Blackberry Pearl 9100 deals & review

In a word or two

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 is a super-fast and incredibly light handset.

The Design

Weighing a very slight 93g, you’d hardly recognise the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 as a BlackBerry phone – although it does look like a slimmed down version of the Bold 9700. The handset has not lost any of the internal prowess, though, it is simply packaged in a smaller, handier frame; and is sure to appeal to business-minded and entertainment-minded phone users alike.

Like other BlackBerrys including the 7100, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 comes with a semi-QWERTY keyboard. There are two letters per key so it is still finger-friendly and perfect if you enjoy having a QWERTY keyboard on your mobile phone.

The screen is a decent size and clear with back lighting to ensure you can comfortably view the screen in all lighting conditions. And the text on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 is customisable so you set it just how you like it.

This compact BlackBerry comes in a range of colours – Piano Black, Opal Pink, Royal Purple, Flash White, and Red Gradient.

Specifications

Launched alongside the Pearl 3G 9105, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 is a small BlackBerry but still packs a punch, running on the BlackBerry OS and powered by a 642MHz processor. This means you can enjoy all the usual perks that such a high-end device offers with none of the bulkiness. There is support for multi-tasking so you can run several apps at once, the option to add up to 10 email accounts, and fast internet access.

As you would expect, BlackBerry Messenger is onboard the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100. You can send and receive messages, photos and videos, to and from friends and family through this feature, personalising your profile and adding new contacts as you go. And to ease all your communication, there is SureType technology on this phone – this is a clever way of getting to know how you type and what you type, adding to the already-not-insignificant 35,000-word dictionary. It speeds up your typing and checks your spellings too.

For entertainment, there are dedicated music keys on the Pearl 3G for instant access to the controls, and up to 30 hours of playback time. So this little smartphone can literally keep you entertained for hours. The BlackBerry Media Sync means you can organise your music, videos and photos from iTunes or Windows Media Player.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 also comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera which is enhanced by features including an LED flash and autofocus.

Considerations

Some of the details of this BlackBerry are still unknown, including price.

Verdict

So far, so excellent: the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 looks set to take the business smartphone market by storm, with its compact and sleek design together with all the capabilities you need and want.