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Reviews icon RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Review

RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Review

Published on: 14 December, 2007 by PhoneArena Team

Performance

Users made note of how good we sounded when using the 8130. They said we were particularly clear, and beginning/ending words of the sentence did not get truncated as can sometimes happen. On our end they were loud and clear, as if they were on a landline, but we did have an issue with hearing our own echo at times.

Click to see a large image.
Reception was on par with other phones, it didn’t stand out but we didn’t have any issues either. Battery life, on the other hand, was fantastic. Rated for 220 minutes, we were able to achieve 307 minutes, or over five hours of talk time. Standby time was equally good, it is rated for 9 days and we let it sit for days and the battery exhibited minimal drain.


Conclusion

We ended up with very mixed feelings about the Pearl 8130. The email setup and delivery is fantastic, and from a multimedia standpoint the Pearl is a standout. However, we couldn’t recommend it to users looking just for a strong multimedia phone due to the overall experience. The OS is plenty customizable, but still intimidating to a new user and even experienced users will find annoyances. Conversely, corporate users will like the power the BlackBerry OS but we don’t see them adapting well to the tiny and cumbersome SureType keypad. We feel the 8130 has a lot of stand out qualities, but in the end important features like OS, navigation and the keypad proved to be a dealbreaker to the respective target markets.

Pros

  • Great form-factor
  • Email support is second to none
  • Outstanding battery life
  • Excellent call quality
  • Stand-out camera performance
  • Customizable

Cons

  • SureType keypad too small
  • Trackball cumbersome to use
  • Not a device you can pick up and use
  • UI is bloated (out of the box there are 30 application icons on the main screen)

PAppeal

Christian Dior:
8 of 10
High

As with the original Pearl, the 8130 is a very hip device. With impending color options it will be a fashion accessory for many.

Average Joe:
2 of 10
Very low

The Pearl is designed to crack the consumer market, but until there is a major UI overhaul don’t expect to be seeing the Pearl replace the RAZRs of the world.

Corporate US:
3 of 10
Low

The BES/BIS service is the best in the industry, but heavy e-mailers will not want to give up their real QWERTY keyboards.

High-Tech junkie
5 of 10
Average

Mixed bag here. On one hand the email support and camera are great, but on the other web browsing and limited third party support are downers.

expand ratings

PA phone rating

  • Design 6
    • Keyboard 4.0
    • Build Quality 7.0
    • Look 9
  • Display 6.75
    • Quality 7.0
    • Resolution 7.0
    • Size 6.0
  • Camera 7
    • Resolution 6.0
    • Quality 8
    • Features, Comfort 7.0
  • Sound Quality 9
    • Incoming 10.0
    • Outgoing 10.0
    • Ringing 9.0
    • Signal Reception 7.0
  • Battery 10
    • Talk time 10.0
    • Stand-by time 10.0
  • Connectivity 6
    • Local 6.0
    • Internet 5.0
    • Data 7.0
  • Multimedia 8
    • Interface Comfort, Options 7
    • Quality 10.0
    • Supported formats 8
    • Connectors (3.5/A2DP) 10.0
  • Organizer 10
    • PIM 10.0
    • Phonebook 10.0
    • Messaging 10.0
Good
6.5
out of 10
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Check prices

Check prices

Model Carrier Price Today Price after rebate
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (Multimedia Phone)
 Free You make $100.00 Buy
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Red
 $99.99 Free Buy
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Amethyst (Multimedia Phone)
 $99.99 Free Buy
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Silver
 $49.99 $49.99 Buy
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Pink
 $49.99 $49.99 Buy
 
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Comments icon User comments

User comments

Show only comments with rating Display mode
0
1.
Menu shortcuts
Actually you can change the shortcut items on the basic menu. If you move an application icon into the top five it will then display on the basic menu.
Reply to this comment
0
2.
Trackball is not cumbersome at all, not sure how you managed that conclusion. Menu icons are hideable so they dont clog up your screen. How can this phone not be picked up and used... Its size and very useable UI are strengths.
Reply to this comment
0
3.
I agree about the suretype being cumbersome at times, but that is the only real flaw that I notice. I didn't notice the browser being slow at all, it was much faster than other peoples phones that I compared it too. Overall a solid review though.
Reply to this comment
0
4.
About connectivity, I notice no slowness. I think you're in a low-signal area, based on the fact that your screenshots alternate between 1XEV (broadband) and 1X (barely faster than dialup). Actually, my Pearl 8130 performs faster than my Q9m in almost every respect.
Additionally, I use Outlook 2007 to sync with the BlackBerry with no problems.
0
13.
Could you please tell me which U prefer... Moto Q9m (Q9c for me on SPrint) vs. the Pearl 8130?? I'm torn as this will be my 1st SmartPhone, and I'm a MS Windows PC user, etc. But I really do not plan to do much e-mailing on either as I want to keep my sanity & life.

I want a great phone, easy to use & setup, easy to type w/o looking alot. Can you turn off The Pearl's guess-ahead typing, and put it into an ABC mode only??

Thx Much, tom
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Reply to SQFreak Hide 1 replies to this comment
0
5.
dragserb
You have to be pretty dense if you can't learn to use this phone quickly. It's not that hard for anyone who cares to read a little. The phone deserves at least an 8 not a mediocre 7.
Reply to this comment
0
6.
@sq...The testing of the phone was done in many places, most of them strong EVDO areas. Where the pictures/video was taken the Pearl did jump between 1x and EVDO, but literally every other Verizon phone I've owned and tested (probably 15 or so) has had no problem not only pulling an EVDO signal, but a strong one at that. Air cards usually get speeds over 1Mbps
Reply to this comment
0
7.
Check your info
Check your info guys, the Pearl launched on Sprint on Black Friday, as noted on many other blogs AND Sprint's own site. A comparo coming soon?
Reply to this comment
0
8.
was the reviewer not smart...or maybe just missed some things the phone does?

the BT is fully unlocked, I am able to send object via BT and receive them, fairly easily mind you as well. I can connect my pearl via BT to my laptop for syncing as well as modem(though modem via BT is dumb and slow, but more power to you).

so the BT stuff is all wrong, but how about the rest of it? the main menu is the same menu you get on any BB phone, and you cna hide any icon you don't need or move things around. so the side keys can be made into anything you want.

as to the trackball...do you have MS or shake a lot? because that thing is easy as hell to use. and no review of the new RIM browser? this thing blows the old ones out of the water. and have you never owned or done a review of a BB? all you realy did was get in there, and download an app and not try to use the standard browser. did you go to yoru website? it pulls up without issue, and you cna move to a pan and zoom way of looking at the webpage much like opra mini.

every time any of you guys get a phone the first thing you do is suck opera mini's sausage by mentioning it, then complain about how the phone can or can't run it.


wow this review is lacking on all front, facts, info, and apparently knowledge.
Reply to this comment
0
9.
i tried one of these out in a verizon store and almost instantly i was flying with suretype, not sure how u can be slow with it
Reply to this comment
0
10.
Article was wrong
Phonearena, why are you paying this guy? The suretype is faster than the full QWERTY or the T9 if you take more than 15 minutes to get used to it. I'm already faster on my Pearl (10 days into ownership) than I ever was on my EnV in the year that I had it.

You -CAN- reorder the shortcuts on the main screen.

I initially had the same problem with the BIS site blocking the Go To... option, but that was quickly resolved.

Getting Opera Mini 4 to work was as simple as going to www.operamini.com on the phone's browser, choosing download, download high-memory version, and then choosing download. It downloads in a java file, not a .zip. Try it again.

Valid critiques: the GPS is locked. The voice dial button is a little too easy to accidentally press. That's why I remapped it to lock the keypad. The internet is somewhat slow. It depends on the site - sometimes the Pearl stops using EVDO and drops down to 1X-RTT, and you have to yank the battery and reset it, but that's a periodic annoyance I've only had to do a couple of times.

Phonearena, stop paying this slacker and hire me!
0
15.
A tip for anyone who suddenly loses EVDO and reverts to 1X-RTT:
Turn radio off in the settings, then on again. My phone was stuck in 1X out of the box, and doing this fixed the problem. There should be no need for battery removal. Also, keep in mind that cell towers will sometimes stop transmitting EVDO during brief maintenance cycles.

I adore my Pearl. I use it as my primary connectivity device.

Anyone complaining about the convenience keys should remap them.
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  Total: 16 post(s)
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