Customer Rating: 
Summary: fun gadget....
Comment: I have the red one - really pretty !!! It's my first cell phone in years & also my first smartphone. It's great to be able to have a phone that can access email, the internet, GPS systems, play & store my music & get to my online address book all with one cute little gadget.It's smaller than I imagined, but that's a plus. I cannot imagine working any business software on a screen so small, for that I'd have to go with one of the larger more traditional models from Blackberry. I'm a little disappointed that this model has limited Bluetooth capabilities with regard to being able to listen to music files via a bluetooth headset. It's okay sending or receiving calls with Bluetooth but cannot access any music files with it. All in all - it's a great little gadget !!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice phone till it crashed after 31 days of ownership.
Comment: I bought this phone for my son in college. He spent many hours entering contacts and data into the "smart phone" features. On the 31st day of using it the phone spontaneously crashed, wiping out all his data. Now the only useful function the phone can perform is as a paperweight! Two more things consumers might like to know: 1) The guarantee is 30 days, so since the phone lasted 31 days, I am out of luck. 2) I am stuck with a 2 year data charge of $30 / month, in addition to the contract on the phone, even though the phone cannot either receive or send data. All in all, this is one of the worst consumer experiences of my 62 years on earth!
Customer Rating:
Summary: I have loved this phone!!!
Comment: I got rid of 2 other electronics with this phone, including one very very bulky Pocket PC/Phone. It does everything! battery life is great, synchronization was cake, and have installed many applications and games on with no problem.
I did have one manufacturer defect, the trackball/pearl stopped working properly, but luckily it had no water damage and was still covered by waranty. I was quickly sent a replacement.
I love the size, the weight, and the feel of this fantastic phone. Although sometimes slow while browsing (to be expected), I love the email feature and often use it more than an actual computer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My favorite phone to date
Comment: I'm one of those technophiles who always chases the latest and greatest in technology. This means I've been through A LOT of cell phones. In fact, I typically buy a new phone every 6 months or so, and the Blackberry Perl is my favorite cell ever. Finally RIM offers a great sleek form factor with great features.
RIM always stood out with their messaging capability, but that service came at the cost of clunky hardware with limited feature sets (ie. no camera, music, applications, etc). RIM stuck to their story "We design for corporate users" which left many of us longing for better phones.
Nothing is worse than having to lug reams of flip charts through the airport in order to have a meeting's results transcribed. In the past I would have to carry a separate camera with me all the time so I could take photos of my whiteboards and flip charts.
Evidently RIM has learned that the corporate market wants more than bulky featureless phones. The Perl has hit the mark. Slim, sleek, with a great interface and feature set.
A lot of reviewers don't like the keyboard, and neither did my Fiancee at first. However, I told her to give it some time to get used to, and now she loves it. (If you haven't used this style of keyboard before, this will be the biggest hurdle for you) Remember, the phone needs some time to build your custom word dictionary, and don't try to "out smart" the smart type feature.
I also love the voice recognition dialing that comes with the phone... Very cool.
My only complaint is how AT&T/Cingular & RIM rob you with the Enterprise service @ $50/month with no text messages. If your company doesn't use a Blackberry Enterprise Server you can get unlimited Internet for only $20 and check your mail via POP or IMAP. In either case, plan on spending a little extra if you want SMS and MMS messaging capability.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice design but seriously flawed
Comment: I first purchased the blackberry pearl through T-mobile in June of this year. A month later the speaker went out. I could only make or receive calls if I used the speakerphone...I managed to get a warranty replacement.
I month later my employer gave my a blackberry pearl for official use; two weeks later it crashed (wouldnt turn on.) I had to wait for 30 days before I got the warranty replacement.
Today my work blackberry pearl failed again; the speaker has gone out again..sigh...I have to say this is some real poor craftmanship.
I wonder if this is a problem specific to the pearl....anyways just thought id provide another data point for people considering buying it.
Guess I have to wait another 2 weeks before I get my replacement; thats 3 blackberry pearl's in less than 6 months..arrggg
Summary: fun gadget....
Comment: I have the red one - really pretty !!! It's my first cell phone in years & also my first smartphone. It's great to be able to have a phone that can access email, the internet, GPS systems, play & store my music & get to my online address book all with one cute little gadget.It's smaller than I imagined, but that's a plus. I cannot imagine working any business software on a screen so small, for that I'd have to go with one of the larger more traditional models from Blackberry. I'm a little disappointed that this model has limited Bluetooth capabilities with regard to being able to listen to music files via a bluetooth headset. It's okay sending or receiving calls with Bluetooth but cannot access any music files with it. All in all - it's a great little gadget !!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice phone till it crashed after 31 days of ownership.
Comment: I bought this phone for my son in college. He spent many hours entering contacts and data into the "smart phone" features. On the 31st day of using it the phone spontaneously crashed, wiping out all his data. Now the only useful function the phone can perform is as a paperweight! Two more things consumers might like to know: 1) The guarantee is 30 days, so since the phone lasted 31 days, I am out of luck. 2) I am stuck with a 2 year data charge of $30 / month, in addition to the contract on the phone, even though the phone cannot either receive or send data. All in all, this is one of the worst consumer experiences of my 62 years on earth!
Customer Rating:
Summary: I have loved this phone!!!
Comment: I got rid of 2 other electronics with this phone, including one very very bulky Pocket PC/Phone. It does everything! battery life is great, synchronization was cake, and have installed many applications and games on with no problem.
I did have one manufacturer defect, the trackball/pearl stopped working properly, but luckily it had no water damage and was still covered by waranty. I was quickly sent a replacement.
I love the size, the weight, and the feel of this fantastic phone. Although sometimes slow while browsing (to be expected), I love the email feature and often use it more than an actual computer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My favorite phone to date
Comment: I'm one of those technophiles who always chases the latest and greatest in technology. This means I've been through A LOT of cell phones. In fact, I typically buy a new phone every 6 months or so, and the Blackberry Perl is my favorite cell ever. Finally RIM offers a great sleek form factor with great features.
RIM always stood out with their messaging capability, but that service came at the cost of clunky hardware with limited feature sets (ie. no camera, music, applications, etc). RIM stuck to their story "We design for corporate users" which left many of us longing for better phones.
Nothing is worse than having to lug reams of flip charts through the airport in order to have a meeting's results transcribed. In the past I would have to carry a separate camera with me all the time so I could take photos of my whiteboards and flip charts.
Evidently RIM has learned that the corporate market wants more than bulky featureless phones. The Perl has hit the mark. Slim, sleek, with a great interface and feature set.
A lot of reviewers don't like the keyboard, and neither did my Fiancee at first. However, I told her to give it some time to get used to, and now she loves it. (If you haven't used this style of keyboard before, this will be the biggest hurdle for you) Remember, the phone needs some time to build your custom word dictionary, and don't try to "out smart" the smart type feature.
I also love the voice recognition dialing that comes with the phone... Very cool.
My only complaint is how AT&T/Cingular & RIM rob you with the Enterprise service @ $50/month with no text messages. If your company doesn't use a Blackberry Enterprise Server you can get unlimited Internet for only $20 and check your mail via POP or IMAP. In either case, plan on spending a little extra if you want SMS and MMS messaging capability.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice design but seriously flawed
Comment: I first purchased the blackberry pearl through T-mobile in June of this year. A month later the speaker went out. I could only make or receive calls if I used the speakerphone...I managed to get a warranty replacement.
I month later my employer gave my a blackberry pearl for official use; two weeks later it crashed (wouldnt turn on.) I had to wait for 30 days before I got the warranty replacement.
Today my work blackberry pearl failed again; the speaker has gone out again..sigh...I have to say this is some real poor craftmanship.
I wonder if this is a problem specific to the pearl....anyways just thought id provide another data point for people considering buying it.
Guess I have to wait another 2 weeks before I get my replacement; thats 3 blackberry pearl's in less than 6 months..arrggg