RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100

User reviews and rating

Great Phone but a Few issues

12 Apr 2009 William

7.3 out of 10

I know this is late but oh well, The Concept of a Small blackberry is great i love the compact size as well as the 1.3 Megapixel Camera with flash, however the Keyboard takes alot of getting use to, and unless you clean the trackball regularly it seems to freeze up, overall i love the phone but a few bugs to work out

Pros

1.3 Megapixel Camera
Flash
Compact Size
Colorchanging Trackball (8100 Only)
Opera Mini is Downloadable
Voicedial
Maps App
Imbedded IM Client Powered by OZ

Cons

Freezes up
Both of mine have a Memory Leak where i lose call logs
Trackball sticks
No Video Recording
Suretype is Tough to learn
Powers off for no reason

Spam report

Here, you can report this due to offensive language, spam or advertisements.

 

Was this review helpful? YesNo

jigga what

25 Dec 2008 Amberly

8.3 out of 10

I love my blackberry pearl. it has everything i wanted in a phone plus a  littl e bit more. the drawbacks I have are picture messaging/emails and having to download each one individually and the fact I cant do videos. which are both essential features in my book. but all in all, i would definently recommend the phone

Pros

color changing trackball
internet speeds
memory size
blackberry help
games
size
big screen

Cons

instant messanger
videos
picture messages
download speed

Spam report

Here, you can report this due to offensive language, spam or advertisements.

 

Was this review helpful? YesNo

Long Term Review, as in 1.5years

12 Oct 2008 Dan

6 out of 10

About a year and a half ago I had a sidekick.  I had been stuck on that phase and had the first sidekick all the way to the third edition of it, but the phone was horrible.  I upgrade to this phone and was pleased at first, but I quickly met the phones limitations.  The built in IM client with t-mobile is horrible, I switched to Jivetalk through Beejive.  In terms of instant messaging this phone is great, web browsing with opera mini is okay, and media/pictures is horrible.  The phone slows down a great deal when any sort of application is opened, ie. opening the file browser for photos or music.  The phone had held up well until this past summer, the trackball started to not function properly.  I had to take the trackball unit apart and clean it.  This worked, but would fail and require cleaning nearly every week (Later I discovered it was not that it was dirty, the sensor was simply failing).  About a month ago the trackball simply stopped scrolling down despite my efforts it will no longer scroll down.  This essentially makes the phone absolutely useless.  I have always used a screen protector, the phone has always stayed in a nice case, and I would describe myself as someone who really takes care of their electronics.  For the device to fail after only a year and a half is a testament to how poorly this phone was constructed, I am a power user and my phone requires charging every night, yet thats really the people who blackberrys are made for.  The 2.5mm audio jack also requires a special adaptor from blackberry to use 3.5mm, I went to radioshack and tried several of the ones they had to no avail.

Pros

Opera Mini can be installed.
Can install Jivetalk.
Changeable dedicated side keys.
Bright screen.
Nice keyboard design (in theory).
Notification light.
Email.
Voice dialing.

Cons

Low quality build.
Keys feel cheap.
Low durability.
Freezes more than occasionally, as in once a week.
Slow service w/T-mobile.
2.5mm Headphone Jack.

Spam report

Here, you can report this due to offensive language, spam or advertisements.

 

Was this review helpful? YesNo

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.