BlackBerry Pearl

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BlackBerry Pearl
BlackBerry Pearl
Screen 240x260 pixels, 65.536 Color TFT LCD
Ringtone Polyphonic Sound (72 voices), Real tones (MP3)
Memory 64MB Internal, MicroSD slot
Networks CDMA(BlackBerry Pearl 8130 only), EDGE, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, Wi-Fi (BlackBerry Pearl 8120 only)
Connectivity Bluetooth, IrDA, USB (with Mass Storage Mode support)
Physical size 107 x 51 x 15 mm
Weight 90.7g

The BlackBerry Pearl (8100)/(8110)/(8120)/(8130) is a mobile phone developed by Research In Motion, and the first BlackBerry device with a camera and media player. It was originally released September 12th 2006.

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[edit] Specifications

  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 2 in x 0.6 in x 4.2 in
  • Weight: 3.2 oz
  • Talk Time: Up to 210 Minutes (3.5 hours)
  • Standby time: Up to 360 hours (15 days)

The Pearl comes with the following standard features[1]:

  • 1.3 (8100 version) or 2.0 (8110/8120/8130) megapixel camera with flash, self portrait mirror, and 5x digital zoom
  • Media player with support for MP3, AAC, AMR, polyphonic MIDI and WAV sound formats
  • Media player with support for MPEG-4 and H.263 video formats
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • High-Speed USB, for 8120/8130 only
  • Address book and calendar
  • Web browser
  • BlackBerry Maps (8130 and 8110)
  • Push e-mail
  • Voice Dialing
  • Speakerphone
  • SMS and MMS text messaging
  • Instant messaging
  • Supports up to 4GB MicroSD Note: 4GB microSDHC chip requires May 2007 or later OS. With the 8130 upgrades to 32GB microSD expansion

The BlackBerry Pearl is aimed towards both business users and consumers. Its advertising campaign features several people including Mariska Hargitay and Douglas Coupland.

The BlackBerry Pearl provides Quad-Band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks to allow for international roaming between North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The BlackBerry 8130 includes EV-DO high speed CDMA data capabilities and the BlackBerry 8120 is the first Pearl model to support Wi-Fi.

BlackBerry Pearl 8120 and 8130 have one of the world's finest USB sideloading performance. Their sideloading architecture upgrade from 8100 provides them with Hi-Speed USB and ultra fast connection to the microSD card, capable of transferring 1GB file in less than 70 seconds - over 16MBps transfer rate. As seen from the following EETimes article[2] - this beats the other smartphones in the market like the iPhone, Motorola RAZR or Sony Ericsson Walkman. Per the article, this is because 8120/8130 uses the Antioch chip from Cypress Semiconductor - a Westbridge peripheral controller enabling "direct connection between peripherals, creating ultra-fast transfers".

The Wi-Fi enabled Pearl (8120) is available in the United States - being made available by AT&T, Cincinnati Bell Wireless, & T-Mobile (USA). The 8120 is available from the AT&T for $200 with a new or contract renewal, while T-Mobile offers the titanium colored version (which features UMA calling, not just web browsing like the AT&T model) for $150 with a new 2-year contract. It is also available in the United Kingdom and Australia.

[edit] Comparison with other BlackBerry devices

Most BlackBerry devices have a full keyboard. The Pearl uses a modified QWERTY layout on a 4-row, 5-column keypad, with a predictive input algorithm known as SureType. The unique phone is one of its kind in securing SureType technology. It is the only modern BlackBerry to support SureType, after the 7100 series.

The Pearl supports the full range of BlackBerry enterprise functionality.

Unlike previous BlackBerry devices, the Pearl includes a music player, camera, as well as other multimedia functions. It requires the purchase of a MicroSD memory card to support storage of multimedia files beyond the 64MB provided internally.

Most notably, the Pearl uses a translucent trackball instead of the traditional BlackBerry scroll wheel. This facilitates horizontal scrolling and is the origin of the Pearl's name. The back lit colour of the 8100 trackball is controlled by a series of LEDs; the 8130 trackball is lit only in white.[3]

The Pearl is currently available with Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T Mobility, Cincinnati Bell Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Alltel, US Cellular, Centennial Wireless, MOSH Mobile, nTelos, Cellular One and Cellular South in the United States, Turkcell and Avea in Turkey, Claro in Brazil and Dominican Republic, Airtel, Vodafone & Reliance Communications in India, Vodacom and MTN in South Africa, Telcel in Mexico, Rogers Wireless, Telus, SaskTel, MTS and Bell Mobility in Canada, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone in Australia, KPN and Vodafone in the Netherlands, Grameen-Business Enterprise in Bangladesh, Vodafone in New Zealand, SingTel in Singapore, Mobilink in Pakistan and all networks in the UK.

In the most recent PC World Issue, the Blackberry Pearl is rated higher than competing iPhone.

For a list of all Pearl models, see List of BlackBerry Products.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ BlackBerry Pearl. http://www.blackberrypearl.com
  2. ^ Under the Hood: BlackBerry wins handset data-rate bakeoff http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203101718
  3. ^ Gizmodo. Accessed 14 May 2007. http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/diy-change-the-color-of-blackberry-pearl-trackball-239814.php