On April 26th, Research in Motion unveiled two new BlackBerry Pearl mobile devices at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) in Orlando: the compact BlackBerry 3G Pearl 9100 and 9105. These two devices are designed with a sleek candybar layout measuring less than 5 centimetres wide and weighing in under 100 grams, making them extremely lightweight and portable compared to previous BlackBerry devices which some consider to be slightly clunky. However, don’t let the size fool you, as Research in Motion still crammed in many of the same features you’ve come to expect from the other 9000 series devices, as well as a few new ones. The first 3G BlackBerry phones to use GSM band, the Pearl 9100 and 9105, both generally known as the Pearl 3G, are meant to be small and fast, sporting a 642 MHz processor capable of extremely fast speeds and effectively eliminating any hiccups or stuttering in the interface. RIM touted the Pearl 3G as the mobile version of a Porsche in their presentation at WES, and it’s easy to see why. Expected to be available later in May, pricing data and network operator availability has yet to be announced.
Claimed by Mike Lazaridis, president and CEO of RIM, to be “unlike any other smartphone in the world,” both Pearl 3G devices feature a vividly-coloured, high-resolution 360 x 400 pixel display with bright backlighting and a light-sensing screen to maintain clarity in all kinds of viewing conditions. Additionally, user-selectable font size allows you to customize text display characteristics to fit your needs so you need never squint to read your e-mail or messages again. With the 3G Pearl running on the BlackBerry OS 5.0 platform, the display is a perfect medium for rendering the clean new interface. With a 3.2 megapixel camera featuring autofocus, a bright LED flash, 2.5x digital zoom and a self-portrait mirror, the Pearl 3G is great for capturing moments in pictures or video, or even snapping a quick profile picture, and then easily uploading them to your favourite social network or sending them in an instant message—all from your mobile device.
In terms of messaging, the Pearl 3G delivers the superior e-mail experience come to be expected from RIM’s products, one of the reasons many corporate clients prefer BlackBerry for their business needs. Able to easily compose e-mails, view attachments, and quickly see and read new e-mails from up to 10 separate e-mail accounts at a glance using push technology to keep up with your newest messages in near real-time, the 3G Pearl helps keep on top of things. Additionally, BlackBerry Messenger puts you in touch with your friends and family whenever you like, allowing you to send and receive messages without character limits, share photos and video with multiple contacts simultaneously, get real-time message confirmation to ensure those important messages were received, and the ability to personalize your profile and add your friends.
The Pearl 3G also offers support for your favourite instant messaging programs as well as more traditional SMS messaging to make sure you are always connected with your contacts. To help speed up all of your messaging, the Pearl 3G includes SureType technology that learns from your habits to add words to the already extensive list of 35,000 words to speed up composition, allowing you to easily insert names, addresses and commonly used words all while SureType automatically spell checks your typing. While the Pearl 9100 utilizes a condensed 20-key QWERTY keypad layout found on most BlackBerry devices to help speed up typing, the 9105 features the more mainstream 14-key alphanumeric keypad layout found on most other mobile devices.
In addition to its messaging capabilities, the Pearl 3G can serve as a fairly capable media centre. With 256MB of internal memory and support for microSD expansion up to 32GB, the Pearl 3G can hold plenty of your songs and videos (landscape view is available for a superior widescreen viewing experience) to enjoy on the go, with up to 30 hours of music playback. With the ability to sync videos, photos, music and playlists from iTunes or Windows Media Player using Blackberry Media Sync, you can easily organize and maintain your files and library on both your mobile device and your PC. The BlackBerry Media Player allows you enjoy your music, create new playlists, and even be alerted to new messages and calls while you listen, and Bluetooth support for wireless headphones in addition to a number of media accessories help to create an enjoyable listening atmosphere. Dedicated volume and media keys help to streamline playback and navigation of all of your media without digging through menus or resorting to multiple key presses.
The Pearl 3G is the first BlackBerry device to support wireless 802.11n high-speed Wi-Fi which, coupled with UMTS/HSDPA 3G network access (rather than EDGE used on previous Pearl devices), allows for blazing quick internet connectivity and access to all of your e-mail, favourite websites, and social networks on the move. As a result of RIM’s history as an enterprise mobile provider, the Pearl 3G has plenty of security features to keep your data safe. Wireless AES encryption, RSA SecureID, HTTPS secure access, digital certificates and password protection on the mobile device help to keep your personal and corporate data safe from theft and prying. The computing power and speed of the Pearl 3G allows for multitasking; surf the web or check your e-mail in the middle of a call to make sure you’ve got all the details right.
Additionally, GPS functionality and BlackBerry Maps allows you to plan and view trips, create and save a list of your favourite locations, and utilize location-based functionality on social networks as well as track resources and employees in a corporate setting with Location-Based Services. The Pearl 3G uses an optical trackpad for menu navigation that responds to touch much like the trackpad on a laptop, allowing you to effortlessly coast through menus and icons by gliding your finger over it or pressing to select. All of this hardware is housed in an attractive and modern-looking casing made from high-quality materials and available in a number of colours. Currently the 9100 is offered in Piano Black, Opal Pink, Royal Purple, Flash White, and Red Gradient; colours for the 9105 aren’t available currently. You can read more BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 reviews and BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 reviews in the review section. Although not released yet you can also check back to find what BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 deals and BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 deals become available.
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