Review: BlackBerry Pearl 3G

What is it?

Not your ordinary BlackBerry, this is. Instead of boasting a regular qwerty keypad, this has a more 'normal' number pad - the kind we're used to on our plain Nokia and Sony Ericsson candybar phones.

If the Pearl 3G were a candybar, though, it'd definitely be a Slim Slab. It's super thin, and sits comfortably in any pocket. Despite the slim design it has 3.2-megapixel snapper and all the other features you'll find on a modern BlackBerry, so it's still all smartphone under the hood.

I've not gone hands on with a 'bad' BlackBerry, before. The Pearl 3G is no different. By now most folks will be familiar with the celebrity angle around the Pearl's marketing, and it makes perfect sense. Checking mail or making calls, I had a bunch of people asking what phone it is - 10 points for attention-grabbing design.

Of course, the design is made possible because it has a regular numberpad. Previous Pearl phones had a rather awkward qwerty keypad on an expanded numberpad, but this sticks to the tried and trusted design we've had on our phones since day one.

This is augmented by a predictive text system. Now usually these typing assistants are quite good, but in the case of the Pearl 3G, it can be a bit of a hindrance. Sometimes you select the wrong word and it's impossible to go back, select the word, and choose the correct one from a list. Deleting and starting over is easiest. It takes some getting used to, but even then it's far from perfect.

Obviously, it's not aimed at converting the masses of keyboard-using BlackBerry owners, but rather as a smartphone for those coming from 'normal' phones. It has the same screen, button layout and footprint as something like a Sony Ericsson Aino, but has smartphone features. It'll fetch your mail, browse the Web, keep your instant messaging online and run applications. Just like a real BlackBerry - which, of course, it is.

It's also a new-generation BlackBerry, so it has dedicated media keys along the top of the phone. These provide quick access to music, photos and movies, and control playback. The pause/play button is also used to lock the phone. Hold it down for a bit and it locks the keypad. But the instant you touch it, the phone is unlocked.

The problem this presents becomes apparent when putting the phone in a pocket or taking it out - your fingers almost always touch the top of the phone, unlocking the keypad immediately. And inconveniently. A key combination to unlock would make a lot more sense, guys. Maybe BlackBerry 6 will sort this out...

If you've been putting off your BlackBerry or smartphone purchase because the keyboards are unattractive, the Pearl 3G kills that excuse. It's easy to use, does grownup-phone things and looks stylish while doing it.

There's also the huge plus of it being BlackBerry 6 compatible - the new version of BlackBerry's mobile operating system releases in a few weeks, and an update will be available for the Pearl 3G, free of charge.