Customer Rating: 
Summary: good phone....
Comment: I have this phone and I know others that own it too, while I do love it, I have had several problems with the trackball and know others have too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: No On/Off Switch
Comment: Who was the idiot that decided to leave out an on/off switch? As a result, whenever there is a problem, you have to remove the back, pull out the battery, wait, reinsert the battery, and wait for about a 2 minute reboot. Reminds me of how long I have to wait for a Microsoft operating system to boot up. This was a huge oversight by some Blackberry engineer. I am glad he's not a brain surgeon - he might have forgotten anesthesia.
This device is an OK phone. It does not always pick up all of the email. I don't like the small keyboard (difficult for a man's fingers). Overall, I would not buy this product again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best phone yet
Comment: I'm not a phone geek, and I don't pretend to be a subject matter expert, but this is the best phone I've ever used. The screen looks great, the phone is very strong (I've dropped it many many times), the buttons and scroll ball are easy to use, text messaging is easy (it guesses what I'm typing 9 times out of 10), it is packed with features, and it was free (with 2-years service contract).
NO complaints.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How much I missed my BlackBerry!
Comment: For a few years I used a work-paid Pocket PC. As I wasn't paying for it, I took what I was given but I was disappointed with the unit for the most part. Prior to it I had been a BlackBerry user for a while and had loved it.
The 8100 Pearl is not only slick-looking: it delivers on the promise. The interface has now migrated away from the wheel on the side to the tracking ball in the front. Navigation continues to be a breeze and typing is not sacrificed by combining multiple letters into the same key, thanks to the smarts of the device that typically identify the word you are typing as you go.
Most of the pre-installed software runs like a charm and is intuitive to use. The main exception is the browser. Luckily you can download and run Opera Mini for free to get a nice mobile browsing experience.
The camera takes great pictures when you have good light. It doesn't perform as well doing indoor photos, but what do you want for 1.3 MP?
All in all, I now realize how much I had been missing my BlackBerry. I don't know you iPhone users out there. BlackBerry is with me for good!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best
Comment: This is hands down the best phone I have ever used. I have been using cell phones since the time they came in a suitcase, and computers filled up the entire floor of a building. This phone not only functions as a great phone, but also functions as a mini computer. I can get my email anywhere in the country, take pictures of a job and email them to my office for imediate review. I can search the internet for anything that I might be interested in. With the bluetooth function I can talk handsfree in my car or on my motorcycle. The small size makes it easy to stick in a pocket, or it doesn't take up much room in a holster. I would recommend this phone to anyone. As a matter of fact two of my adult kids have Pearls also.
Summary: good phone....
Comment: I have this phone and I know others that own it too, while I do love it, I have had several problems with the trackball and know others have too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: No On/Off Switch
Comment: Who was the idiot that decided to leave out an on/off switch? As a result, whenever there is a problem, you have to remove the back, pull out the battery, wait, reinsert the battery, and wait for about a 2 minute reboot. Reminds me of how long I have to wait for a Microsoft operating system to boot up. This was a huge oversight by some Blackberry engineer. I am glad he's not a brain surgeon - he might have forgotten anesthesia.
This device is an OK phone. It does not always pick up all of the email. I don't like the small keyboard (difficult for a man's fingers). Overall, I would not buy this product again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best phone yet
Comment: I'm not a phone geek, and I don't pretend to be a subject matter expert, but this is the best phone I've ever used. The screen looks great, the phone is very strong (I've dropped it many many times), the buttons and scroll ball are easy to use, text messaging is easy (it guesses what I'm typing 9 times out of 10), it is packed with features, and it was free (with 2-years service contract).
NO complaints.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How much I missed my BlackBerry!
Comment: For a few years I used a work-paid Pocket PC. As I wasn't paying for it, I took what I was given but I was disappointed with the unit for the most part. Prior to it I had been a BlackBerry user for a while and had loved it.
The 8100 Pearl is not only slick-looking: it delivers on the promise. The interface has now migrated away from the wheel on the side to the tracking ball in the front. Navigation continues to be a breeze and typing is not sacrificed by combining multiple letters into the same key, thanks to the smarts of the device that typically identify the word you are typing as you go.
Most of the pre-installed software runs like a charm and is intuitive to use. The main exception is the browser. Luckily you can download and run Opera Mini for free to get a nice mobile browsing experience.
The camera takes great pictures when you have good light. It doesn't perform as well doing indoor photos, but what do you want for 1.3 MP?
All in all, I now realize how much I had been missing my BlackBerry. I don't know you iPhone users out there. BlackBerry is with me for good!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best
Comment: This is hands down the best phone I have ever used. I have been using cell phones since the time they came in a suitcase, and computers filled up the entire floor of a building. This phone not only functions as a great phone, but also functions as a mini computer. I can get my email anywhere in the country, take pictures of a job and email them to my office for imediate review. I can search the internet for anything that I might be interested in. With the bluetooth function I can talk handsfree in my car or on my motorcycle. The small size makes it easy to stick in a pocket, or it doesn't take up much room in a holster. I would recommend this phone to anyone. As a matter of fact two of my adult kids have Pearls also.