The RIM BlackBerry Pearl: Pros & Cons

The new and very stylish BlackBerry Pearl is truly innovative and good choice for those of us who want both a fair sized phone/SmartPhone device at the same time. Unlike most SmartPhones and in fact, most RIM BlackBerrys, the Peal is surprisingly compact and far from the normally bulky images conjured up when one thinks of a SmartPhone. As far as appearance, the Blackberry Pearl deserves no less than an 8.5 out of 10, however, the usual SmartPhone user requires much more than simply a fashionable appearance. The following is an outline of the pros and cons of the phone and will aid you in your decision to purchase this BlackBerry.

Pros:

1. The Pearl's Scrolling Trackball: To navigate the home screen, all one needs to do is roll the scrolling trackball or "pearl" in the center of the phone. As you may have already guessed, this new design feature is the inspiration for the name of this phone. Navigation is extremely simple and quick, making it simple to carry out any task on the phone. The "pearl" can also be clicked in order to select different options as an alternative to using a separate enter key, which is located on the keypad.

2. Large Screen: For its undeniably compact size, the Pearl features a fairly large, clear screen. Navigation is very simple and the ability to customize font size compensates for the small size of the rest of the phone.

3. Screen/Keyboard Customization: The Pearl offers many different customization options for the screen of your phone. You can select a desired font family, font size, font style (plain, bold, extra bold, bold italic, italic) and you can turn on options for font smoothing. You can even customize the convenience keys on the right and left sides of the phone and the sensitivity level of the trackball-you can truly make this phone your own!

4. SureType: The Pearl features a QWERTY keyboard, unlike most phones on the market today. To compensate for the small size of the buttons on the keypad, RIM has created SureType. Basically, the Pearl functions on predictive text-instead of pressing each button multiple times for a desired letter, you need only press once and as you proceed typing your word, SureType will guess the word you are trying to type. Though it does take some practice to become accustomed to this method of messaging, it will quickly become second nature and extremely efficient. The Pearl even has a custom wordlist dictionary, which it will build and grow as you type words which the SureType technology does not recognize. For those who would rather stick to the multi-tap method, you are in luck, because the Pearl allows you to switch to this mode of typing as well.

5. Camera: The Pearl has a 1.3 megapixel camera as well as an audio and video media player. The camera takes almost digital camera quality photographs and even has an automatic flash function. These pictures can be set as a background on the home screen or easily MMS messaged to any of your contacts.

Cons:

1. Blackberry Data Plans: The major con of buying the phone lies in the hidden secret: you need to subscribe to a blackberry data plan in order to access some features of the phone. Unless you subscribe to a data plan, you will be unable to send MMS messages, download ring tones or graphics, or send e-mail. The cheapest data plan is $30.00 with the Cingular service, which, in reality, is not too cheap. Cingular's media bundles are not compatible with the Pearl; it requires a Blackberry specific data plan.

2. Small Keyboard: Despite the help provided by the SureType system and the efficiency of a QWERTY keyboard, the small sizes of the buttons on the keypad are still somewhat of a problem, especially if you have thick fingers. It is not too difficult to press more than one button at a time. However, once you become accustomed to the size of the keyboard, you will adapt to the size of the buttons as well.

3. Reception Quality: Though it is not a significant problem, the Pearl will sometimes "break up" during a call. Sometimes, I find myself asking callers to repeat themselves because their voices are cut off for seconds at a time during a call.

Overall, the RIM Blackberry deserves an 8 out of 10 rating. It is a stylish, fashionable phone for people of all ages and suits the needs of both the fashion conscious and the technology driven. Despite its minor setbacks, the SmartPhone is truly a pleasing edition to the BlackBerry family and well worth the purchase price.