibrant. The phone has all 4 GSM bands which makes it suitable for all your travel needs. Battery life is good, with about 4hours of talk time.
Got other Blackberry buddies? Use the free Pin-2-Pin feature to send a message to your friends at no cost.
I am one of those people that tries to keep my electronics in immaculate condition. Because of that, I did not want any nicks or scratches on this thing. I personally and recommend getting a guard for your Blackberry. I got Shieldzone because its not bulky and it goes on clear -- just like a 2nd layer of protective skin for your phone.
This phone uses EDGE technology for data connection. This may be outdated soon with 3G coming up in the upcoming year. I also wished the phone had the ability to connect to a network via wifi. With all that said, EDGE is enough for the majority of uses. (EDGE is roughly 5x as fast as 56k)
Things you need to watch out for: The scroll-wheel (the pearl) can build up dirt from your fingers over time and causes it to not scroll as easily. I personally either turn off the phone and scroll firmly a few times to hopefully clear out any debris or use the corner of a piece of paper, tuck it in between the pearl and the phone, and scroll.
There is a memory leak with this phone (v4.2.0.64). Sometimes you will not get MMS/SMS/Pin-2-Pin messages and the like because your phone is "full". This is a known issue. People say to make it a habit of taking the battery out often and putting it back in to "clear the memory". I'm sure this will be fixed with new updates.
Recommendations: I must say, you MUST get the data plan that is optional for this phone. Its what truly makes your phone a "smartphone". As a T-mobile customer, I signed up for the Unlimited Blackberry Data Plan for $19.99/month which gives me UNLIMITED internet usage and includes your very own, Blackberry email address. You will find many uses for this plan. I personally use it to surf the web and for directions everywhere I go. Some programs to get for the Blackberry includes: Opera Mini (internet browser), Beyond411 (your very own 411 directory assistance for free!), and JiveTalk (IM program).
Notice - If you will use your Blackberry for Instant Messaging, do not use the "Instant Messenging" program that is bundled in with your Blackberry. It will deduct from your text messaging bundle. If you do not have a text messaging bundle associated with your rate plan, you will incur a $0.05 charge to receive and send messages! In other words, either add an unlimited text plan to your service ($15/month with T-mobile) or download an IM program that considers instant messaging as DATA and NOT TEXT, like Jivetalk.
