BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Smartphone Black (T-Mobile)

Don't choose T-Mobile. I live in Sacramento Ca. I had no coverage in my home. I could never even finish the Blackberry set-up. I also traveled in Minnesota, When I got off the plane at Minneapolis International airport (a major airline hub)I had no coverage there either. I had to use a land line! I used a total of 16 mins. I cancelled within the trial period and was still charged $51.00. Save your money and go with one of the major carriers. I will wait for the i phone.

One of the sleekest and most compact Blackberry phones yet, the BlackBerry Pearl has everything you need.

Instead of looking like a 'brick' as many people often say about the BlackBerry lineup, the BlackBerry Pearl is anything but that. About the size of a candy bar, the design is easy to slip in your pocket, and easy to talk into. Though not a full sized keyboard, the keyboard allows for a smaller phone, yet still manages to make typing easier than your standard keypad. The trackball is an amazing feature that one should not over look. When you're typing e-mail, playing a game, or just surfing the net, you'll find that the trackball will save you a lot of time and frustration. The screen is your typical screen, slightly bigger than a normal phone, but nothing special that makes it stand out. The casing of the phone is of a fairly strong material and could probably take a few drops on carpet. However if you drop it on concrete or some other hard ground, I don't think it would work again.

The BlackBerry Pearl software isn't as hard as many think. I'm pretty good when it comes to computers, yet I had never played around with the BlackBerry OS until the day I got this phone. I will admit that the first time I played with the OS in the store, that I found it slightly confusing. However, by the end of the day I had already learned everything there is to know. The OS has your typical text messaging, e-mail, Internet, and one game.

Never again will you have to pay for ring tones or wallpaper. The phone lets you import pictures and music straight from your computer. I do recommend that you buy a 1gig SD card for additional memory. After buying the memory stick I was able to import an entire movie without a problem. I have found problems with the 2gig memory from working though.

My biggest, and only issue is the signal quality. There's been many times where I've only had two bars and other times been disconnected. Despite being in a major city, I still run into problems trying to find a strong signal. The signal is good the majority of time, however I don't find the signal to be any better than my previous phone which was just a tracfone.

Many people think of BlackBerry as a phone made for the businessman, but the Blackberry Pearl changes that thought by offering a stylish phone with a low learning curve. If you want to have the hottest phone on the market, and avoid spending hundreds on a phone with the same features, this phone is for you.

After using it for many months now, I absolutely love this device. Not only does it function beautifully, it is itself beautiful. After downloading a fiery fractal background image from google (hint: you can zoom the image in once before making it your home screen background to avoid the "white line" effect) I find myself picking the Pearl up and playing with it simply because it makes me feel good. Blush.

The internet email works very well with my MSN hotmail account, the calendar, address book, tasks and memos sync smoothly with Outlook using the USB cable, and the thing holds a charge forever. If you use the camera, check out its menu, because you have several different resolutions to choose from, as well as flash settings. I added a 2GB microSD card for photos, and it went smoothly. The only drawbacks are that GPRS and EDGE provide relatively slow download speeds compared to CDMA networks, and the Pearl does not have a stereo headphone jack.

Finally, I initially did not like the Smart Type keyboard, and was chomping to get a qwerty model, but now that I've used it a bit I realize it has learned from my typing, and somehow produces the right word almost all of the time, and I like the slim form factor so much I'm keeping this device.

I have the T-Mobile MyFaves plan and love it. It works. I have no long distance charges to my family and friends, all on different carriers.

T-Mo will indeed unlock your SIM card after you've been with them for three months, free of charge, so you can go to Europe, for example, and use a local provider's SIM card for those extended trips. Also, T-Mobile has operating agreements for roaming all around Europe, Canada and Mexico, again with no sign up fee. No nickel-and-diming you like Cingular does.

I cannot say enough good things about both T-Mobile and RIM customer support. (I'm a geek and reloaded the operating system for fun. What can I say. Cough.) They are fantastic. Yo, Qwest, AT&T, are you listening? Take lessons from T-Mobile. Where else does a customer support rep say "What other issues are you having? Let's stay on the phone and get them all resolved." Yes, I'm a happy customer.

I love this Smart Phone! It has so many capabilities that its amazing! I am able to keep all of my web, email, stock, and both business and personal financial accounts up to date with ease at my fingertips. Keeping up with my email is crucial for me and the BlackBerry 8100 meets these requirements with ease. It has been the most productive and time saving Smart Phone I have ever used! If you need something to keep you organized and up to date with all your needs, then I would recommend this phone! Thanks BlackBerry for such an innovative phone!

I have been looking to getting a smart phone for a while,and I'm glad I got this one. It has everything you need to stay connected, email, mms, internet, etc. Convenient voice dialing button on the side of the phone, press it and say the person's name and it recognizes your voice. I've had several voice calling enabled phones, none as good as this.Trackball is a good feature, makes it easy to navigate. keypad is a little small, but with practice it's no big deal. Smart phones tend to be big, but this compact size is what overall sold me on it (plus all the features it has). Overall a good phone that has a lot of features that you can slip in your front pants pocket with no problem. Not clunky, lightwieght and sold feel to it.

one of the best phones and hottest phones out rite now..... also go with t-mobile cause cingular is more expensive and lacks terribly in customer service... just my .2 cents...

One of the few great deals I got in recent times. Only with Amazon. The product is great and the deal is great...
Prasad Rayala

After spending a frustrating 6 hours trying to make this thing do various operations, I returned it. If you are not a Blackberry user, this will likely be not a good choice for a first smart phone. I'm reasonably computer literate, and I found that the CD and software that came with the phone was terrible. Great on fancy images, useless on information. A small quick start written manual came with it, but no owner's manual. If you have an IT person at your company to help you with this phone great, otherwise, forget it. Microscopic icons and print on the screen, even when text size is adjusted, the command lines remain tiny. Unable to sync with Yahoo Address book, track ball feels like a toy, the volume on my phone even at high was clearly insufficient, both in terms of ringer volume and voice volume.

I have owned my bb pearl for several weeks now, and I am quite satisfied with it overall. This is my first time with a blackberry product, and it has taken a little time to get used to the OS and menu layouts. Definitely not as attractive and easy as other basic cell phones that I have had in the past, but I know that's pretty much to be expected.

The size of the phone is great. Great size for a cell phone to comfortably fit in your pocket and still feel suvstantial. Much more practical than the typical BB sizes, and much more ideal compared to the Motorola Q and T-Mobile Dash. You obviously sacrifice the full qwerty keyboard, but for me it's a price I'm willing to pay. If you were to write long e-mails with this device, you'd probably want the full qwerty, but for my purposes this works great.

The phone functions/speakerphone all work well. Although the speakerphone doesn't get very loud. The text input works great, and after only about a week of using the phone I can type fairly quickly and accurately. The camera is pretty nice and takes decent pictures even with the flash. The voice recognition is so-so. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to access the correct contact with it. Good effort with this feature, but it underperforms a little. The syncing capabilities are the best part of the phone for me. I have been able to consolidate from using my Pocket PC, and now only have to carry my phone with me. I am even able to sync it with my MacBook iCal and addressbook using downloaded software. (this was the main selling point for me)

I only have a few minor complaints about the phone: I am unable to send picture messages with this phone unless I pay for the $20 e-mail and internet service even though I already pay for a text and picture message service for the phone. So basically I have to pay for a service that I'm not able to use. That's the way the phone's made, not T-Mobile's fault, although they should probably find a way to reimburse their customers like myself who are in this situation.

I also seem to have an issue with incoming calls. If I get to the phone at the tail end of the ring, the screen will go black even though the phone's still ringing thus making it impossible to see the caller ID without pressing a button to reactivate the screen (which sometimes I've accepted and rejected calls inadvertantly by just trying to see the caller ID.) The Caller ID should definitely stay lit at least until it goes to voicemail. I've tried to adjust settings to fix this, but no success thus far.

Also, although the small size is great, the keys are just a smidge too small for me. I don't exactly have huge hands, but I'd like it if the keys were even just a little bigger. It would make them a lot nicer to use.

Although I am not an addicted "crackberry" user (at least for now) I would still recommend this phone as a great combo between PDA and phone in a small/stylish package.

A great phone for a great price...FREE !!
I upgraded this phone from my old one and do not regret it at all.
The OS is pretty easy to use once you get used the button placement.

DL speeds are decent, phone isnt too big, camera is nice, and screensize is acceptable. Over all a good phone for a BB user.

I've been a blackberry user since the 957 came out. I've learned to hate them because I have to respond to e-mails at home when I am supposed to enjoy time with my family.

For the most part, the Blackberry Pearl works like any other blackberry. It is only available in gsm networks like t-mobile and cingular.

This blackberry is revolutionary because you can use microsd memory card, camera, mp3 and video player. Thus there are shortcomings in most of those features. You can use an microsd card but you have to pull out the battery before changing it. The camera takes poor quality pictures even at sunlight and at maximum quality settings. It is nice to add a flash but it is almost useless. If you take a picture in the dark, the picture will come out mostly green. Don't even bother to take videos because it does not support it. The mp3 player is nice, but it doesn't seem to have a nice controls and it does not include a stereo headphone. You have to purchase one on ebay. The video player plays surprising good quality and it plays in .mp4 also:)

The battery life on these blackberries are getting worse and worse, I recall that a blackberry 957 would go 3 weeks without recharging. This blackberry wouldn't last 2 days without recharging, which is equivalent to my 7250 blackberry using sprint's g3 network. Personally, I would've liked it weighting more and having a bigger battery.

All said aside, this is a good multimedia blackberry, but I wouldn't throw away my motorola v3i as my mp3 player/camera yet. This is the first generation multimedia blackberry and hopefully it would improve in the next generation.

Very clear, stylish phone. I don't really know what else to say, I just rank it because when I search for phones I find this rankings very helpful.

This phone is great looking, easy to use and has the email functionality that you would expect from RIM-blackberry. I love the fact that is tiny and lighweight. Although I've heard some people complain about how difficult it is to type on the keypad, I (6'3'' with giant hands) haven't had a problem with that thus far. I think that people are expecting the best of both worlds- a tiny phone with a giant key board(get a speak and type program). That said, I do have one problem with this otherwise wonderful phone (although I gave it a five star rating). I think that the RIM folks could have added video capture capacity and a better camera this beauty. Other than that though, this small lightweight smart phone is everyones dream-UNLESS YOU LIKE BULKY CELL PHONES ATTACHED TO YOUR HIP!

I have been with tmobile for a long time now and have had their unlimited data plan for $ 5.99 a month on top of my regular plan. I have to carry a bid smart phone and ever since the Tmobile folks came out with the pearl, I have been salivating for it. Its a normal sized phone with all the functions of a smart phone. I waited and waited and finally ordered the blackberry with Tmobile who charged me $ 299.00 as "discounted" price for my 3 years of loyalty with them.
They knew what plan I had and what I would be using for. I noticed one thing though that when I called them up to buy the phone, they kept trying to sell me the $ 19.99 data plan with push email and internet. I refused it thinking that my data plan was sufficient enough. I got my phone in mail and was excited. I put in my sim card and was ready to browse the internet as blazing speed as promised. However, to my biggest disappointment, I could not open a browser window as I did not have the data plan. I tried and tried it over and over but couldnt and thats when I decided to call T-mobile about it. Guess what??? they tell me that the blackberry will not work for regular internet unless you buy the $ 19.99 plan. I was very upset that they never told me about that when I was ordering the phone
the worst was still to come though. They keep trying to upsell me the $ 19.99 plan with push email and enterprise software. I didnt want that and wanted to return the phone. Well guess what?? they will not take the phone back since it was not a new contract. I tried talking to the supervior but he seemed worse than the first person that I was talking to.
I give up..
Finallly sold the phone on ebay and recovered my money..
tombile and blackberry suck

All in all, it's a good device. I do have several complaints, though.

My biggest issue with this phone is that the speakerphone button is too close to the "end call" button. I have accidentally and inadvertently ended several calls due to this. Also, the audio output is only mono. As far as I know, you can only get one channel out (I tried a pair of stereo headphones with the mono/stereo adapter, and this only produced sound in one of the two earbuds). Also, I'm not technically challenged or anything (I'm an IT administrator), but this is a very complex phone. I am learning new things about it every day. It is definitely, by far not the most user-friendly phone on the market. Also, the web browser is nice but there are still too many pages--even WAP and .mobi pages--that still aren't platform-independent. At times the pearl scroll device is too lethargic or too hyperactive, rarely in between. I haven't yet discovered how to adjust the call/speaker volume when not on a call, which is mildly annoying. Even after the firmware update, the IM and browser often crash when used together.

If you can live with all these problems--then again, maybe it's just me--it's a good device. Beautiful display and more than adequate camera. Keys are kind of small but intuitive. Call quality is good with T-mobile, but do experience dropped calls periodically.

DO NOT buy the Blackberry Pearl with Tmobile myfaves. They have a known problem with the Blackberry Pearl and the myfaves network where the myfaves contacts get deleted automatically from the Tmobile's system. The contact still shows on your phone as a myfaves contact however, so you continue to call them thinking that this is so while your free minutes are being used up. Customer service is absolutely NO HELP in this matter and you'll end up going through a TON of frustration trying to get this resolved, only with no resolution. I have spent 3 days trying to fix this issue - being transferred from department to department - having to retell the same story each and every time. It is NOT worth the aggravation that this will cause. Forget the Blackberry and forget TMobile. I should have stayed with my Sprint.

This phone is amazing, its basically a computer on the go. Crisp picture screen, amazing camera and nice sounds. plays mp3 ringtones and each caller can have their own ringtone and picture ID; the internet is really helpful and great when you need to check your mail and your on the go.
The only con, and it isnt even a major one, is the AIM. It doesnt always connect but a simple restart (the phone restarts rather quickly) will do the trick. Overall its a great phone

Yes, the Pearl is everything they say. Those who see it covet it almost immediately. Beautiful and slim, it is absolutely in a class by itself. What you need to decide is if it's really the class you want to be in. If you have to ask why you should add Blackberry Internet Service to your plan, then it may not be the phone for you. Because despite all its great features, email is still what BB does better than anyone else and is still the best reason to own one.

Sure, it's a great phone, a better SMS texter than any little phone ever made, it can handle pictures, movies the web and more, but with all the power comes some complex interfaces and potential landmines for those who just want a phone that can handle some multi media tasks. But if email is important to you, and you also need a cell phone and want them both in a small device, the Pearl may be the best thing to come into your life since, since- since I don't know what. Of all the electronic gadgets I've owned, laptops, ipods, digital cameras, this is right there at the top of the list of category killers.

In a way, it's very similar to the ipod. A device that came along and looked so good everyone wanted one, just because. It wasn't the first mp3 player on the market but it was easily the best. Now there are enough models that practically everyone can afford one, but not everyone should necessarily have one. Without the right computer the ipod is pretty much useless. Strange as it seems, co workers are asking me all the time if I can put some music on their ipod. They wander aimlessly from cube to cube, cd's in their hands...

The Pearl is not quite the same kind of breakthrough but it is similar in that those who buy it not knowing what it was truly designed for could become a little frustrated. And this is a shame, because it seems to be attracting many first time BB users, which is great. But the phone won't be as simple as their old Moto. It won't have the brute force of a Windows Smart device. It won't do simple things other cell phones do, like change time automatically as you travel around the country. But it combines email/SMS/MMS/phone/web/camera in a beautiful small device better than anything currently on the market. The Pearl track wheel transforms the device the way the ipod click wheel did for Apple. Mine works flawlessly, but I would not be surprised if future versions are of the non-mechanical variety- just as Apples click wheel evolved.

And not to sound like a broken record, but I underscore the EMAIL/Phone combination. BB users know already how well the email works, but unfortunately for many of them, they are not just addicted to their crackberry's, they are addicted to the full qwerty keyboard. They dismiss the small suretype keyboard as inferior without giving it a chance. No, it is probably not for real big guys, (but a few years ago who would have thought the original BB was?) It is probably not for power users who mash out endless missives to their unfortunate co-workers. But suretype for me has proven about 99.9% accurate and the keyboard as easy to navigate as my old BB7290. Easier in fact, as the centered trackball doesn't discriminate against lefties.

If you also understand the terms under which Amazon is able to offer such a great price, then you will have no worries. Read all the fine print. I received mine exactly as described and couldn't be happier. The commitment was no different than through T-Mobile, just way, way cheaper. TMO service has also been great in the 3 parts of the country I've tried so far btw. The Cingular claim to "fewest dropped calls" is bogus and stems from a small sample survey. The much larger Consumer Reports and JD Power surveys both rated TMO ahead of Cingy for network reliability.

Four stars only because nothing electronic can ever be perfect.




...I love every part of it if it only would just work, even for once! T-Moblie had now sent me 3 BlackBerry Pearls due to some unexplainable errors and malfunctions. Not my newest one isnn't working anymore ... the track ball is off, it freezes all the time (and I know all the secret tricks to this phone). Just put my sim card back into my 3 year old Nokia that works every time, nothing fancy but at least I can count on it working. T-mobile BlackBerry staff was very nice, spent hours on the phone with them. But obviously the model needs some more development.

I've been an owner of a Blackberry 8100 for approximately 6 months now, and I have to say that its fine balance of features and portability have made this a great choice for anyone that needs connectivity to their enterprise server.

However, just because this phone is a hot product right now doesn't justify a hasty purchase. There's a lot of functionality that this phone has that demands its price tag and if you don't need to connect to an enterprise server or sync with outlook, find another phone. There are a lot of cheaper options out there for web/email/mp3/video phones.

If you are looking for a phone that functions as a mobile office, I suggest looking for another model of blackberry. The button layout on this new blackberry aren't set as single keys, meaning you get 2 letters mashed into one button, which makes cranking out emails somewhat more clumsy than the "fatboy" versions of other blackberry models.

When all is said and done, this is a powerful phone that I see as a viable mobile office solution for a casual user. Its balance of features, stability, and portability make it a great choice.

i never wanted a pda, smarphone or whatever before, they were too big and hideous. i lucked out b/c of the sweet price from amazon and that it's a blackberry. now i have a gorgeous portable video player that smokes the ipod cold on batteries, and mp3 player (gotta get special headphones for it though, although speakers are sweet), excellent on the go camera, and the best portable email service out there. i've never used blackberry before but it's nice to have the choice of whether to delete your emails on server or leave them there. (why doesn't outlook/thunderbird do that?). also, the coolest thing in the world! my yahoo sent emails show up in the sent folder when i log back into yahoo! how sweet is that!

ok it might just look like i'm giddy with exitement but really i am totally pleased with this new phone, and the service. some people complain about the download speeds but sheesh, where are you, iowa? i'm in ny and i'm getting 12-20kbps (i dunno is that good? seems fine to me), i've heard sprint is better but seriously i can't tell. tmobile smokes the crowd when it comes to the $20/mo blackberry and unlimited browsing, who can beat that? too bad they dont have a video service :(

got a 1gb micro sd card from amazon for about $16, fits plenty of movies and mp3's on there. (family guy eph is 50mb, looks sweet! cooworkers are envious, heh). hard as heck to find the right video encoder out there, but there is a free one, trust me.

just one thing that other people have mentioned. if you like myself are upset with amazon for preactivating the phone (bad bad! slap on the wrist!) before sending it and having your billing start before you get the thing, just call tmobile the second you get that email and put a hold on the account. dont wait or the charges will be prorated and you will lose that sweet price! i've had mine for almost two months now and no voilation of the terms from doing that (took ALOT of calls to both to double and triple check).

lastly? dont believe what you hear about the keyboard being hard. unless you have big fingers, it's the sweetest thing since sliced bread ;)

A "smart phone" is new to me, my last phone didn't have any of the features that the Pearl has. I bought this phone here on Amazon, along with a two-year contract from T-Mobile. Both the Amazon sale and the phone are great, no problems what so ever with signing up for new service through Amazon. When I get my rebates back I will have gotten the phone and [...] in my pocket, can't beat that! Others have said it's deceiving what you get with this service, but I knew exactly what I was getting with what I consider not a lot of research. Yes you have to pay for Text messages using Yahoo Messenger, but again I knew that up front. On to the Pearl review...

I was very happy with the SureType text entry, and the 20-key keyboard. As others have said it doesn't "predict" what you are going to type, but I have found it to be very accurate with what you do actually type. This is a "candy bar" size phone, so if you have large fingers, you might find it difficult, but I (avg. size 5'9 guy) have not had any problems entering text. I would not write an email the size of this review on it, but to stay in touch with my friends and family, or quick business email it's excellent. I'd say the SureType learning curve is about 15 minutes. Easy.

I agree with others that the camera and media player are average. I didn't care about having a camera on my phone, but after getting it, that feature has come in useful. For a 1.3 mega pixel camera, it's good. I purchased a SanDisk 2GB mircoSD card to save any pictures and all of my MP3 files. It's a nice add on, but If a camera on your phone is your primary reason for buying a Pearl, then you should consider other devices.

Basic navigation with the pearl trackball is really nice and easy to use. The menu system is a snap with the pearl trackball, and there are lots of ways to customize the user interface. Different applications save the state they were last in, which is different from all the rest and I have come to like this feature.

Media and the Screen: The 240x260 screen isn't the biggest but for the Pearl's size, I think it's very good. My custom background picture is very clear and crisp. Viewing larger pictures is easy enough, zooming in and out. The BlackBerry desktop software that comes with the phone is easy to use and it did a great job of synching to my laptop's Microsoft Outlook.

The BlackBerry Personal Edition service package for 19.99 is something I wanted, and now will not have another phone without this. Maps, web browsing and email. The BlackBerry maps are good, not blazingly fast but decent. Web browsing on a candy bar is what you would expect, I hope. Once you find mobile.??? Sites it works well. I tried it on image heavy sites, and although it's not "fast" it performed well I thought.

Before signing up to T-Mobile I checked their coverage map and was surprised to see what I would call a topographical based on bars of signal, and found it to be very accurate. Nice job T-Mobile. From my research you need to be in the "EDGE" coverage area to get all the features all the time without roaming. I'd suggest people check coverage before you sign up for 2 years of any service.

The phone's call clarity and speakerphone clarity are very good, and overall I am very happy with this smart phone!


The Blackberry Pearl is Research In Motion's first attempt to combine PDA, phone, camera and media player technology into a compact, lightweight device. Aesthetically, the device is very pleasing to look at and weighs in at a very light 89 grams. The device comes with all the standard software one would expect (web browser, contacts, address book, email client) and as an added bonus, Google have released free software that allow the Pearl to seamlessly integrate with both Gmail and Google maps.

The controversial SureType interface is initially awkward to use but it only takes a little training to reach a reasonable degree of competence. However I wouldn't recommend the device for anyone with heavy duty typing requirements. The trackball is a pleasure to use and the navigation system is very intuitive.

The camera and the media player are of average quality but that is to be expected on any device of this size. Slightly disappointing is the lack of WiFi and 3G support but once again with a device of this size there are understandably various engineering constraints. Every once in awhile the device does slow down to an unmanageable level at which point I need to remove the battery to perform a reset. Whilst this is an annoyance, I do not feel it is sufficient to deduct an entire star from the rating. When you click on "Messages" the device combines SMS and email messages which is an odd design choice but once again I consider this a minor quirk as opposed to a fatal flaw.

If you are a heavy duty user and spend extensive time on the road, then I would avoid purchasing the Pearl and instead opt for a more robust device. However for light to moderate users the Pearl is a very slick looking machine that should more than accommodate your phone, PDA, web browsing, e-mail and media requirements.

Got this phone a few months ago. Just realized I can't recieve text photo messages unless I sign up for something other than the text/media plan. Plus they told me at the store that if anyone sends me text from a Verizon phone, there are issues. In other words I don't get text messages or pictures from 2 of my favorites even though I signed up for the additional feature.

I can't get a refund now or get a new phone because I signed up for a 2 year contract. Otherwise I would switch now. I liked the camera and speakerphone and bluetooth features.

This phone is both very good and very bad. It's good because it's capable of pretty much everything a phone can do now-a-days. However, it's bad because it is very deceiving as to what you get. On the box and on T-Mobile's website, you are informed you can use instant messengers including AOL IM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk and Jabber. What they don't tell you is in order to use them, you must have a BlackBerry plan. Every other phone, you don't! Why? No reason. Another thing, you have to pay for the client to sign in and send messages! Sure, there's freeware out there for you to find, but it's not as convenient. Another complaint is the BlackBerry packages themselves; none of them offer free nights and weekends nor unlimited Mobile to Mobile. In order to get everything, you need a Get More plan with Unlimited Mobile to Mobile, BlackBerry and Unlimited Text Messaging services. That adds up fast.

As far as the device itself goes, there are pros and cons. One thing to note is it takes a very long time to get used to navigating with this phone. There are no left/right action keys so everything is done with menus. Yes, this is nice because it allows more options but it takes longer to do repeated tasks. Another thing that can be good/bad depending on how you view it is that every application maintains its state when you close it. That is, if you go in your phone book, scroll to the "R"s, call your buddy, say, Randy... hang up, open your phone book, it's still at his entry. I'd prefer if it started me at "A" again like every other phone.

SureType is not a very easy way to type. Granted it has a great dictionary and the ability to add and delete words from it when you want, it still lacks in key areas. Even if you teach it a word, it still may default to some garbled letters that just couldn't be a word. It does not predict text -- that is, it does not let you type three letters and give you a recommendation. Example: you type "telev"... it should let you just press a key to predict "television". Nooo, you have to type out every letter. So what if I only have to press each key once!? I still have to type each letter! Every other phone on the market lets you just pick a word half-way through spelling it. It's also hard to get used to a QWERTY keyboard with shared keys.

All in all, a great device. I'm sure other reviews point out the positive. I just find it hard to use because of the small details. It's also deceptive from a price standpoint. This review could go on about other aspects of the phone, but I'm sure you can find other tidbits of information elsewhere.

... just so-so for other things.

My primary complaint is that the keyboard is too SMALL. Typing anything more than 2 sentences is very difficult. I switched from the sidekick II to buy this phone and I think it was a mistake. Dialing phone numbers is easy but typing instant messages and emails are a pain. I really miss having one letter per key. My other complaint is that the service is too expensive for what you get. The sidekicks are cheaper, easier to use and have more features.

This phone is a good phone, but it has many faults. For one thing, when the software was made for it they messed up. Every now and then the sound goes off. You have to turn off the phone, remove the battery, then turn it back on. A pain when it takes forever to turn on. Then the scroll ball stops scrolling up and down. I called t-mobile and they said this is a common problem that can be fixed with a software update download. I downloaded the update and it works better, but it still does both every now and then. The battery life is good. I can talk for a long time, which is especially nice with the 'my faves' plan. The battery cover was designed poorly unfortunately. It tends to slide off as your talking. The camera takes good pictures. I can easily put them on my computer with the software. You just see the file name so you have to go through and figure out what the title was if you want a specific picture off. If you want to send picture messages you have to have a specific 'blackberry' plan. If you get that you can't have 'my faves' so I can't send or receive picture messages like i thought i would be able to. The keyboard setup is probably my favorite feature on this phone. it makes sending texts so much easier than a conventional phone. If you're trying to call one of those 1-800 numbers that give you a word to call (such as 1-800-progressive) you have to kind of figure out which buttons would be right to push since they aren't typical. This phone's easy to use, a good size and has some excellent features, but it has some qwerks that need to be worked out before it's worth the price tag on it.

Right out of the box this a a great phone. This was my first smart phone having used Motorola products for a few years prior to this phone.

I bought the Blackberry the day it came out so I have had it now for 5 months. My biggest gripe is THE TRACKBALL WILL FAIL RENDERING THE PHONE USELESS. Essentially this phones "pearl" is a trackball like the ones used in the original computer mice (the ones you'd have to pop the ball out to clean). Moving the trackball up, left, or right is not a problem. But trying to scroll down works 50% of the time.

Other than that, it is a great phone. Good voice quality... surfing the web is passable when not near a computer.

The music player is weak though as is the camera.

Not really a big deal as most phone music players or phones are junk anyways. As far as smart phones go this a a pretty great looking piece of hardware... unfortunately the trackball is getting worse. And when it goes the phone will be UN-USABLE.

Needless to say, I'm going to pay to break my contract when the iPhone comes out in 3.5 months.

Before I had this phone I owned the T-Mobile SDA which was a good phone but it had a horrible speakerphone and it froze on me and just didn't have the powerful system that the Pearl has. The Blackberry pearl is great and hasn't messed up on me at all. I never use the whole battery in a day and I always charge it at night so I haven't tested the full extent of the battery. It is quit small and light. It isn't bad to put in the pocket at all.

Pros: It has a great interface for messaging, Email, and internet. T-Mobile has made some imporvements on their internet and I am always connected at a great speed. It seems to have seamless functionality and never gives me problems. It is really a beautiful phone. Has great voice quality and puts the SDA to shame in almost all fields. The screen automatically adjusts to the light around the phone so that it saves battery power. Has a status light that blinks red when there is a message or you have missed a call so that you can look at your phone and see that something requires your attention. It transitions between cell towers extremely well. Most GSM phones aren't as seamless as this one and therefore that adds to the performance Rating quite a bit. Camera pictures are Crisp and uses it's 1.3 Megapixel capability quite well

Cons: Doesn't have WiFi, The keyboard seems a little cramped and you have to learn a new system for texting and Email. You get used to it as long as you know how to use the tips of your fingers with a lot of grace and will end up being able to text faster than on a regular phone. No infared but this will probably not be necessary as more devices are using bluetooth. You cannot record video. Though the picture quality is good as far as definition the colors are a little washed out but it isn't too bad.

I can't give this phone a perfect rating for the simple fact that I know that there are things that could make it a perfect phone. This phone is by far the closest to perfect phone I have ever seen or owned.

First time using a Blackberry and this Pearl, the black one is just awesome. Everyone at work is so jealous, and it is nice and handy, cool and can go by as if it was a simple phone (less tempting for it to be stolen I believe, i hope!) but it is very nice. Letters are clear, you can chat on it! I need to buy the case for it if they sell it.

Definitely if you are getting a smartphone, or a Blackberry, this one is it.



I have now had this phone for three months and i still love it. Friends of mine still want me to let them look at it. It is my first blackberry and to tell you the truth i don't know how i lived this long without one. The set up is easy and receiving email and sending email while sitting with friends is very nice. Also there are so many things you can do with a blackberry that it is impossible to list them all. The only con i can see with it is that it is a very small phone. I would suggest going to a local cingular or t-mobile store to actually hold one first. It takes a little while to get used to the sure type, but once you do it is amazingly simple and easy to use.

This is my first Blackberry. I bought it specifically for the size and the look. overall it works great - the keyboard while not full QWERTY is easy to use once you get used to it. The LCD is bright and clear. However the voice quality on the phone is mediocre and the speakerphone is not that great. Sometimes its hard to hear the other person, they sound distorted and muffled. I have to ask people to repeat what they say many times. Overall good phone, but wish the phone quality was better

but my friend has this phone and he's gone through TWO replacements now because they keep being defective. the earpiece stops working. kinda crappy. he's only had it for like two months, too.

Amazon activated the phone before they sent it to me. Yes, when I received the phone, the seal on the box had already been opened by Amazon and the service activated. This is despite the 'Activation Information' link on this page and the packing slip that tells you how to activate your service.

This caused several issues; I returned this phone to Amazon within 30 days, without opening the box or turning it on. However, T-Mobile is now charging me $60 for 1 month of service plus a $35 activation fee (ironic). Second, I paid $2/day for phone service over the 3 days before the phone actually arrived on my doorstep. Lastly, they allocated a phone number without asking me, so I couldn't transfer my number from a different carrier or choose the prefix.

Amazon is the problem, not T-Mobile. Why are they pre-activating the phones before dispatch and sending customers open box phones? This definitely seems like a dishonest business practice, and I expected more from Amazon. I disputed the charges with T-Mobile and had to have American Express reverse the charges.

I have had this phone for a little over a week now and I am not impressed. I got it thru Assurion, the insurance company from T-Mobile as a replacement for my Sony Ericcson W800i (could not get the same one because it's not supported by T-Mobile - I wish I could have).

I own a Mac and not a PC. RIM, the manufacturer of the Pearl offers a software to be able to sync the phone and Mac. I downloaded and followed all instructions perfectly. The phone synced fine, BUT ONLY THE FIRST TIME. After syncing the phone once it never worked again. I contacted T-Mobile and RIM and neither could help me. RIM said they new there was an issue with that software and that they were working on it. That I would just have to wait for the upgraded version of the software to come out "soon", whatever that means.

So needleas to say I am dissapointed. I can no longer sync.

BTW - I had a HTC (T-mobile) SDA for a couple of weeks, which runs windows mobile (as opposed to the Pearl) and had a nice feature that this phone doesn't have. When I synced the SDA with my apple address book, all the info including all phone numbers, emails, urls, addresses, and even birthdays and PICTURES synced fine. (Of course you need to get a third party software from Mark/Space but I used the trial version for free and it worked great). The Pearl only syncs (when it feels like it) the very basic info like numbers and emails, but no birthdays and pics.

I purchased this phone last month through Amazon and am thrilled with: the buying experience with Amazon, the T-Mobile service, and the phone itself. This is THE perfect solution for those wanting a phone that they can also use for email. It is smaller than most phones without it's capabilities. I have had the TREO 650 and while that was more of a powerhouse for email, with a much preferred touch screen technology, I was never able to conveniently use it as a phone (too large) and carried 2 devices as a result. I agree with reviewers who mention that the trackball is under-utilized and they have some work to do on the interface but overall this is an great phone. I was purchasing new service and obtaining a new phone number so the process could not have been smoother. There were instructions included in the packaging that clearly outlined the steps if transferring service so while others have experienced pains related to this process, I thought Amazon did a great job clearly outlining the process that needs to be followed. I installed the desktop software and instantly and easily downloaded ~900 contacts from Outlook to this phone without adding additional memory. The setup to begin receiving my personal gmail and yahoo! mail took less than 5 minutes. I had previously used my TREO with corporate email servers and processed much more mail on my TREO but I also receive a lot of personal email and handling the volume on this device is working nicely.

If you need a great cell phone with email access, I believe this is as good as it gets and you would not be disappointed with this purchase.

I got my BlackBerry Pearl about 3 weeks back and I like it a lot. The interface is good and intutive. Voice quality is good. Works good even on weak signal.
I noticed an irritating problem with battery compartment cover within a few days. The battery cover is loose and keeps on slipping off. I called T-mobile but they said they don't have any replacement covers and I will have to keep it as such. They also mentioned that I should contact BlackBerry if its a manufacturing defect. I wrote to BlackBerry and they replied that I should either contact T-mobile or I can get FEE BASED support. The only option I am left with is to use a peice of cello tape to keep the cover from slipping off. I guess that is pretty bad customer service for a product in this price range.


I think the most important thing to keep in mind when comparing the Pearl to other 'smart phones' is its size; and considering how thin and compact this thing is, it is amazing! The screen is a more than adequate size, with wonderful color, and you could spend days learning all the different ways you can modify various settings. The browser allows you to choose how you want pages to show up (IE Format, WAP, Netscape, etc), which I found awesome. It takes 30 seconds to add an email account, and it works like a charm. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, as others mentioned, but overall this was one heck of a deal.

As far as coverage goes, it depends on where you live. I'm in Austin and as far as I know, t-mobile gets far better coverage than Sprint/Nextel around here. Verizon is really the only company that gets slightly better marks; although T-mobile takes the win on customer service (get a human being in 30 seconds).

I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile because I wanted cooler phones than what Sprint offers. I was successful in that aspect - the Pearl is the coolest phone around. My friends with other BlackBerry products or Treos are all jealous of my Pearl. The size is amazing considering how much the phone has to offer.

The speaker phone is good. My girlfriend "hates being on speaker phone," but with the Pearl she can't hear a difference (and I'm not about to tell her).

Having Internet access wherever you go is incredible, as is the e-mail functionality. I was unsure of whether or not this would be worth the additional monthly cost, but after using the phone for 6 weeks there is no doubt that it is.

I am able to sync the phone with my Mac without any problem.

Now the negatives: Switching from Sprint to T-Mobile was a HUGE mistake. I live in Chicago and Sprint's coverage is undoubtedly far superior to T-Mobile. Sprint used to work everywhere, including basements, offices, hotels, etc. T-Mobile has many deadspots and I drop calls very frequently. If you live in Chicago and want a Pearl, I'd suggest going with Cingular. I can't vouch for their coverage personally, but I doubt it's worse than T-Mobile.

In regards to the phone: It takes a little while to learn how to use it. I was coming from a Samsung phone that was extremely intuitive. The BlackBerry takes a little adjusting, especially to use the keypad. It should be noted that I'm not a manual reader, I just played with it until I figured it out. Once you know your way around the phone it's great, but if you ever have to hand it off to a passenger in your car to work the maps application, you're in trouble.

The size of the phone is the best feature. It does not seem to sacrifice much durability, but the battery cover slides off all the time. It gets very annoying. The latch just doesn't hold the flimsy cover in place. Sometimes it comes off in my pocket but the worst is when it slides off while I'm talking on it... very hard to deal with if your other hand is full. I'm terrified of dropping a phone this expensive, and when it separates into two pieces in your hand it gets harder.

Overall I would suggest buying the phone - it is an incredible device with a couple of livable annoyances.

I've had my Blackberry Pearl for about three months and have been very pleased with it. I'm no expert, but have found the interface very easy to use. Keyboard is smaller but it is very good at learning your keywords and guessing what you want to type correctly. The camera, e-mail service, calendar and address book functions are great too.

Advantage over the other smart phones is really the size - this is the size of a regular cell phone but can do so much more. However, this also means that the screen is consequently smaller than say, the Blackjack. Disadvantage is that T-mobile internet service can be slow (seems to be getting better lately) and sometimes I have trouble connecting to IM.

The reception is much much better than the basic Samsung phone I had before, also on TMobile.

There are alot of great things about this phone:

* It's size is perfect
* Looks very sharp
* Big, bright, colorful screen
* Pseudo-qwerty keyboard
* Camera
* Loud!

I'm pleased with it. It does everything very well.

I've had trouble getting it to ring and vibrate at the same time. I also occasionally run into an actual programming error, "javascript handling error" which has required a shutdown/battery removal.

It is nicer than my previous phone. I'm sure that it will serve me well over the two years of my contract.

The phone is just OK. The applications are just average for towards standards and the features are sub par. If you are a business user and your company is running BES, then you may like it.

Media capabilities are a joke.... but then again it a Blackberry.

If you are getting a smart phone get the Symbian OS one.

I have to say, the looks on the phone is the only thing it has going for it. The signal is always low, the flash doesn't help much, can't disable the shutter noise, CAN'T PLAY ANY VIDEO IF IT'S NOT MPEG-4 SIMPLE PART 2(good luck finding a converter), DOES NOT RECORD VIDEO, the maps feature isn't fully functional if you don't have the additional Bluetooth receiver that doesn't exist, broke 2 already from normal use, had to apply the 5.99 for insurance since I can't trust the quality of the phone to stay working, the instant messager never works properly. Wow I got myself in a 2 year contract just for this phone and it was the stupidest thing I done.


EDITED 5/7/2007: I really hate this phone!!!!!!!!!!

Coming from 7250, this phone rocks. It's what I've been waiting years for, in that it combines the fantastic email handling capabilities that all blackberries posses with the small size and snappy response you get from the latest 'cool' cell phone. The new keyboard layout does take a few days to get used to, but after that it's almost as fast as a regular blackberry keyboard.

I was pleasantly surprised! There are so many options for the Blackberry and I love that. the Pearl is a great phone, with a wonderful way to read e-mail.
I find it hard to knock the experience. Love the trackball--scrolls both vertically and horizontally--makes getting around the phone a breeze.
Phone is beautiful, small and light.
This is my all time favorite!



I purchased this phone about 2 months ago... The more common thing i have is that the reception get's shut off quite often, Rebooting the phone does not work, I have to get into the set up screen then it says something like connection is shut off, turn on?... Then it'll get reception again... And the speaker for ringing and such...

Afew time's it just stops making any sound, I dont know what causes it but it doesnt make a sound for 2 days then comes back normal... I have to have it set to vibrate to know someone's calling or i get a email/text/voice...

Loading the web browser, photo's take awhile aswell, As already stated...

Other then those things its a neat little phone.

I've been a Treo user since the Treo 90 and have owned all the Treos except the 700. Recently (yesterday) I switched to T-Mobile having acquired a BlackBerry 8100 Pearl from Amazon and I am completely satisfied. I switched carriers because my Sprint service in Tucson was poor at best & even-though they would fix it after spending 45 minutes on the phone (conservative estimate); the fix only lasted a week or two & then back to constantly dropped calls.

This is a much better phone than any of the Treos I owned. I won't bore you with a lot of subjective jabber, instead I will list it's strengths:
*Small & Light
*Great bluetooth range and performance
*State of the art voice commands (including dialing)
*Easy to use and setup - never cracked the manual
*T-Mobile representatives/support/service are great - fairly fast internet - well thought out design & interface...

I'm a veteran Mac user & I was able to transfer all my Entourage data (calendar, notes, ToDos, addresses:) without a hitch using the software included on the CD - syncing is a snap! After the transfer I paired the Pearl with my SamSung Wep200 and was immediately able to voice dial using my imported addresses - amazing.

I'm off to MacWorld Expo tomorrow but no iPhone for me! I'm completely satisfied with this phone & I'll let Apple debug the iPhone before I get one.

Improvements? Make it finger print proof.

Let me start off by listing the problems with this phone. I have owned it for about a month and tonight all my text messages and call logs were deleted. This happened to me once before and when I called tech support, they told me to take the battery out to reboot the phone.

I called again tonight and after they had me reboot it again, my fave5 contacts were corrupted. For starters, only 3 of my 5 show up on the phone and one of them is an old number I changed 3 days ago. The same picture is assigned to all of my contacts. They said there was a known problem with the software. I gave them my phone information and they are supposed to try to re-install my software to see if it helps.

Other than the software glitches, the phone works great. Sound quality is very good and it's very easy to type messages on the keypad.

I got this phone from T-mobile as a replacement for the Sidekick III (after using that phone I wasn't expecting too much). But I was pleasantly surprised! There are so many options for the Blackberry and I love that.


Pros:
*I think there is a bit of a learning curve with using some of the features because some of the menus are hidden in applications and not as easy to find with other phones. In a week I was very comfortable using it and I am still learning everything it has to offer.

*Call quality is decent, it crackles every now and then, and the sound isn't crystal clear but it is good, and I have had no complaints from people that I am talking to, it gets much better reception in my home than my Samsung ever did.

*I know people have complained about the keyboard but I personally love it. The sure type is so good that it guesses most words so that you can type without even looking at the phone. If it doesn't guess the word it is very easy to teach the phone the word.

*There are many free downloads which you can access from the themes menu. You can download free games, themes, wallpapers, and tones.

*The email is really easy to set up you just type in your address and password and it is ready to receive emails. I don't like how the emails show up in two places, in your mailbox and in your test message folder because it gets very crowded with texts, and emails from two accounts. Does anybody know if this is a feature you can turn off or not?

*I love how you can set songs as your ringtones, meaning you never have to buy another one at $3 per tone.

*There is a help menu right on the phone so you don't have to find your owners manual each time you need help with something.

Cons:
*The time for loading some of the applications is slow some of the time (pictures, changing themes, and the map feature)

*Speaker quality could be clearer while listening to music or while on speaker phone but it is not bad.

Overall this is a great phone and I would recommend it for anyone who wants a compact smart phone. From reading other reviews people have said that the phone freezes but I think that was maybe in the first phones that came out. I got mine for Christmas and haven't had any problems with it so far. I LOVE IT!!!

*Edit*
I have had the phone for about a month now and it has frozen a few times and i have had to take out the battery and turn it on again. my brother and his friends all have treos or the sprint smartphone and say they have the same problems too with freezing.

***another great feature i have found is when you are in the message folder if you hit alt (the arrow button in the lower left corner) then hit the 'op' key you can pull up your recent call lists and look at the duration of the calls, etc. you can also make notes about what the conversation was about. very helpful when talking to the same business associate several times a day!***

I have had this phone for about a week now... and I cant put it down! I am constantly playing with it.... love the email, the free games, the phone calls are great. I am not giving it 5 stars for two reasons only: camera not that great and ring tones are not as loud as I want them... I missed a few calls when I was on the train cuz I couldnt hear the ring.

Otherwise, its a perfect phone. I was surprised the size and weight of the phone compared to all that it can do. Yahoo search is wonderful.

I had Verizon before, but T-Mobile is much better. They actually have a variety of free games that I had to otherwise pay for in Verizon. Plus, the Internet email plan is much cheaper with T-Mobile. I am able to get my Yahoo mail with the free Yahoo account and didnt have to have Yahoo Plus. Havent tried the Bluetooth yet, but thats my next step.


Before the Pearl, I was using the blackberry 7100t, with Tmobile. The 7100t is big and bulky, and it was a bit slow, but I loved having my email with my phone. What I wanted was something that looked like a regular phone, but had blackberry functionality. The pearl is a dream come true -- it's sleek, thin, a beautiful and comfortable phone, top quality reception, and it even has an MP3 player.

The main appeal here is if you want blackberry email capabilities but also have a regular looking phone. One other thing is that blackberry has the best international coverage (on GSM carriers), better than any other email system, so anywhere you go in the world, you've got your email and phone working with no problem.

The pearl is especially fast, it's got an intel 312mhz processor, much faster than the tmobile dash and some of the other phones on the market. The keyboard takes getting used to, but it works quite well. It's not for typing long emails, but I think no matter what you need a computer for long documents or emails.

This is the phone if you don't want something bulky but don't want emails to pile up that you could quickly respond to throughout the day. Blackberry email is the easiest to set up, it works the best, and this a fantastic and fast phone overall.



I have had a Palm Pilot, a Blackberry model I cannot remember and the Blackberry 8700c - - and I just love the pearl! The size, the screen, the pearl navigation, the camera - - are great. I don't have problems with the multiple lettered keys. This is my all time favorite!

This phone is amazing. The screen is big enough, colors are vivid and pictures show bright and clear. Camera take decent pictures. Media player does a good job. Speakerphone is loud and clear. Phone is packed with features. Outlook sync is a breeze. Phone is beautiful, small and light. Trackball is awesome. No need to buy extra cables or software for sync. Charge using power adapter or USB cable. Decent battery life. Best phone ever!!!
Cons: None

Great color display. Love the trackball--scrolls both vertically and horizontally--makes getting around the phone a breeze. Very easy to get used to the QWERTY keyboard. Voice recognition a plus. Camera takes decent photos. Organizer is very functional for everyday appointments. Web access w/ T-mobile very reliable. I switched from the Razor and very glad I did. Wouldn't change a thing about this phone!

My job here in Germany requires me to travel within Europe and having the means to stay in touch with my office. This is my 4th Blackberry (I owned the 7230, the 7100t & the 8700g) & I rate this one the best except for the keypad. I do have big fingers & typing can become somewhat of a task especially if you're pressing to "kick" out a quick email. I recently traveled to Ukraine and was receiving emails with no problems including text messages & CNN Breaking News . The phone reception was great. The camera takes beautiful pictures & the flash is a big, added plus. I recommend adding a Mini SD disk with added memory if you plan to use the camera often. I was fortunate to find a cell phone shop during my trip & purchased a 1 GB Mini SD disk. I recommend you purchase the Designio Leather Case (Horizontal Flap) for the Blackberry Pearl which can be found @ Amazon as well. This helps protect this awesome device. This device is guaranteed to attract lot's of attention as I discovered in Vienna's International Airport as well as in Kiev, Ukraine among the natives.

Honestly, this is the best smart phone I've ever used. It does everything a blackberry normally does with all the usual efficiency. The camera is the fastest working camera I've ever used on any cell phone. The reception is better even than the 8700 which I loved.

While it does deserve five stars it has a few flaws:

Opening messages is a bit slower than older Blackberry's
For people who want to swap memory cards in and out often having to take the phone apart is a drawback, for the rest of us it doesn't matter.
No video capture (which I don't really miss).


Plus's

You can download files from some email accounts right to the device, as well as files from other places on the web.

It does most websites at very nearly the same level as a desktop.

When in iffy coverage area's it picks the network up faster than older models.

Tip:
Holding down the * key in your message folder and then releasing it after 2 seconds will take you to the oldest unread message.


I recently purchased a Blackberry Pearl with T-Mobile service through Amazon. It was a very good transaction and everything went smooth. I highly recommend!
Blackberry Pearl: Great phone! I swapped out an old Motorola MPX200. Only bad part is that the voice mail, email and SMS icon are really small! Sounds quality is excellent compard to older model Blackberrys. The portability between Outlook and Blackberry has been pretty good, though the desktop manager is not as smooth as it could be.
T-Mobile: Had to call their customer support to get my old number ported over--- it was not transparent. But, T-Mobile had service up and running in about 48 hours. Not quite sure what the hold up was.
Amazon: Took care of deep discounts on the Blackberry and shipped device ahead of time, so that was a pleasant surprize to get my new Blackberry ahead of schedule.
No way anyone was going to top Amazon on the price for the Blackberry Pearl! I searched the web for two weeks looking for deals, as well as checking with local stores. Amazon was a slam dunk!


I bought this phone a month ago. I think it has major problems with software and stability. I called the technical support and was told that I have to remove the battery and reset it once every 24 hours. Phone suddenly stops ringing or it suddenly stops making calls. If you remove the battery and reset it it will fix itself. Very annoying. The benifits are that it is easy to carry and it easy to sync with your computer and contacts. Hopefully they will improve the next model.

This phone is bar none the best on the market. Although Windows Mobile and phones like MotoQ may seem to be just as appealing, the intuitive interface of the pearl as well as its numerous features won me over by a landslide. This phone can do pretty much everything on the road and its rigid case can take a lot of punishment. Keyboard is fantastic, in my opinion it is right on par with QWERTY in terms of functionality. In fact I type faster on pearl, but it does take a little time to master. My other favorite features include MP3/Video player, sharp LCD screen and outstanding quality of each and every component of this gadget, including software. I've been using it for about two months now and I still think that this phone doesn't have any real minuses. If you are seriously considering getting a cellphone, I highly the Pearl - it is simply brilliant.

Since I got from T-Mobile have problem with software and battery. It is not at all user friendly interface and I think there are better phones available than this htped for no reason phone

Up until the Pearl, I had one device for e-mail (BB 8700) and another for voice (RAZR). Form factor on the 8700 was the big reason - just too bulky for my suit pocket and the holster was too techie. Loved the RAZR for its size, battery, camera and 'coolness', but the e-mail/browser offering is pitiful. Needed the phone 100% of the time, and the BB not so much, but missed it a lot when I didn't feel like carrying it.

Now the Pearl! Great looks, super phone and camera, and all the BB functionality and features a 100+ e-mail per-day person could need. The 8700 was a lot easier to type on, but so is the keyboard on my desktop ;). For me, the ability to send and receive e-mail with 80% of the 8700's ease at 50% of its size, along with everything I loved about the RAZR as a phone, make this the device to have. BTW, I am a Cingular customer. I got the T-Mobile phone unlocked for $40 on eBay.

2 Major problems:
1) Every time I turn on the phone, there must be 40 to 50 JUNK emails that come in which have accumulated since the phone was off/out of coverage area...no exagg...40 to 50!
It irritated me to such an extent that I removed the (19.99) Blackberry plan from my T-Mobile account.
Now I just use it as a (so-so) overpriced phone.
2) The internet is maddeningly slow...reminds me of the early days of dial-up.

Other problems....around 3 or 4 times, I've gotten an "hourglass" on my screen for no reason and all functions are frozen. Removing & replacing the battery is "hit or miss" to fix it...sometimes, I just wait it out (several minutes). REALLY annoying.

Conclusion:
I'll use my cell phone for phone calls and my home/laptop computer for email/internet.
NOT worth the hype.

I just received my T-Mobile Pearl to replace my existing Nextel 7510 Blackberry. I feel like I've just entered a new millenium - thanks to both the Pearl technology and t-mobile service and customer support. Within 5 minutes I was able to move my old Nextel phone # onto the Pearl by calling customer service and speaking to a live person who knew what they were doing! I can't remember the last time I experienced that with Nextel and I've been a Nextel customer for at least 6 years. Everything was easy from setup, customizing, adding email onto the phone etc. And for the 1st time, I was able to send and receive calls from a cell phone inside my brick house. T-Mobile told me in advance that it was very likely that I wouldn't be able to, especially since I live near the Long Island sound and the t-mobile coverage map shows 1-2 bars of service - but it works great - crystal clear.

Having been a Blackberry user for the past several years, the Pearl is a huge leap forward in all aspects.

I definitely recommend this phone and T-Mobile!

Changed my carrier to try this phone---completely not worth it. Even when phone is "free", the data plans are nuts--$100/month on average for data and locked in for years.

Suretype stinks for anything but standard dictionary typing---browsing and emails basically required me to shut off the "feature".

I'm going to return this phone and maybe try out the alternatives: Nokia E62, Moto Q, other Blackberry models or the new Samsung "BlackJack" phone out soon.

Blackberries are awesome for corporate emails in the normal QWERTY format. Pearl is a major compromise in usability, battery life and stability. Looks are nice, but it's not enough to overcome the other negatives.

Maybe Indigo will be the right balance.

At first I loved this phone. It is very cool, light, fits in your pocket easily, and has a terrific screen. But then I noticed that the software has problems. At least once a day, I have to take the battery out, to reset the software because the the phone won't call, the voice dialing stops working, or it refuses to work through the headset. No clue why this happens. But it is very irritating - especially if you try to use the phone while driving.

Next I found it's ability to let you know about missed calls is hit and miss. Sometimes it lets me know the number of who called, and other times, I haven't a clue.

The software design needs some rework. When you go to the dialing list, I'd like it if it always goes to the full list. Instead, this sucker goes to the last person you looked up. So if you want to call someone else, you have to back out two or three times till you get to the full list. This is annoying if you call from the car.

I got this phone partially because of the voice dialing capability. Unfortunately, you can't program the function, so you have to listen to incorherent robotic pronunciations of names, as it asks you do you want to call eeehnnnna. And you have to figure out what name it's referring to. Sometimes the feature works okay. But half the time it plod aimlessly with incoherent questions.

The MP3 is nice, but haven't figured out if it will work in Stereo. It seems to only be mono, but not sure if it's a matter of using a different plug for the headphones.

Camera is okay, but won't replace a real digital camera.

The coolest feature, is downloading Google Maps and checking for directions - plus viewing the satellite maps, plus traffic in your area.

This phone will be great when they get to version 3 or 4 on the software, rework the menu design, overhaul the voice dialing, and make the platform more stable. Till then, I'd look elsewhere.

UPDATE: T-mobile replaced my phone. Phone #2 had the same problems with software freezes. After one month the battery died completely. T-Mobile gave me two options - 1. free 7 day UPS ground shipping or 2. $15 for express shipping, which in their minds is 3 days. Unbelievable that they don't provide overnight shipping. I'm giving up on this phone and will try the LG EnV from Verizon. Hopefully it works more smoothly.


FURTHER UPDATE: T-Mobile's "express shipping" took 7 days. I've been using the new LG enV, and I can report is is a much better phone. The Voice Dialing is much much better - sounds like a real human, rather than an electronic chip in the Pearl. The menu structure in the LG is much more intuitive -- not the scattered thoughts approach of the Pearl. The LG has not had a single software glitch -- which after the Pearl is a great relief.

Recommendations for a better Pearl: 1. Total redesign of the menu structure so related functions are next to each other or subparts of the same tree branch; 2. Stability, stability stability; 3. Dump the weird voice dialing and get one the user can program, or license the one LG is using; and 4. Redesign the phone keys so the telephone keypad can be distinguished by "feel" - useful for dialing while driving.

*EDIT* Some of my initial problems with the phone have spontaneously resolved themselves since this review was initially written...see below.

This is a great phone, but there seems to be a really high incidence of lemons with this model, judging from my experience and from the reviews I've seen, so be aware of this when you buy it. To cite one (apparently common) example, my battery will not last more than six hours at a time without needing to be recharged. This hasn't occured with my husband's BB Pearl, however. [EDIT: A few weeks after I began using the phone, this issue was resolved, possibly due to an automatic firmware update of some kind. I have not had the problem since and now the battery lasts several days without a recharge, even though I frequently use the internet and play games on it!]

The Blackberry Pearl has a clean, attractive interface and is easy to learn to use, though if you have trouble with technology or get scared when there are lots of options in a menu, this probably isn't the right phone for you.

Things that particularly distinguish this model from other phones:
* The trackball (How did I ever do without this feature? It's great!)
* The size (slim, light, and not awkwardly shaped)
* The keyboard (easy-to-use, SO much nicer than trying to text on a regular phone keypad)
* The predictive-text capability (I've never had a phone where this feature actually worked, on the BB Pearl, it's quick, intuitive, and accurate)

Positives:
* Makes text-messaging incredibly easy
* Great sound and reception (I'm north of Seattle, and though we'd constantly drop calls with Verizon, we haven't yet lost one with T-Mobile)
* Extremely crisp, clear, bright display
* Password feature, which I prefer to the "push two buttons to unlock my phone" standard.
* Built-in support for common instant messaging programs
* Light flashes different color for different types of messages (green for text message, pink for IM, etc.) and when my battery is low
* Good volume range and easy, accessible volume adjustment

Negatives:
* Awful battery life on some phones [Seems to have been resolved as of December 2006.]
* Flimsy setup for SIM card and memory card
* Can supposedly handle movie files, but tends to freeze up at anything over a couple of megs
* Menu interface can be clumsy if you have a lot of games or applications, since there's no submenu feature I can find
* Even with a converter, I haven't been able to get sound in both ears for the music player...haven't had a music phone before, so I don't know how common this is.
* Mediocre camera

I wouldn't recommend the phone to people who just want baseline cell phone functionality (there are probably better models for that), who want a full-fledged media phone, or who need full-featured PDA-type functionality. It's sort of a middle point that works well for those of us who want a little of everything.

I got this one a month ago from t-mobile. 99+tax. Had to take a data plan as well with this(they made me take it). Blackberry Maps are totally awesome on this, but they would work only if you have a data plan(atleast 19.99 a month).

Pearl has stunning looks and its way better in terms of weight, functionality compared to the other Blackberry models.

However, one day after using it for 5-6 days, it wont ring anymore, no sound at all. No music, no rings, no keypad sound, nothing. I had to spend a lots of time on the internet to figure out that, i have to take the battery out and put is back in to get its sound back. I did and it worked. But then the same problem again.

It was not worth the money and a 2 year contract. So went back to t-mobile and returned.

THings to watchout for.

No OEM case/cover available.
Keys get presses easily.
Body is not that strong, can easily crack.
1.3 MP Camera is mediocre.
And the keypad is really uncomfortable, esp to those who have used the simple ABC types before.

I would say, that people wait for some more time, till all its accessorries are out and they upgrade the software or whatever, to make this sound problem(i heard the same from some others as well) go away.

My wife and I bought this phone because of its decent PIM functionality (to sync with a Mac using PocketMac), and because T-Mobile seemed to offer decent coverage, service, and had a plan that fit our needs, we gave it a shot.

The Pearl and T-Mobile's service have not lived up to our expectations. My wife gets no reception at her work, despite T-Mobile's coverage map showing 3-bars (she gets zero, and occasionally, when she can get out, her call will inevitably drop). My wife's battery was down to 25% after one day of use. And by use I mean taking a few calls and leaving it alone most of the day. Its probably because of her spotty reception, but still unacceptable for a phone that should get nearly 15 days on standby.

Neither of us can use custom ringtones with the phone, a problem that occurred after T-Mobile pushed their myFaves software to us (T-Mobile opened a ticket concerning the issue and I still haven't heard back from them, the 72-hour window is 8 hours from close).

When I restart my phone (which I have to do often, for reasons I'll point out below), I get an unhandled java.lang.NullPointerException. While I'm not sure if this affects anything, it seems unprofessional to have unchecked exceptions finding their way to the user; a nicer, user-visible error would be preferred with the full error in a log somewhere.

I restart my phone often because after a few hours, I am no longer able to make outgoing calls. When I press green phone, I get a "Call Failed" message immediately. Restarting the phone resolves the issue and I have not found that turning wireless off and back on also resolves the issue, but either way takes several orders of magnatude longer then just being able to call someone when I dial their number, something nearly every other phone in the world is capable of.

Often times the phone doesn't ring, but I'll get a voice mail indication. After a day of use, I could no longer get to T-Mobile's T-Zones to check my account status. My wife's phone will no longer sync with PocketMac, RIM's supported sync application for Mac.

I had very high hopes for this phone, and for T-Mobile. Instead of replacing my Verizon phone, with a smart phone which surpassed my old phone's capabilities, I have been stuck with a service and device far inferior to Verizon's stone-age wireless service, and vanilla cell phone. I wanted nothing more then to move back to a GSM network, but it seems like I'll be going back to CDMA. I'm just hoping T-Mobile will refund my phone, activation fees, and the 4 days of service I've had.

If they next revision of firmware is lightyears better than this one, I might recommend the Pearl. The device itself isn't bad, but the problems it does have don't make up for its features, form factor, or anything good it offers.

I don't think I can stress this enough. Do NOT buy this phone unless you have a high-end corporate job or something. I'm a 21 year old female community college student and I made the huge mistake of buying this phone. Not only are most of the features completely useless for someone like me, this phone has a really confusing interface. I can't figure ANYTHING out. And make no mistake, I'm usually really good with cell phones. All the other phones I've owned in the past I learned how to use all their features within a matter of an hour. I spend five hours on this phone yesterday and I STILL haven't figured everything out, and I probably won't. It's just way too confusing.

I think I was initially attracted to this phone because of the sleek design and the little mouse-type nagivation system, but after using this thing for a few hours I quickly became annoyed and frustrated.

I do like the qwerty type keypad. I had no problem learning how to use that and I find it a lot easier than a regular ABC keypad on any regular flip phone, but other than that this phone is just REALLY confusing for me. I usually pick stuff up quickly, but not with this phone.

Also I was really annoyed when scrolling through the photo gallery I found it took AGES just to view one picture. The phone literally got stuck in loading mode and I had to switch it off (which actually took a few minutes). How annoying! I've never had that problem with any other phone.

Another thing that reallybugs me is the back of the phone where you find the sim card and the battery slips off REALLY easily. Like I could totally see myself losing the backing within a matter of a week. All in all this phone is pretty flawed in it's design and navigation interface. But then again I've never owned a blackberry before, so maybe that's how all of them are supposed to be? Look, I just wanted a stylish phone to make calls and text with, not an entire computer in my pocket! I already have one computer at home. Why do I need another that's even more confusing to use than a regular desk top?

Anyways, maybe the problem is that this phone just isn't marketed to someone like me. Maybe I'd be better off with Nokia or Motorola or something that seems a lot sturdier.

Hey guys,
Just figured that amazon shoves the data plan along with the voice plan you chose. Anyway we can avoid this data plan???
Thanks,

I love it. I wasn't sure if a BB was a good choice of a phone for me as i thought it would be too complicated but anyone with any kind of computer experience will be able to figure out how to use it within a few days. Navigation is easy with track ball and I have never seen a phone this customizable before. The email client is top notch and gmail works fine. Internet browser is great for casual browsing in T-Mobile's EDGE network (speeds up to 144k). Voice dialing is intelligent so no programming. Just press a button and say name. Addres book is excellent and voice dailer recognizes if multiple numbers are stored. Included is a mapping program which can import any address stored in address book. BB desktop manager software is essential for backing up info, importing media. DO NOT buy a Blackberry if you don't own a computer as running application loader is a required step for any phone troubleshooting and T-Mobile won't issue an exchange for a device malfunction without running it first. Calender and contacts sync with Outlook and desktop manager is not compatible out of the box with mac OS. The camera is great for normal users and a flash is an added bonus. A great product. Now i know why so many people call the Balckberry a 'Crack Berry'.

Alright, I've gone through my share of phones in 12 years of cell phone products. Having owned every vendor's products, this is my first Blackberry, and I can easily say it is the most intelligently programmed (software/firmware) phone I have ever used.

I LIKE:

Small Form Factor
Great Screen, Visible In Direct Sunlight
Soft Edges, Smooth to Touch
Excellent Audio Quality - Speaker is Fine, OK?...
Intuitive to Use
Pearl Trackball is a JOY to Navigate
Syncs Effortlessly with Outlook (Contacts/Calendar) Note-I do not use this for email or have a data plan on Tmobile. I simply wanted a clean design for carrying all my contacts/calendar with me.

WHAT I DON'T:

Cramped Keys
Flimsy Back Cover
Cannot Ring and Vibrate At The Same Time? (Vibrate Only, Vibrate THEN Ring, Ring Only)
Does Not Light Up During An Alarm
Battery Indicater Level - Looks like you are out of power, but the thing runs for hours...NO DAYS.. more...could use some better accuracy.
Phone LCD Face Not Beveled - Will Easily Scratch. Buy screen protectors ASAP.


I've been upfront on my likes/dislikes, and still considering some of my petty complaints, this phone absolutely rocks. The quality of the phone, the way it feels, the sound quality, signal strength, the intelligent programming and context-help is much appreaciated. Everyone who touches it wants it...It's the first phone I'm paranoid about damaging/losing.

What are you waiting for?

SUPER Highly Recommended




I'm completely sold on my new BlackBerry Pearl. I've only had it a little more than a week but so far I just love it. What's all to love?

1. Form factor: it's perfectly small but still functional. Small enough to fit in a pocket on a dress shirt or pants without looking odd, large enough to have a great screen and usable keyboard

2. Back from 00-02, I used one of the larger original email only BBerry's. Loved the email service then. Integration with a phone is top rate. And the new trackball to replace the old thumbwheel works great and feels natural.

3. Voice dialing!!! Wow, this worked first time right out of the box. Click the left dedicated button, wait for it to initialize and I said "call home" and boom, it responds "home calling" and soon my home phone is ringing. No "training" it to learn my voice or anything.

4. Nice enough little camera with a zoom and flash.

5. Great enterprise email server. We use Lotus Notes (ack) but the BBerry server integration works great. It took a little bit of effort to get it configured and set up right, but once it's working, it just works.

Now, to prove I'm not a complete cheerleader on this, a few downsides:
1. I've had several Java exception errors already and had to soft reset the phone already once to get rid of one. That's bad. A phone should just work.

2. This is more an issue with Notes and IntelliSync but syncing personal Notes contacts with my BBerry was a pain. Intellisync crashed when exporting my contacts initially. To get them all over to BBerry I eventually had to export them from Notes to Vcard, vcard to outlook express, and Sync Outlook Express to BBerry via Intellisync. Also, because I use multiple Notes address books (the contacts list on the client and the company address book on the server) I'll never really have a sync'd list.

3. Looking up an address wirelessly in the company address book can take several minutes. Fortunately, once it's been looked up once, I can add it to the address book on the BBerry.

This phone is perfect in many ways but the bluetooth feature is a disaster. There is simply inadequate service connectivity with other items (especially Mac) despite what the manual says. This means it HAS to be synced every time you may want to add a phone numer from your computer or vice versa. No dragging and droppinbg on this phone. No apparent support for industry standard v cards either. A boring issue needing cables etc. I got a free upgrade on this phone in the UK but it's going back to Viodafone and I am going back to Sony Ericsson who also have 'push' email - just like Blackberry!

This is an excellent phone. It is like buying the sports model of mercedez and gets everyone eyes. Of course being small means some inconvenience you have to deal with. It easily fits in your pocket and is smaller than most other cell phones (Yes non Blackberry Cell Phones!) and the email and web browsing is really good. Tmobile prices are so reasonable that I have asked for an upgrade to an international internet plan for just 20 bucks more!
For a version 1.0 it does have bugs and I get java exceptions and sometimes the whole OS will crash requiring to reset the phone or take out the battery and put it back. I am hoping an upgrade of the OS would eventually fix these issues.

The screen is small so do not stare at it all day or your eyes will hurt.
If you want access at any time of the day to your email and web browser then this is the phone for you! Especially the small size allows you to check email without having everyone staring at you. The suretype works great. You just keep typing and the right word will appear like magic.

THIS WILL BECOME THE ONLY PIECE OF ELECTRONICS YOU NEED TO CARRY WITH YOU!

Let me start by saying I have owned multiple blackberries - starting with the RIM 957 two way pager, including the 7100/7105, 8300, 8700G, and now the 8100! I'm never switching back to a full sized model because this one has it all.

I should caveat my experience and my quick acceptance time of this phone config by saying that I used the 7105 for over a year, so I got very comfortable with the suretype keyboard config. This can take full sized berry or palm users a while to get used to. However, once you get accustomed to it you'll be able to type just as fast as users with full sized keyboards. Certain common words are ambiguous on the dual letter keyboard ("see" and "are", "betting" and "netting", "hey" and "get", etc...) however it just takes a quick glance up at the screen to make sure the unit has picked the right word.

It's camera is great, and I can easily email pics right after taking them. The MP3 and video player works perfectly and the unit has become my only take-everywhere item. This phone is "impossibly small" to quote Steve Jobs - approaching ipod nano feel - AND it acts as my ipod!

I purchased a 2gb Sandisk card for pics/music, and was a little bit disappointed when the card caused the phone to malfunction and constantly reboot. A quick google search pointed me to some sites that said that the current tmobile OS doesn't support anything more than a 1gb card, but it was relatively straight forward to "hack" an upgrade to the ROGERS Wireless (Canada) OS to support the 2gb card. Now I have tons of room. According to tmobile they are working on an OS upgrade as well, but had no ETA so I had decided not to wait.

The only downside I can see is that the unit doesn't come with a carrying case or holster (RIM says it's too small to even need one), and it doens't come with stereo headphones to enjoy the MP3 player. Other than that, perfection!!!

Overall - 5+++ stars!

Pros:
Small
Light
Fast
Great sound quality
Less phone background noise than 8700 series
Great pictures and easy to email
Video support
MP3 player
Micro-SD expandable memory to at least 2gb (I have tried it)
Suretype keyboard is really easy to get used to (just give it time!)



Cons: (very minor!)
No holster (I bought one online)
Mono-only headset (I bought stereo headsets online to enjoy the mp3 player)

For those used to a phone, wanting a light email add-on, this phone is perfect. For patient executives that type lots of emails, this phone is also great. For impatient people, who won't take the time to learn the keyboard intracacies, you had better stick to a full sized unit.




This phone is my first blackberry; my aging ATT samsung was shot, and I dreaded the idea of converting to Cingular anyway, things fell together naturally. Got a great deal on Amazon--this phone is over $200 bucks direct from T-Mobile.

T-mobile customer service was fantastic and got my number switched over within 24 hours.

The only reason I didnt give this 5 stars is related to posts below. Since getting the phone I have had to reset it by removing the battery once, which I feel is unacceptable in a device such as a phone. I realize that phones are becoming more sophisticated, and the blackberry's even more so, but come on!



neither MS Windows nor Mac based odd system, why buy this product ?



I ordered a Pearl after my 7100t's USB port vacated. I have it through work, so fortunately the $299.00 cost is not mine to bear. It's a pretty little thing, with the emphasis on little, I am afraid I will lose it somewhere! I also have to say up front that the T-Mobile representative that helped me with the order was excellent - extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. A very far cry from other services I've dealt with.

PRO:
Small, sleek, no wheel to give you carpal-tunnel-thumb. Voice dialing is hit or miss, but pretty good for hands-free use. Excellent coverage with T-Mobile on this phone; they must have improved the antenna. Still responds quickly and readily even with my company's encryption software on it. The camera is a wonderful addition, and the pictures really aren't that bad for a 1.3mp phone camera - you just have to have a very steady hand. I haven't yet tried the MP3 player because we don't allow microSD cards in work devices yet. The keyboard is surprisingly well-done and easy to use despite the size, even for the guys in my office. Extremely easy to learn the features and set it up for use. The manuals that come with it are excellent.

CON:
Bad, bad feedback and echo if you're talking to another cell user. Camera and voice dialing buttons are right where you tend to grasp the phone, leading to many misdialed calls and lots of pictures of my feet and car dashboard. The trackball is a wonderful idea, but it doesn't give me the feeling it will be operational for the long term - it's pretty delicate. Doesn't appear to be compatible with many computer USB ports for charging - repeatedly reports the power output is too low. The backlight tends to flicker. The smart-typing feature seems lacking on this phone.


All in all, I am enjoying the phone and don't regret buying it, but if my job hadn't paid for it, I doubt I would have spent the money - I would have just gotten another 7100t, which lasted me faithfully for two years.

Otherwise, NO ONE HAS SKINS OR HOLSTERS FOR THIS MODEL. I've been to about a dozen different stores, websites, and kiosks, and no one has any cases or even knows when they'll get more. Even the ones on eBay turn out to be universal cases. [...]

I am a first timer Blackberry owner. Have long story of regular, fancy and not fancy phones (sony-ericsson, imate, pocket pc, MS mobile phones, samsung, nokia, panasonic).

I am truly impressed by the design, the easy of use and the very complete featureset of the BB pearl compared to any of the others I have owned so far.

Above all, I am impressed by how easy it is to set and use everything up. Without reading the manual (which is weak) but using the 'great' included help i could get it running almost immediatly. It just works. There are some features that are really difficult to consider or use on other phones but here are a snap.

Browsing the internet, looking at maps (from the contact's address jumps almost immediatly to the map location). Installed google maps phone version which provides online traffic info (in my case I am interested in Seattle's traffic) and I was quite impressed by the speedy response to give me the traffic info before driving home at rush hour.

Not sure whether this is the best phone, but it is the best 'really-smart' phone I got so far.

With the 'phone-profile' (it has 5) it allows me to switch very quickly from silent to loud, to sleep, etc
I was not aware of the following functionality until a friend of mine told me, but If you happen to have phone case with magnets, the phone detects its being stored and automatically switches to stand by (conveniently saving battery life)

The menus to configure the phone could be a little better (it is too much java like) I think, but I guess they tried to maximize the amount of text at any given time on each screen.

It has useful pre wired internet shortcuts and t-zones site is very useful (although at times I feel it lacks substance). I acuired this phone for its email, browsing and instant messaging capabilities. My company's IT department filters hotmail, instant messaging access, so being able to receive and answer external email and IM was an essential part of my desicion.

The included photo camera sensitivity is decent for low light conditions compared to other camera phones.

About the signal: it works great inside my office, which was not the case for previous GSM phones (including sony ericson, i-mate phones).

The amount of features and quality of the phone are really impressive.

Service with t-mobile and blackberry seems good so far.

My concerns:
The track ball may get grease and with time loose accuracy.
I am really dissapointed I can't buy yet an original blackberry case or skin to protect the phone and it doesn't come with any plastic one. The case will be released only after November 17! (or October 26 for a few of the cases). It brings very cheap plastic sheets that soon lost the stick power.
The speaker phone volume and microphone sensitivity haven't impressed me at all.
The rign volume neither. But I guess is due to (and partially compensated) by the size of the phone.
The desktop synchronizer for the pc just does not let you select when there are conflicts synchronizing the contacts with the desktop's outlook. But it worked and passed all the information well. I would just love to have the option of deciding which contacts I want to sync and which ones to keep ignoring.

Overall: Perfect phone for me. I recommend you get it via the $49 Amazon deal (involves tmobile two years contract though) but I think is worth every penny and can't stop enjoying it!

Good luck choosing yours.

I had a bad first impresion with this phone. During the first 3 days of use the phone will crash every once in a while. And to get it back, you will need to remove the battery so that it resets. These crashes did not always occur in the same application. After the fourth day, things started to improve. Maybe due to a SIM update 9804 message, I received. This message apparently self installed something in the SIM card and this fixed the problems I was having. The SIM card contains T-Mobile network information.

The next problem I had, occured after a week of use. The T-mobile network connection failed and I could not make calls from the phone. I had to call T-Mobile and they fix it within minutes. I had to turn the phone off (no reset) while they changed something in my account.

The reason I am awarding 5 stars to this phone is that after that first bad impression, the phone has performed flawless for three weeks. Where the phone excels is in the exterior design (small and beautiful). The email performance is also excellent. The Internet is very useful for keeping track of your stock or reading news.

If you have a rocky start with the phone, refer to [...] It is a very good source of information.

Been using this for about a week now, here's what I came up with.

Pros:
-The phone is SMALL and fully featured. Organizer, MP3, camera, PDA, Web broswer. etc
-The 'pearl' is absolutely genius. It takes about 3 mins to get use to, senitivity is just right.
-Clean, easy to read screen.
-Conversations with this phone is clear, although the included headset sounds much better. Speaker volume is good, not as low as some people have reviewed IMO.

Cons:
- There are no accessories for this phone yet. I went out and bought a Nintendo DS screen protector and cut it to the phones size.
- The glossy finish makes the phone look dirty when there are fingerprints.
- Slow load times when switching applications.
- I can't browse the web while talking with someone! It forces you to hang up first.
- Camera sucks..but that's every phone.

I have always been inticed by the blackberry line of phones. How they could do everything, browse the web, IM, Email and so on. But none have ever worked for me because they were huge. I tried a 8700c, but that wasnt the phone. I liked the keyboard, but it was huge. I also tried the 7130c, which was better, but was still to thick and felt weird to use next to my Razr. I waited and waited and almost gave up, but RIM finally came through on this phenominal device.

I bought this the first day it came out, after bearing all the hype of it, and I must say, I am very very pleased. This has got to be out of my 40 phones in the last 2 years, my favorite phone. It has everything. The easy to use Suretype keyboard, the camera and mp3 player, a new much better looking UI, and we cannot forgot its amazingly small. It is the perfect compromise between the 8700c and Razr. I couldnt believe how small it was.

It has alot of features compared to previous Blackberry's which I really do appreciate. I normally get bored of my phones in a week, and this one has been lasting me awhile. Its got EDGE speed Internet browsing (yea I know not EVDO, but its fast compared the the GPRS I have been using forever), Email, a Mp3 player, a Camera, and so many more features. The menu of the phone goes on forever there are so many programs on it. This phone is truly wonderful.

And I think RIM has reached their goal of making a Blackberry for the masses. I was at the Mall of America yesterday and I went into the Wireless Experts store to see what kind of deals they have on a Sidekick 3(so I can get unlimited texting, internet and so on), and I went up the counter to get a card of my salesman, and there were about 10 people in line waiting to pay, and guess what phone they all had, The Blackberry Pearl. I was shocked. No Razrs, No Samsung Traces, No Sidekick 3's, every single one of them had a Blackberry Pearl. I already see this phone as being bigger then the Sidekick 3, since i have already seen more of these "out in the wild" compared to the Sidekick. Good job RIM on dethroning the Sidekick. It really shows something big can be defeated, when you think it cant.

Overall I would say get this device at any cost. It will keep you going as far as features, and you will be very satisfied.

I have now owned this phone for three days, coming off a one-year relationship with a Cingular Blackberry 8700c. The 8700c is more of your traditional Blackberry; when it was released, the folks at RIM gave it a more hip appearance while maintaining the business as usual status quo of all Blackberries. With the Blackberry 8100 "Pearl," RIM has taken another huge step towards making hip phones for the masses, and especially younger people.

At first, I would not even consider the 8100, because of the Suretype keyboard. I looked in vain at the Verizon 8703e and its Sprint equivalent. Unfortunately, those phones are almost exactly like my Cingular 8700c. More importantly, they are overpriced and are offered by mobile companies with expensive voice/data plans. By chance, I took a look at 8100. I bought it immediately for the following reasons.

First, despite its ultra-thin size and different layout, it's as much of a Blackberry as my 8700c. Indeed, many of the menus and manner of doing things are the exact same, or at least, familiar. My 8100 is paired with a Blackberry Enterprise Server for work; activation and daily use is the exact same on the 8100 as it was on the 8700c. RIM did an excellent with integrating these business features into a hip new phone.

Second, the phone is certainly entertaining. From the camera to the music player to the movie player, it has many features to make you forget it is a Blackberry. While I doubt I'd ever ditch my iPod to use this phone as my main media player, it is still nice to have the option. Also, the phone's vibrant colour screen is well suited for games, movies, and the like. You can conduct business on this phone... or you can not.

Third, the T-Mobile plans are awesome. This phone is a "myFaves" phone, which means you can select five numbers to which you call and receive calls the most and get unlimited to/from calls to those numbers. For me, the feature is invaluable. In addition, T-Mobile's Blackberry data plan is much cheaper than plans from other carriers. With Cingular, I paid $149.99 for voice and $44.99 for data. With T-Mobile, I now pay $49.99 for voice and only $29.99 for data, including the add-on to use a Blackberry Enterprise Server. The huge savings in the voice portion of the plan is courtesy of myFaves; most of my calls went to the same people every month, which caused enormous overages. With all of the money I saved with T-Mobile, I added the Hotspot service for $19.95/mo., which gives you Wi-Fi access at Starbucks, Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Fourth, this phone with exceedingly well with other tools in my digital lifestyle. Its Bluetooth pairs and works flawlessly with the 2004+ Acura TL handsfree feature. I can make and receive calls from the car without ever touching the phone. More importantly, the 8100 pairs with Mac OS X via Bluetooth out of the box. An enterprising person figured out how to use the 8100 as a bluetooth modem under OS X. I tried it and found that the speeds are pretty darn good, even though T-Mobile does not have a EVDO network, like Verizon and Sprint. I was able to browse web sites and even use Remote Desktop to log into work without any problems. I simply choose one option in Mac OS X and it's done... NO software to install. It truly exemplifies the simplicity of Macs and phones like the 8100. Finally, as a Mac user, I was able to download PocketMac 4.0, a free program offered by RIM, and synchronize all of my contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, etc.

In summary, this phone is a perfect blend of youthfulness and business. It is perfect for the young student, as well as the older businessman. T-Mobile really shines as a provider, as well.

I highly recommend it.

I have never used blackberry before this one. I was looking for a cellphone with multimedia capabilities and with which I can check my email. BB Pearl fit that profile very well. I did read some reviews before getting it. Most of the reviews were very positive with one concern that was raised in some reviews that voice quality was not as good as reviewers expected. It was a concern to me but I thought that I could always return it if I noticed voice problems.
Here are some of my impressions from three weeks of use:
* Voice quality is excellent (I am in twin cities on t-mobile network). I haven't taken it outside the metro area or to another city yet. So, I don't know if that would effect voice quality
* I agree with couple of other reviewers that speaker phone is not the best quality. I only expect to use it on rare occasions.
* Phone paired easily with my samsung and motorola blue tooth headsets. I also have a stereo overhead bluetooth headset and when I paired the stereo bluetooth headset it worked great. It is amazing how clear other side sounds with a good quality stereo bluetooth headset.
* The back cover of the BB pearl seems to be made of flimsy plastic and I am afraid that if I removed cover too many times it might break and I will have to buy a replacement cover. When you open the back cover, you will see the battery. Underneath the battery are two slots. One for sim card and one for the micro sd card. You have to lift the latch and then insert the cards and close it. I am concerned that if I am not careful these latches to secure the cards may break. Seems to me a bit over engineering on BB's part. Because I was concerned about the durability of the outer back cover, I bought 1 GB micro sd card with plenty of storage, so that I don't have to open the back cover often to replace the micro sd card. You can transfer data to micro sd card either thru the supplied usb cable or thru bluetooth.
* Mp3 music: I transferred mp3 music files to micro sd and the player played without any problems. There are two issues to be aware of. One, the jack on the phone is 2.5 mm. Most stereo headphones are 3.5 mm. So, if you want to listen to stereo music on your favorite headset, you would need a small 2.5mm to 3.5mm converter. I bought mine from target for few dollars. The second issue is that I was unable to listen to music in stereo using my bluetooth stereo headphones (though I was able to listen to phone conversation in stereo using the same bluetooth headset). I don't know at this point why it was. I called t-mobile BB tech support but they were not able to give me a satisfactory answer.
* During the first week, I got number of "java null pointer exception" error messages during conducting different operations. The errors have decreased but I still got one couple of days ago. I am thinking these are software bugs, that t-mobile/BB need to fix.
* I am very happy with the email. It arrives instantaneously and I see a red blinking light when there is an email message in my mail box. Setting up email thru BB internet server was a breeze
* While email is great on BB. Web browsing leaves much to be desired for. Part of the problem is that t-mobile's network is slow (in the process of being upgraded), and then navigation on the BB browser is not easy. Perhaps, I will get used to it, but for right now I don't enjoy it much.
* Key pad is bit crowded. After three weeks of use, I still mistype a key once in a while, because the keys are so close to each other. I can't imagine using it for typing long messages. Just short quick notes. Perhaps, if you have more nimble fingers it may work better for you.
* Screen is very vibrant and clear. You would not be disappointed. I have had no problem reading messages, emails.
* Camera is ok quality. I would not throw my regular camera. I expect to only use it rarely
* Navigation ball is excellent and you would definitely like it to move "cursor" from application to application. I did notice one day that I could not move up the screen with the navigation ball. I turned off BB and started it again and the problem went away.
* As I said this is my first BB and before buying it I heard that you could read (not edit) microsoft documents plus pdfs. The gottacha here is that you can do that only if the documents are part of email attachments. So, for instance, you cannot upload a MS word document on your micro sd card and view it. I am disappointed with this limitation.
* The extra battery for BB pearl is being sold for approx $50. I consider it a highway robbery by RIM (maker of BB) to sell a $5 battery for that much. I am disgusted by this level of greed.
* I have noticed that after about a month of it's release still it's difficult to find accessories specifically for BB pearl like a leather cover. I liked the leather cover advertised at the official BB shop at shopblackberry.com but it's not going to be available until mid november. Meanwhile, beware of web sites which are re-marketing their existing products as made for BB pearl to make a buck.

Overall, I am very happy with the BB Pearl. Many of my complaints are minor to me and do not materially effect my decision to buy this BB. I hope my two cents will help you in making a better decision if this phone is for you or not. Goodluck

Well this is my first blackberry so my review is based on cell phones in general. I am coming off of a hate/hate realtionship (razr/cingular). As the story goes I wanted a new phone so I switched to cingular for the fancy phone and boy was I sorry. I went through 6 razr's in one year. Every thing from buzzing sounds to dust under the screen to ear pieces not working. That phone is the biggest piece of s**t i have ever had. On top of that anytime I had to call cingular I had to wait like 40 minutes to an hour just to talk to someone. Even after six phones they would not let me switch to another handset to see if I had better luck. So I said good bye Cingular and went back to T-mobile. Switching the numbers over was a breeze and the funny thing is I only had to wait like two minutes to talk to a CSR @ T-Mobile to change the number.

I have to say I love this phone so far. This phone is a piece of cake to setup. Unlike the razr the cable and cd is included to help transfer information from your computer to your phone. Also unlike the razr, they have a proper addressbook implementation so when you transfer your contacts from outlook you get a one to one transfer( meaning if you have two number for one contact you don't get two seperate contacts on your phone).

Setting up my email was easy as well, in fact setting up everything was very easy. This phone is very configurable. Menus, Fonts, Layouts it is all easily configurable.

Phone quality has been great so far. Very crisp and clear with ample volume. Speaker works fine, voice dialing seems good (also a better implemenation then the razr, you do not have to program in a voice recording for each contact).

Played with the maps feature. Seems to work good as well. I found it is better to use the keys to pan around on the map rather then the scroll wheel. But you can get driving directions with just a few clicks.

SD card slot is under the battery but that does not bother me as once I put it in the phone i don't plan on removing it. I agree that the media player leaves something to be desired but that's what I have my iPods for.

Overall a phone that does not suck, thank you Blackberry!

I bought this phone 3 days ago. Within 2 hours it stopped working (specifically, it does not ring or vibrate on an incoming call, even though it is set to do both). This is essentially a communications tool that does not communicate. I took it back, got another one, that one lasted about 18 hours, same problem. Went back a third time, got another phone, this one worked about 6 hours. This product is clearly not ready for prime time, I don't care how cool it looks, if you can't tell a call is coming in it's worthless. Their documentation is also the worst I've seen, and I've worked in this industry for several years. I am appalled that Blackberry would release a product this expensive without doing thorough quality assurance testing. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!

This is my first venture into the world of Blackberry and so far, so good. The Pearl seems to be a good compromise between Blackberry functionality and everyday cell phone design. I am not a power user for business (I have other devices for that) and was originally interested in the Pearl for its looks and basic features. I think I fall right in the middle of the market that RIM aimed for by creating the Pearl: the everyday wireless user looking for those extras that the standard handhelds can't provide.

Here is my list of pros/cons:

Pros...
1) Sleek look, perfect size and superb design - The Pearl is the nicest looking thing on the market that can call, email, chat, snap pictures, etc. Most functions are pretty intuitive once you get