Mobile Phone Reviews

The BlackBerry Pearl 8130 smartphone is designed to help you do everything you want with your life. It comes complete with advanced phone features, multimedia, digital camera, video recording, built-in GPS and expandable memory

BlackBerry Pearl 8130 is an updated version of the 8100 that was developed for GSM networks. Enhancements to the Blackberry Pearl 8130 include a built-in GPS receiver for satellite navigation and support for high-speed EV-DO networks.

Because  as an upgraded 2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSDHC-compatible card slot, and a video capture mode. In addition, the 8130 retains all the traits that made the original 8100 series a success, including its svelte and attractive design, SureType keyboard, backlit trackball, and solid voice quality. For this review, I tested both the Sprint and Verizon versions. There are a few differences, which I’ll outline below, but both handsets are top-notch buys.

BlackBerry Pearl 8130 is a small and light smartphone with QWERTY-keypad. It is designed as a candybar. The device is equipped with a 2MP camera and supports Wi-Fi. Actually the device is available in North America. The presence of Wi-Fi module makes the difference between the described model and the preceding BlackBerry 8100.

CNET reviews the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 and writes, “The camera also gets an upgrade to a 2-megapixel lens (from 1.3 megapixels), but more importantly, you can now record video–a first for a BlackBerry. For still images, there’s a 5x zoom and flash, as well as three picture sizes and three quality options. You also get white-balance settings and several color effects you can add to the photo.”

InfoSync reviews the the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (Verizon Wireless) and writes, “The camera on the BlackBerry Pearl has seen a slight upgrade to a 2-megapixel sensor. The lens quality was not very good, but passable. Images were noisy with blurry edges, but colors weren’t exaggerated, and details were available, if not clear. Photo management on the BlackBerry isn’t pretty, but there are plenty of options to send your photo via Bluetooth, e-mail or SMS.”

The Pearl comes with the following standard features:

* 1.3 or 2.0 megapixel camera with flash, self portrait mirror, and 5x digital zoom
* Media player with support for MP3, AAC, AMR, polyphonic MIDI and WAV sound formats
* Media player with support for MPEG-4 and H.263 video formats
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Address book & Calendar
* Web browser
* BlackBerry Maps (8130)
* Push e-mail
* Voice Dialing

Product Summary

 The good:  The RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 keeps the same sleek design of its predecessor but adds built-in GPS, EV-DO support, and video-recording capabilities. The smartphone’s Web browser is also improved, and it has a 2-megapixel camera. The device’s messaging functions remain strong.

The bad: The SureType keyboard takes some acclimation, and call quality could be slightly better.

The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 improves on an already-impressive smartphone with the addition of GPS, video recording, and 3G support.

Specs: OS provided: BlackBerry Handheld Software; Installed RAM: 64 MB; Band / mode: Dual-band CDMA2000 EvDO

Cnet rating-             8.0 /10