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Sunday, November 4, 2007
BlackBerry Pearl Review
In case you hadn’t noticed, the smart phone is no longer just a buttoned-down business tool for executives. Manufacturers have been working very hard to broaden this jack-of-all-trades device’s appeal to get everyone from students to soccer moms (and dads) hooked. The BlackBerry Pearl, available exclusively from T-Mobile for $199, is the perfect case-in-point.
BEST FOR Style-obsessed hipsters who want the most portable keyboard phone possible.
DESIGN The very sexy Pearl repudiates every dour smart phone aesthetic. The glossy black finish, bright 240 x 260-pixel color screen, and silver side bezels radiate style. At 3.2 ounces and half an inch thick, the Pearl is like two stacked iPod nanos. The old BlackBerry scroll wheel has been replaced by a trackball seemingly borrowed from the SideKick 3; as a navigation tool the ball is intuitive and very sensitive.
Dedicated volume keys and a pair of programmable convenience keys make the phone flexible and further its ease of use. Atop the phone is a designated mute key to silence all alerts. Rather than a regular keyboard, the Pearl features an even smaller version of the SureType keyboard introduced on the 7100t. Large fingers could be stymied by the tiny keys. RIM has improved the SureType system but it remains only a passable alternative to a full QWERTY keyboard. Another minus: the microSD card slot is located behind the battery.
FEATURES Riding on T-Mobile's EDGE network, the Pearl delivers a reliable if not speedy data connection; it also supports quad-band GSM/GPRS networks. Bluetooth 2.0 is onboard, but only to support handsfree and serial port profiles. The Pearl finally sees BlackBerry catching up with the competition in the multimedia department, with features like a 1.3-megapixel camera (which washes out colors but retains sharp detail), a music and video player, and the aforementioned microSD slot to bolster the 64MB flash memory.
ORGANIZER BlackBerry's organizational options are diverse; the included BlackBerry Desktop Manager can sync contacts, calendars, memos, and tasks with Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes and Organizer, Novell Groupwise and Sage ACT! software. RIM hasn't notably updated the software, but it still works well, with advanced configuration options and clear alerts about each sync operation.
WEB RIM hasn't made great strides forward with the Web browser; it remains capable but often dramatically reformats pages to fit the tall portrait screen. Navigation is rudimentary but easy enough, making the Pearl a good tool for looking up specific data like scores or news headlines, but not for general surfing. The device relies upon the same EDGE data network as the SideKick 3, and cruises along at a sluggish average speed of 80Kbps.
E-MAIL As with all recent BlackBerrys, setting up an e-mail account is a simple process, facilitated by a well-designed walkthrough. Up to ten addresses are supported, with the BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and Exchange options being the primary corporate tools. Attachments are handled as always on 7100 series phones: images, documents, and PDFs are viewable but can't be edited.
CALL QUALITY The calls we made with the Pearl on T-Mobile's network were fine, but there was a rather airy quality to them, especially when compared to the Motorola Q and Nokia E62 We consistently got a strong signal while traveling around Atlanta, however. The voice-dialing option also worked reasonably well, especially for contacts with only one number associated.
ENTERTAINMENT RIM didn't go all-out with its debut media player--there's no DRM support--but the MP3/AAC/AAC+/eACC+ player sounds good, has an easy interface, and shows album art if embedded in the track. MPEG-4 videos are also supported, and while the screen is too small to really show off video, it's better than those displays found on some flash audio players we've tested.
VERDICT The Pearl is the sexiest smart phone yet, and a strong performer to boot.
T-Mobile SideKick 3
Cell phones often inspire devotion, but few have a following like T-Mobile's Sidekick. The device has long been the instant messaging and e-mailing device of choice among hipsters because of its nifty flip screen and comfortable rapid-fire keyboard. But users have griped about the poor camera, crippled Web browser, and lack of expandability. The Sidekick 3 improves those areas to varying degrees and delivers Bluetooth and a smaller design. However, this third generation isn't the slam-dunk upgrade many had hoped for.
Shrouded in a slightly glossier case, the Sidekick 3 is 20 percent smaller than its predecessor but weighs a bit more (6.7 ounces versus 6.5 ounces). The keyboard's old membrane keys have been replaced with hard plastic keys that are faster to use and more responsive. Consequently, we liked taking notes and composing e-mails much more on this model, though the keys' glossy finish makes the secondary function labels harder to see without a backlight.
Most noticeable is the trackball, which replaces the old scroll wheel. The ball has a much looser feel but turns out to be a good navigation option. More of the device's menus can now be explored with the trackball alone, which has a 360-degree movement range and can be pressed to select items.
A few tweaks improve the OS: Similar applications (IM clients and organizational apps) have been grouped into single-menu items that open in subfolders. Some of the previous model's sloth has been dispelled, as there is no pause while scrolling the arc of applications. The backgrounds are darker and slightly more serious, reflecting T-Mobile's desired mid-20's demographic rather than the high school image previously associated with the phone.
Danger still doesn't provide a way to customize the appearance of the OS, which is a feature users have requested since the line debuted. Microsoft Outlook remains the only synchronization option, and you have to purchase the Intellisync software separately from T-Mobile for $9.95.
As a phone, this sequel is much improved, with better reception, stronger volume, and far less of the echo that plagued many users. While the speakerphone still sounds airy and a bit noisy, it is also noticeably improved from the last generation. Our Logitech Bluetooth headset worked just fine through the new Bluetooth 1.2 option. We got between four and five hours of talk time with the Sidekick 3, and standby time is rated at up to three days.
The Sidekick 3 uses T-Mobile's EDGE service, and even while loading Web page images, this generation doubles the speed of the previous version. Better use of on-board memory also allows pages to load with fewer errors. Java-heavy pages stymied the Sidekick II, but this model was able to load more sites without fail. Fully zoomed-in maps were (barely) usable on Yahoo, and Google Maps proved too much to handle.
T-Mobile is touting the improved 1.3-megapixel camera, but in practice it's not much better than what theSidekick II carried. Sunlit shots appeared superior, but shots taken indoors and in dimly-lit conditions looked very grainy.
Perhaps the greatest surprise is the MP3 player, which relies on the miniSD Card slot (up to 2GB) for storage. The miniSD Card will show up in Windows as a removable drive, so you can simply drag and drop tunes into a folder. Unfortunately, the Sidekick 3 doesn't support DRM-protected tracks, so you can't use this device to play songs purchased from online music stores.
Pressing the Jump and Return keys brings up the player at any time, and music is organized by several data types, including artist, album, and playlist. The sound is good through headphones and surprisingly impressive through the phone's loudspeaker. Songs cannot be used as ringtones.
As an upgrade, the Sidekick 3 could have been more dramatic. There's no question, however, that the improved phone function and data service, in addition to the miniSD Card slot and music player, make this the best model in the line yet. The Sidekick 3 is a very good smart phone option for less business-centric users.
Shrouded in a slightly glossier case, the Sidekick 3 is 20 percent smaller than its predecessor but weighs a bit more (6.7 ounces versus 6.5 ounces). The keyboard's old membrane keys have been replaced with hard plastic keys that are faster to use and more responsive. Consequently, we liked taking notes and composing e-mails much more on this model, though the keys' glossy finish makes the secondary function labels harder to see without a backlight.
The long rubber bumpers of the Sidekick II are gone, and the buttons within them were replaced with smaller plastic buttons. While the bumpers were ugly, they offered some shock protection. The four primary command buttons are 50 percent of their former size, though their practical function is unaffected.
Most noticeable is the trackball, which replaces the old scroll wheel. The ball has a much looser feel but turns out to be a good navigation option. More of the device's menus can now be explored with the trackball alone, which has a 360-degree movement range and can be pressed to select items.
A few tweaks improve the OS: Similar applications (IM clients and organizational apps) have been grouped into single-menu items that open in subfolders. Some of the previous model's sloth has been dispelled, as there is no pause while scrolling the arc of applications. The backgrounds are darker and slightly more serious, reflecting T-Mobile's desired mid-20's demographic rather than the high school image previously associated with the phone.
Danger still doesn't provide a way to customize the appearance of the OS, which is a feature users have requested since the line debuted. Microsoft Outlook remains the only synchronization option, and you have to purchase the Intellisync software separately from T-Mobile for $9.95.
As a phone, this sequel is much improved, with better reception, stronger volume, and far less of the echo that plagued many users. While the speakerphone still sounds airy and a bit noisy, it is also noticeably improved from the last generation. Our Logitech Bluetooth headset worked just fine through the new Bluetooth 1.2 option. We got between four and five hours of talk time with the Sidekick 3, and standby time is rated at up to three days.
The Sidekick 3 uses T-Mobile's EDGE service, and even while loading Web page images, this generation doubles the speed of the previous version. Better use of on-board memory also allows pages to load with fewer errors. Java-heavy pages stymied the Sidekick II, but this model was able to load more sites without fail. Fully zoomed-in maps were (barely) usable on Yahoo, and Google Maps proved too much to handle.
T-Mobile is touting the improved 1.3-megapixel camera, but in practice it's not much better than what theSidekick II carried. Sunlit shots appeared superior, but shots taken indoors and in dimly-lit conditions looked very grainy.
Perhaps the greatest surprise is the MP3 player, which relies on the miniSD Card slot (up to 2GB) for storage. The miniSD Card will show up in Windows as a removable drive, so you can simply drag and drop tunes into a folder. Unfortunately, the Sidekick 3 doesn't support DRM-protected tracks, so you can't use this device to play songs purchased from online music stores.
Pressing the Jump and Return keys brings up the player at any time, and music is organized by several data types, including artist, album, and playlist. The sound is good through headphones and surprisingly impressive through the phone's loudspeaker. Songs cannot be used as ringtones.
As an upgrade, the Sidekick 3 could have been more dramatic. There's no question, however, that the improved phone function and data service, in addition to the miniSD Card slot and music player, make this the best model in the line yet. The Sidekick 3 is a very good smart phone option for less business-centric users.
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