Finally, after more than 4 years of waiting, Blackberry are on the cusp of launching their new Blackberry Pearl here in the UK.
The new Blackberry Pearl 3G 9105
By all accounts, it is a beautiful device. The test device we were sent came through at the end of June, and since then it has been the star of the office. The amount of attention this little device gets outweighs even the iPhone 4. Incredible to believe, but despite the hype around the iPhone (and we cant argue the iPhone isn’t an incredibly capable device) that the beautiful slim new Pearl gets all the attention.
If you were a fan of the last generation Blackberry Pearl then you won’t be disappointed. Its smaller, lighter and much much faster. The shortcomings of the previous device have been more than tackled. The new Pearl 3G comes with both wireless and GPS, plus it now has 3G for fast mobile reception. Web browsing, which was always a bit of an Achilles heel for the old Pearl, now works far far better. You can view whole webpages, including those with Flash that wont display on an iPhone, and easily zoom in and out without delays. Of course, the screen is still small, but the images are so crystal sharp that browsing is a pleasure.
Other improvements include a more precise tracker-pad to replace the roller-ball, a sharper 3.2MP camera with zoom, and the ability to sync with Apple iTunes. This tiny Pearl 3G can actually replace your phone and iPod, just as an iPhone can. The big difference remains the ease of use of mail, where the iPhone is still left comprehensively in the dust.
Setting up the new Blackberry is a doddle. Even the most technophobic of users will have the device running and email working within 10 minutes.
So, where’s the hang-up? Well the new Pearl 9105 comes not with a QWERTY keypad but with a standard European text keypad. Now, while this may well open up a whole generation of younger users to Blackberry, it shuns existing Pearl owners, who will have to relearn how to type. To us this feels like a big step in the wrong direction. There is a QWERTY version available (The Pearl 9100) but Blackberry have announced that it will not be available in the UK.
What do you think? Have Blackberry made a good move by ditching QWERTY, or is it a step in the wrong direction. Leave a comment below. Remember every comment left gets you an entry into our monthly free prize draw to win £100 of Amazon vouchers.
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I just got the new Pearl 3G and it is AWESOME!!! Yeah, the keyboard takes a while to get used to but the phone is so sleek and it runs faster than a cat with a firewrok up its arse. I love it.
WRONG MOVE BLACKBERRY bring back the pearl in QWERTY to the UK, This article is right it is shunning existing Blackberry users, so much for loyalty
Amazing – the reason I refused to get a BB was the flipping Qwerty – I have a laptop for that. I needed a phone that was small and that I didnt have to relearn how to type on – now i can upgrade using the same typing technique as before and its just beaut!