The BlackBerry Pearl features a digital camera and a slot for a MicroSD mini-disc to store songs, photos and video games. Say what you will about the new BlackBerry Pearl, and some undoubtedly will complain of cramped keyboards and other tradeoffs. Its creator, Research In Motion Ltd., has taken a truly gutsy stab at designing a tiny mobile device that can do it all.The Pearl, named for its glowing navigational trackball, is the first BlackBerry geared more fully toward consumers. It's the first with a digital camera and a slot for a MicroSD mini-disc to store songs, photos and video games -- the sort of recreational functions that RIM has stoically deemed nonessential or even counterproductive for the corporate user market.
RIM is launching the Pearl through T-Mobile USA. The normally $300 device will go for $200 with a two-year contract and $250 with a one-year contract.
Weighing just 3.2 ounces, the candy bar-style phone is a palm-friendly 2 inches wide, 4.2 inches tall and 0.6 inch thick. By contrast, the RAZR and its non-flip cousin, the SLVR, both weigh about 3.4 ounces and are roughly equal to the Pearl in width and thickness. And despite its smallness, the Pearl's screen measures nearly 2.2 inches diagonally, or just 0.4 inch less than on a full-sized Blackberry.
All that's missing, acknowledges RIM co-founder Mike Lazaridis, is GPS location tracking and Wi-Fi capability. But again, compromises are what it's all about in this pursuit of little gizmo nirvana. If you can't handle it, feel free to carry a laptop.
Blackberry users ... ALERT!
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