BlackBerry Pearl 8100c Phone, Slate Grey (AT&T)

Almost Perfect but (All interested buys must read). December 10, 2006

Reviewer:  Randee E. Day "Emrtr4"  (Connecticut) -

Okay, this phone does everything.

Programs-The reason I included this first is because all Cingular Users need to be aware of this. This phone is capable of AIM, Yahoo messanger, ect... but you must download an additional program. On Tmobile AIM is availible from the start, but Cingular does not provide any Apps for this. This link will provide you with programs to use instant chat services for this phone. I use Rambal, a free program for AIM and it works flawlessly. Second note-Instant messanging with programs such as this counts as general Data, not messanging. So, all owners must have (I have the $40 unlimited DATA plan, but plans start in the $20s) data plans, not SMS messaging plans to use this. Use this link to find aftermarket messaging programs that you require.

[...]

Screen-Outstanding, very sharp, great color saturation, great shape. The colors stand out more than on the screen of a 5.5G Ipod, its fantastic.

Sound Quality/ Call Quality-Decent, not outstanding, far better than your average Razr or of the like, but this phone is $499 without contract and there are phones with better Sound/ Call Quality. Note: You must by an adaptor to use headphones if you intend to listen to music as this uses a very small mic. jack. You can purchase one for about $15 on everything [...]

Suretype-This is better than Qwartry, my friend has one for her business and this is far superior. It takes about 2 hours to really master, but its outstanding. I can type much faster than she can, even though the Pearl does not have a regular Qwartry keyboard.

Memory-The phone has enough memory on board if you only plan on using it as a phone. But, if you want to use that camera or recieve emails you need to buy MicroSD, Scandisk makes up to 2 gig capacity. I highly recomend at LEAST 1 gig because of all the features of this phone, if you buy this phone with Data, GET 2 Gigs ($70 on amazon about). It is not a hassle to access the memory behind the battery, given the size of SDMicro (about the size of a thumdnail) I am glad to know it is safely enclosed behind the battery panel.

Email-When you get this phone, you can easily send all your email to this phone.
Currently I am sending my Gmail, .Mac, and Aol email to my Blackberry. All three have their own message boxes on my blackberry interface, but all emails are also shown in my blackberrys general mailbox which is convienent and works similiarly to Enterage.

Microsoft Office programs-Opens powerpoint, word, excel, PDF...ect flawlessly, just like you would expect with images and all sharply displayed.

Music/ Camera- This phone can play everything, MP3s, MPG4s, AACs, ect. Just note to all Itunes users-IT CANNOT PLAY MUSIC BOUGHT FROM ITUNES. Remember that Itunes music is encryped with protected AAC so you must convert your music to MP3s for it to work. The Camera is decent, images are grainy, I would compare picture quality to Isight. Only drawback is that it cannot record Video, a feature I am sure the next iteration will entail.

Syncing-Has problems with Bluetooth syncing with Apple computers. I have found though that using Pocketmac (google it, RIM bought Pocketmac so while it is free you cannot download it from Pocketmac anymore, and instead must go to a RIM webpage). Pocketmac lets you sync countless programs, including almost all OSX programs, office mail programs, and even Lotus notes. Remember for Pocketmac though, you have to OPEN THE PROGRAM FIRST THEN ATTACH YOUR BLACKBERRY USING USB, OTHERWISE THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE A SYNCING ERROR.

No Wifi is a drawback, but for Data, Cingulars network is actually very fast, it does take about 10 minutes for all my emails to appear on my blackberry.

Overall-Best phone I have ever owned.
If it synced better with my mac, had video capture, had Wifi, and played all my tunes along with a regular headphone port, I would be VERY happy. Also, it is too bad Cingualr doesnt provide IM support out of the box, but reseaarch and 3rd party developers firxed that.

Porting fees January 23, 2007

Reviewer:  REP  (Boston, MA USA) -

A previous user stated that there is a $250 "porting" fee, and in effect, there is. If you order from AMZN, you DO save the phone cost BUT since it comes to you "hot" (that is with a pre-assigned Cingular number), when you go to port and change that number, Cingular will charge AMZN, who in turn, will bill you for $250. "New" to AMZN has what seems to be a very narrow definition, they mean (apparently) "new" to cell phones (unlikely).

3 stars for AMZN not being as forthright as one might hope

Sweet! January 12, 2007

Reviewer:  Ashwini Aragam  (Worcester, PA) -

I have waited long enough. Being a techie and carrying a $20 (free) phone for over 3 years just didn't seem right. So my change of job prompted me to look for a phone which also has web/email capabilities. I considered strongly the Samsung Blackjack and the Blackberries. The blackjack's look, while cool from a distance, had keys that looked like left-over chicken-pox blisters. The much raved about Blackberry email push technology finally won me over. I had to decide between the pearl and the bigger versions. I read the 8700g and other blackberries are a bit too big for the pocket. So I chose the Pearl. Here's my take:

What I love:
============
- Form factor: It is beautiful, it is cute and catchy! It turns heads. Enough said.
- Size: Size is one of the strongest points considering all it does. It neatly slips into a shirt pocket or sits well on the belt.
- Keys: Could be a bit small but I could use it pretty easily though my fingers are bordering on 'butterfingers'.
- Trackball: Awesome! Just don't press it too hard while using it. Just 'roll-it'!. It is great while you have to move around the screen from control to control
- Voice-dialing: Has worked for me very well the 10 or so times I have tried in my van on the road and off. You have to first choose the voice dialing option from the list of icons on the main menu. I read you can assign a menu item to a key; this would eliminate some of the fumbling while driving.
- Screen: Not too big and not too small! This will be a key factor in you choosing between a bigger blackberry and this one. I found the size good enough for me. The fonts display the content sharply enough to read easily. It is bright while viewing; goes off after a few seconds of inactivity to save power.
- Videos: I found the video that comes along very good! The graphics very sharp and quite well paced. Need to try more of this later. But I don't watch videos on my cell phone and hence it isn't that much of a selling-point for me.
- Camera: Now, who needs a sophisticated camera on a cell phone? These are frills if you use the device as a phone and an email device. But, it took great pictures. I could easily email the photo to my wife with a few click (I had her email in my contacts already).
- Applications: Google maps is cool - much cooler on the samll screen with turn by turn directions easy to read. The default cingular media-net browser is so-so. Download the Opera-mini. Love browsing on the phone.
- Audio: Call quality has been outstanding so far. The music files, though, when played left more to be desired. Not your iPod substitution this device.
- Outlook sync: Worked like a charm. Now, I love to have all my contact information in this small hand-held.
- The push-to-talk feature hasn't worked for me so far. Maybe it is a area-specific availability issue; need to follow up.
- By far the best feature, is the RIM email push feature. I easily hooked up all my personal email accounts and feel thrilled when the berry flashes a red light whenever I have an email. This eliminates the need and a lot of time for me to login to my email accounts on the computer. Replying to an email may not be so easy given the size; but viewing - works great.
- Battery: Has been great so far. With my constant use of the device for email and trying the web, the battery lasted me more than 2 days w/o re-charging.
- Miscellaneous: I haven't had the berry hang-up as I read of other windows based phones. It did freeze a couple of times, but given that I have the phone for over a week, it isn't much of a bother. This freezing was mostly while on the web, so it could have been connectivity also.


What better?
============
- Size: If you usage is email heavy and you need to reply quite often, I suggest you get the bigger berries.
- Audio: If you rely on your cell phone to listen to music as well, I find the audio quality a bit lacking.

Overall, I am very happy with the phone. If you are on the line, I suggest you go for it!

beware of fine print in amazon's cingular phone promotion January 10, 2007

Reviewer:  A. Wang "frustrated amazon user" 

read the fine print!!!! amazon really tried to pull one over on you with this promotion. it happend to me.

they don't allow you to port your cell phone to this phone without a $250 fee!!! how ridiculous! everyone ports numbers these days...it's such a common practice. this process doesn't hurt anyone - cingular still gets the business and amazon still gets their money. why they don't let you port - and it's hidden in the fine print...is beyond me.

T-Mobile 8100 vs. Cingular 8100 January 18, 2007

Reviewer:  Fool4FoisGras "fool4foisgras"  (San Francisco) -

If coverage or plans are not an issue there are two reasons to choose the T-Mobile over the Cingular Pearl. 1) T-mobile plan pricing is *a lot* cheaper than Cingular -- 1000 minutes and unlimited internet for $59 TMO compared with $79 plus at Cingular... 2) The TMO interface is much nicer to look at and play with.

Brilliantly designed smartphone! December 27, 2006

Reviewer:  Prasad Chalasani "New Parent"  (New York) -

Overall best smartphone I've seen on the market. The others are either too bulky (e.g. Treo) or too wide (other Blackberries, BlackJack, or Motorola Q), or lack the solid Blackberry email service. This one is sure to be a hit. The Pearl's brilliant sure-type keyboard-entry system (with QWERTY layout but 2 letters per key) and "pearl" trackball allows the phone to be small and still enable very fast text entry.

Incidentally Mac owners should look into PocketMac to sync with their Mac's iCal/AddressBook, etc. Gmail can be read using the Gmail mobile app that can be downloaded straight to the Blackberry. Caution: if you already have Cingular, and want to keep your existing Cingular number, you CANNOT get the super-low Amazon discounted price -- you only get the Amazon discounted price if you start a brand new 2-year contract (with new number) with Cingular. So I got my phone at a Cingular store, because I was eligible for a phone upgrade. [...].

Plus points:
1. super-sharp screen, great colors, great resolution.
2. very context-sensitive menus, well thought-out.
3. Sure-type is very easy to learn and surprisingly accurate, and lets you type very fast.
4. Nice-size keys, beat the hell out of Treo's keys.
5. Treos are ugly bricks, this phone is super-stylish and highly pocketable, even in jeans.
6. Rock-solid Blackberry push email service can't be beat.
7. Pearl trackball is amazingly well designed and useful.
8. Cingular/Blackberry unlimited data backage is very good and pretty fast.

Minus points:
1. No wifi , but that's ok because the data service is pretty fast.
2. No video camera, but again I don't really miss that.
3. No touch screen; I don't really miss it because the trackball and context-sensitive menus are so well designed.

So far, so bad. January 9, 2007

Reviewer:  JCHawk  (New York City) -

I will come right out and say it: I am a Nokia guy. But I could not wait for the Pearl to come out with Cingular.

But after 4 days with my Pearl, I am missing my old Nokia 6230.

Aside from the easy internet access and emails, I don't yet see any advantage with this Pearl. The greatest disappointment so far is the Bluetooth stupidity of this so called "smart phone". Nothing seems to work. I also miss the easier text capabilities of the 6230. (not to mention the 6230s video capturing features).

Of course the Blackberry Pearl must be a better, smarter phone than the old Nokia I love... but I just don't see it yet.

What can I say? I am very disappointed so far. If I don't see results by the end of tomorrow, it's going back to the guys at Cingular.


Bummer.

Instant convert from dumb phone to smart phone! January 5, 2007

Reviewer:  Amy Tiemann "creator of www.MojoMom.com"  (North Carolina, USA) -

The Pearl is my first Blackberry. I comparison-shopped for a smart phone for over a year, considering the Treo and other Blackberry models, but I stuck with my old "dumb phone" until the Blackberry Pearl won me over.

The Blackberry Pearl wins in the realms of form and function. I wasn't willing to carry a huge phone. Any phone I carry has to fit in my back pocket and the Pearl is actually smaller than my old phone.

From a new user's perspective, the Pearl's design is very well-done. The trackball navigation is totally intuitive, and the software is easy to navigate. I could figure out how to do email, IM, and browsing the internet without reading the manual.

The pearl trackball is multifunctional depending on what you are doing, and pressing the trackball most likely does what you need to do next!

I was skeptical about the SureType technology, which puts 2 letters on each key (in QWERTY layout) and guesses what you mean as you type, but it has blown me away. I love it. The best advice I received from the salesman who set up my account was to not look at the words as they are coming out, but just to check the spelling in the end. Halfway through typing a word it may look like a jumble, but then it almost always works itself out. This strategy has worked for me, and 95% of the time the SureType guesses right. (You can press and hold the * key while you are typing to toggle back and forth between SureType and the more traditional "MultiTap" mode. This is useful when entering names or other words not in an English dictionary.)

Camera review: I am not too impressed with the quality of the photos but it's somewhat useful. It won't replace a digital camera but it's better than no camera. Including a flash was a nice idea, but it doesn't add much to the picture quality.

As for Cingular service, I have had no problems. I switched from Verizon to Cingular in order to get the Pearl, and the service has been fine in North Carolina and South Carolina.

If you are addicted to the old-style Blackberry keyboard, or need to compose a lot of emails or do extensive web browsing, the Pearl may not be for you. I encourage you to give it a look, though. Before buying any smartphone, make sure you try out the keyboard in person before buying. Some designs that look good on paper may not work with your hands.

For someone coming in new to the smartphone world, the Blackberry Pearl is a standout choice. I am so glad I waited for this gem!

NEW: Firmware probems in recent models cause a lot of headache. May 16, 2007

Reviewer:  Jeremy Deats 

There is a major problem with the firmware for those who want to transfer ringtones and applications to the phone... this is the reason for my one star rating, I did this because a lot of people will sort by lowest ratings and I wanted to let the problem be known. Just make sure and download the Blackberry Manager Software from Cingular's website and do not use the software that comes on the CD-ROM with the phone and you'll be ok, otherwise you'll likely be returning you handset for a replacement.

Now on to my review (in bullet points)

PROS (you'll notice most of these features make you more productive):

* It's fast (coming from a Windows Mobile platform it's like lightning)

* In Blackberry fashion it can sync with just about anything

* It's the only small form phone to provide a full QWERTY keyboard layout, although each key is shared by two letters, although it takes some getting use to it works much better than anything else available on small form phones.

* Voice Dial system does not have to be trained and works well.

* Screen is large, bright and sharp

* Battery life is excellent

* Speaker phone can be enabled/disabled in a single touch and works well.

* PTT (Push-To-Talk) capable

* Programmable buttons on the left and right side of the phone can be set to whatever function you want to engage (e.g. By default button on left side is set to PTT, but I changed it engage Voice Dial)

* Camera has a Flash

* Can play many audio and video media formats.

* Natively can display PDF and Microsoft Office docs (in browser)

* Unlike most Blackberry's the Pearl can load "normal" JAR Java games/apps as well as those designed specifically for Blackberry.

* Supports J2ME MIDP 2.0 as well as Sun's Multimedia extensions and extensions for Bluetooth. This just means that mobile application developers will not have to work very hard to unlock all the power of the Pearl to build great applications. In the future some potential very powerful third-party applications could be made available.

* Runs Googles Maps, Opera Mini and all other popular Java applications for mobile phones.

* Comes with a good bit of memory built it, but is also MicroSD expandable

* It's a Blackberry and can do all Blackberry things (it runs RIM's Blackberry OS)




CONNS:

* No WiFi support

* No 3G support

* No support for Flash Lite

* When CSS and scripting options are enabled, the browser still seems to struggle, layout is of full HTML pages is generally bad.

* No built in GPS

* Bluetooth profiles are limited

* No file system explorer

* No "hard reset" feature to restore device to its "virgin" state.

* No case included and you can't seem to stop polishing it.

I have this with T-Mobile December 13, 2006

Reviewer:  Yvette Zarate  (new mexico) -

Since i can't comment on features, as they may be different between carriers, I can state a few things in general about this phone.

You can go to [...] and download different themes and games, which I LOVE! The resolution on the screen is fantastic, and overall, it's fairly easy to use. There IS a bit of a learning curve, but i was mastering it within a few weeks.

I have wifi, full internet capabilities, and you can download Gmail to your phone from the website and get your own icon for it. I looks just like your gmail online.

Also, if you have yahoo mail, i suggess setting a bookmark for [...], rather than configuring a mailbox. The mailbox doesn't do a good job of filtering spam, so it's annoying to get spam text messages and can get costly if you don't have an unlimited text messeging plan.

Downsides: it scratches very easily taking away from it's sleek look and the battery door, can break and slide off very easily. However, you can buy a replacement from [...].

also, I hear this is a blackberry quirk, but the Instant messenger seems to fail quite a bit when trying to send IM's back and forth between your contacts. This can be very frustrating as you have zero indication that your messages are not getting through or that they aren't coming through. **Can become a problem very fast if you are relying on it for communication.** I never had this problem with my RAZR using the same service.

Last downside, the memory expansion doesn't recognize anything over 1Gb. I tried to use the 2Gb microSD that Verizon offers for[...], but it didn't work, so I had to settle for a 1Gb, which is still neat.

All, in all, I love this phone. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who only uses their phone for talking and texting. Way too many features will be lost.