BlackBerry Pearl 3G

Mobile phones Review
BlackBerry Pearl 3G review
Will a QWERTY-free, slimline BlackBerry make merry in the mass market?


If we were playing a game of word association, we're guessing the word BlackBerry would be quickly followed by QWERTY and business.

It's been like that since the RIM entered the market, rarely erring from the 'QWERTY keyboard, functional design' mode - apart from the Storm range, which hasn't really changed the game.

It's a stereotype RIM hopes to finally break with its latest consumer-friendly smartphone, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G.

Small package means fewer features? Not a bit of it. The Pearl almost creaks with features, including Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and video recording, a well-featured media player and an optical trackpad.

It also sports multitasking, social networking for the likes of Facebook and Twitter as standard and, of course, the power of BlackBerry email and messaging. Just without the QWERTY, which is replaced by RIM's SureType technology for inputting your text.