blackberry 8100

The Blackberry Pearl 8100 is pretty much generating mass hysteria in the techno world and its no surprise that websites are scrambling over to get their hands on it. The big guns have already managed to give their two cents on the handset (that was quick) and now a number of reviews are floating on the World Wide Web. Here is a review round up of the Blackberry Pearl:

Business Week ‘“ The folks at Business Week like the Pearl for its sleek ergonomics which is a pleasant surprise since Blackberry handsets are never really easy on the eyes! The Blackberry Pearl has all the functionality of the previous handsets in addition to some great multimedia features like 1.3-megapixel camera and a Media Player. However all is not hunky dory according to the site as the Media player is ‘œuglyâ’and takes eons to load! Also the new pearl-like trackball below the screen was found to be over-sensitive.

International Herald Tribune – Like Business Week, they also comment on the stylish design and praise the makers for going down the small size road. While they do realize that hard core Blackberry fans may hate the new trackball, but for them its™s not that bad. Updates like new SureType software and an 1.3 MP camera are appreciated. However they were not impressed by the cameras performance and hated the fact that the MicroSD card was located in the battery department.

New York Times – The review takes a pragmatic approach to life and declares that no handset is perfect! The Pearl is no different and they like the menu structure and the new and improved control buttons. But according to them the Pearl failed in aspects like battery life and the MicroSD card slot placement. They are also not thrilled about the fact that T-Mobile would carry the phone since they are infamous for slow internet speeds.

Cnet – Let,s now see what the experts at Cnet had to say about Blackberry Pearl. Like the previous reviews they also give the handset brownie points for its sleek looks, its multimedia features and its features like push e-mail capabilities, EDGE support, and Bluetooth. However they also disliked the MicroSD card placement and think it’s unpardonable that the handset lacks Wi-Fi and external controls for the media player. The call quality and the image quality of the camera is nothing much to write about too.

PC Mag – The last website in our review roundup doesn’t divert much from the other reviews. This one too extols Blackberry attempts for incorporating a camera and a multimedia player in the Pearl and love it for its vibrant display and its stylized design. What they didn’t dig was the Pearl’s tiny keys, lack of genuine of PC sync options and the fact that Music and video players lack navigation.

Looks like the Blackberry Pearl’s Achilles heel may just be its multimedia capabilities. While RIM should be lauded for its attempts one must remember that they have compromised on the size and the trademark Blackberry look to accommodate a new set of users. Only time will tell if the Pearl makes a niche for itself.