Click here to go back to normal view!


Expert Review
RIM BlackBerry 8100 Pearl GSM Mobile Phone

Enlarge Image




Stores Selling: 11
$7.00 - $119.99


Expert Rating:  4  (what's this?)

Expert Review

RIM BlackBerry 8100 Pearl GSM Mobile Phone

Date Published: 10/5/06

Blackberry has long been a favorite with the corporate set for its e-mailing capabilities, and the Pearl represents the company's desire to expand its market. Equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, a music and video player, and Internet browsing over the high-speed EDGE network, the Blackberry now offers high-end features in an attractive smartphone.

As would be expected, the best feature of the phone is its very quick access to e-mail (the unit continually checks for new messages). But the phone also offers a few unique features such as a mapping application that can quickly visualize addresses of your contacts, an easy-to-use trackball, and a 2.25" light-sensing LCD. Other features include voice dialing, MP3 ringtones, speakerphone and an expandable microSD memory slot. The battery offers about 3.5 hours of talk time.

Overall, this quad-band phone is well made and much sleeker than previous RIM offerings. It doesn't provide more features than other smartphones on the market, but if you're a fan of Blackberry's reliable e-mail, this is a very solid product.

Pros: Great e-mail, stylish, music/video player
Cons: Cannot take video



Warranty
1 year



Expert Rating Scale

 
   Value
   Is it appropriately priced?
   Performance
   How well does it work?
   Ease of Use
   How easy is it to operate?
   Features
   What's included?
   Overall
   What does Consumer Guide® think?




Product Specs

Transmission technology
GSM
Battery type
900 mAbr
Talk time
3.5 hrs.
Standby time
15 days
Caller ID
yes
Call waiting
yes
Ringer options
polyphonic, mp3, MIDI
Silent ringer option
yes
Voice dialing
yes
Call timer
yes
Last number recall
yes
Voicemail
yes
Text messages
yes
E-mail capability
yes
Missed call indicator
yes
Backlit screen
yes
Internet/Web browsing
yes
Phone book capacity
n/a
Height
4-1/5 in.
Width
2 in.
Depth
3/5 in.
Weight
3.1 oz.








Magic Debugger

release: 8.4.3-qa1
content_id: 264244
type: review
category: l4-cp-cell-phone

brws title: RIM BlackBerry 8100 Pearl GSM Mobile Phone Review: Powered by ConsumerGuide and HowStuffWorks

meta d: The RIM Blackberry 8100 Pearl boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, music and video, and Internet browsing. Learn more in Consumer Guide's review.

url: http://shopproducts.howstuffworks.com/RIM-Blackberry-Torch-9860-4-GB-Cell-Phone/productId=110311682