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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Smartphone, Black (Sprint) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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User Submitted BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Smartphone, Black (Sprint) Reviews (cont...)Date: 2008-02-25 A Pearl of Great Value I have used a fair number of cell phones over the years, but very few were worth gushing about. They were simply utilitarian tools. This diminutive little device is different. Thinking I wanted to go to a convergent device that integrated PDA functions with phone functions, I bought myself an HTC Mogul PPC-6800 Smartphone (Sprint). In a separate review here on Amazon, I give my impressions of the device as a really neat Windows Mobile PDA, but a really marginal phone. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have an excellent phone that doubles as a PDA than a PDA that tries but mostly fails to be a phone. Bottom line: I sold the HTC mogul after one week on eBay and switched to an 8130 Pearl after doing my homework. PROS * Size: This puppy is SMALL. It is hard to appreciate until you actually hold one in your hand or see it at the store. The photos you find on the web are usually those glamour pictures (like the one here on Amazon) that doesn't provide any visual point of reference, such as a pencil or business card, to compare the size against. As a result, it is easy to think of this thing as being about the size of a calculator. Wrong. Go see one to appreciate just how portable it is. * Build Quality: This thing feels good in your hand. Solid. Well made. Good tactile feedback on all the keys with sufficient weight to feel like you are pressing on something substantial rather than a piece of plastic. Fit and finish are impeccable. My only critique is that the battery cover is slightly loose. There is no danger of it coming off, but it does wiggle more than would be expected. Solution: add some layers of scotch tape to the inside of the battery cover to make a thin shim. It adds just enough tension to stop the wiggling and you have a nice, tight fit. RIM would be wise to include a small piece of foam with adhesive on one side that sticks to the inside of the battery cover. It would turn this common observation about the battery cover into a total non issue and add about a penny to the manufacturing costs. * Phone: The phone works like a phone should work. Speaking and listening clarity is excellent, and there are PLENTY of shortcut buttons so that all the key functions such as mute, switch to speakerphone, etc. have hard buttons rather than being buried one or two layers deep in a soft menu. * Bluetooth and Voice Command: This phone works excellent with my Plantronics Voyager 510 handsfree earpiece. The single most important reason that I got rid of the HTC mogul mentioned above was that it had voice tags, but not true voice command. For those that don't know the difference, voice tags require you to record your own voice and assign it to selected phone numbers or commands such as launching an application. Three HUGE problems with that approach: 1) If you have several hundred numbers in your contact list, each with home, office, mobile, and maybe additional numbers, that equates to HUNDREDS of voice tags you must record. Not a pleasant prospect AND it takes up precious memory in the device. 2) It doesn't work very good, particularly with a bluetooth head set. I can't tell you how many times I would say the voice tag over and over, only to have it give me that annoying beep that says "name not recognized" or to connect to the wrong number. You would think that because it is using your own voice, it would be very accurate. But, you'd be wrong. Typically, it works OK when you are using the handset, but not when using the speakerphone or a wired or wireless headset. Gee, isn't that the exact reason why you get this voice recognition capability...so that you can talk in the car without having to use your hands? In contrast, voice command functionality recognizes speech from any user (not just you) and you don't have to record any tags. Simply load your contact list and say things like "Call John Smith...mobile" or "Call John Smith...home" or even better "Call...555-1229" and it will WORK! It is awesome. * Media Player: The onboard media player really isn't bad and supports album cover art. For $19.95 you can download a 3rd party application called FlipSide that provides iPod-like flow navigation using your album cover art. Also, the phone supports the new high-capacity microSD cards, so you can load 8GB (maybe even more) removable memory into the Pearl and stack up thousands of MP3s as well as unprotected AAC and WMA formats. Frankly, I can leave my iPod at home most of the time now. And the sound quality is very good. * IT'S A BLACKBERRY! There's a reason people become "crackberry" addicts. These devices are truly astonishing in just how elegantly the user interface works, and how easy it is to do e-mail, web browsing, texting, managing your calendar, tasks, contacts, and keeping everything synchronized. And, there's a reason that the vast majority of corporate environments have standardized on Blackberry as the way they keep their mobile workers synchronized. This is my first blackberry, and I've only owned it for about 2 weeks, but I am a true convert now and wouldn't go back. * User Interface: There's a lot of buzz about the touchscreen and iPhone versus Blackberry. Yeah, the iPhone looks kool. Yeah, it has a big screen. If your primary goal for owning a device like this is to show it off at cocktail parties, then maybe the iPhone is for you. But if you are like me and actually want to USE your device for productivity tasks rather than as an ornament, Blackberry is the way to go. Having used a touchscreen for about a week with the aforementioned HTC mogul, let me tell you this type of UI is not all it is cracked up to be. For starters, there is no tactile feedback - nothing to let you know you have pressed that key, nothing solid or reassuring. As a result, you'll get REAL familiar with the backspace key, because you'll be using it a lot as you type characters too many times or too few times. And, it won't just be when you are typing. It will be when you are dialing phone numbers. Long before that new car smell wears off from your iPhone you'll be kicking yourself for choosing such a clumsy UI that looks cool but is good for little else. * Trackball: This little fellow is great. Easy and intuitive to navigate and one click to perform many functions. Similar to a Mac environment where the mouse has only one button. There is even a little $5 add on application from a 3rd party that will make your trackball light up in 6 different configurable colors. Cool, but I don't need a disco ball on my phone. * HUGE user community: Don't underestimate the importance of this. From crackberry.com to blackberryFAQs.com to pinstack.com to blackberryforums.com to dozens of other sites, there are million of other users out there that can help you with nifty shortcuts, tips, tricks, wallpaper, themes, ringtones, games, applications, and other stuff. It's its own little (or not so little) subculture. If you want to get the most out of your phone, no longer are you limited to the usually very underwhelming technical support and prowess of your service provider. Blackberry geeks abound and can help you...all without the surly attitude that you usually get from the service providers tech support staff. * Phone holder: Yeah, you heard me right. The holders add some important features that you won't get with any other phone that I'm aware of. If you buy the actual Blackberry brand holsters, pouches, and belt clip/cases they come with two really USEFUL features. First, there is a little "trench" carved into the inside so that it won't press against your trackball when inside the holder and accidentally activate your phone. Second, there is a small magnetic sensor built into the pouch so that that the phone senses when it is in the pouch or out of the pouch. This adds some great features like putting the phone into standby mode when it is in the pouch and turning off the screen and backlights to save battery life. Very clever. Pull your device out of the holder and it instantly springs to life without you having to push any buttons or unlock it. Also, you can configure the phone to answer and incoming call when you pull it out of the pouch if desired. No pushing any buttons. Just slide your phone out and start talking. Uber-clever. * Sexy: As sexy as an iPhone? No, but that doesn't mean the aesthetics of this device aren't easy on the eyes. It is elegant and it is highly functional...a boast that iPhone owners are hard-pressed to make. Ask them how well they like their device after answering a few dozen e-mails or fumbling over entering phone numbers on that oh-so-big screen. Chances are they'll be a bit less enthusiastic. If it seems like I'm bashing the iPhone here, perhaps that's a fair observation. It's just that I have yet to meet anyone in a business environment that didn't have some regrets after buying an iPhone. It's like a trophy wife. Very, very sexy and good at turning heads, but not so good at really doing much of anything besides looking attractive. If you want your hormones to guide your phone purchase, head for the Apple store. If you want your head to guide you, head for Blackberry. CONS * Battery door: As I mentioned, many users have complained that the battery door does not fit as tightly as it should. Above I offered a simple fix: a few layers of scotch tape on the inside of the battery door. Invisible, inexpensive, effective. Problem solved. * "Day at a Glance" screen configurability: One of the things I really miss is the ability to build a "day at a glance" home screen. It comes close, but only gets about 70% of the way there. By using the Blackberry's "Today" theme you can display your upcoming calendar items, your missed calls, and your e-mail/voicemail messages along with a short preview of each. Nice, but the one thing I really need on such a screen is to also display a preview of my Task list for the day since I use that aspect of Outlook heavily to manage my time and keep me on track. I would really like to see Research In Motion (the company that makes Blackberries) release some additional themes that were more configurable to providing true "day at a glance" functionality on the home screen of the device without the need for several button pushes to see everything. * E-mail synchronization: I use Outlook at my office and at home, and it is very easy to synchronize contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos using the Desktop Manager software that comes with the device. However, I really don't need (and am too cheap to pay for) an internet access plan on my phone. Blackberries are set up only to synchronize e-mail wirelessly if you have a data plan with your provider. You can't synchronize e-mail using the USB cable (or Bluetooth) and the Desktop Manager software. Bummer. In summary, am I happy with this purchase? You betcha. Not so much as one microsecond of buyer remorse. Got mine brand new for less than three hundred dollars w/o a service plan and it was worth every penny. If you're thinking about one of these, my advice is simple: don't think about it, do it. Date: 2008-01-26 This Blackberry Rocks I did a ton of research before settling on a new phone. I do not work for Sprint. This phone really does rock as an all in one device unless you are going to buy an iPhone, this device is really hard to beat. If you've never owned a blackberry definitely try this out. The phone build, fit and finish are hard to beat. This phone is small, not too small though for all of the functionality. Make sure you take the time to get used to the sure type it does take a little adjustment but after the first day use really becomes very natural. The engineers at RIM really have created a useable tiny keyboard. The "pearl" is fantastic for navigating. Download Opera to really get the full feel, the totally free browser ads quite a bit of functionality beyond the built in blackberry browser. Make sure you get a micro sd card (2gb is preferred) this phone is very media savy. With a little knowledge you can transfer music and video to the device, even full movies. The Roxio media manager software that comes with the device handles the conversion process quickly and painlessly I was very suprised that the software worked as good as it does. On top of the stuff you can put on the phone the Sprint TV and Sprint Radio work really well, and if you're not satisfied for a little bit more you can get additional tv channels or even Sirius radio. Oh and the blue tooth works flawlessly. Finally Sprint service although not exceptional does have one advantage: price. For 30$ the unlimited data with Sprint TV, and Navigation bundled is nearly impossible to beat. If only this device was wifi, but with the data services the way they are this is pretty trivial. Even in rural areas, I have always been able to pull up web pages. One caveat... make sure if you are using this phone as a consumer phone rather than a business phone you get setup on the right plan, it will save you money, here are the details: Account services, the folks who cancel accounts are very familiar with this. Ask to speak with them if you have problems with Customer Service or a supervisor ask to be transferred. Effective 11/19/07, the $30 Power Vision BlackBerry Data Pack is available in P2K, Premiere, and PSA. Effective 11/19, this plan will also be made available in P2K, Premiere, and PSA. P2K billed customers will no longer be required to convert to Ensemble/CSM to get this plan. $30 Power Vision BlackBerry Data Pack: P2K/Premiere/PSA: Consumer/Individual Liable Single Line: #C BBPK EVDOSTV3$30 Consumer/Individual Liable Family Line: #L BBPK EVDOSTV3$30 Ensemble/CSM: PDSTVBKCE $15 Phone as Modem plan (available to $30 BlackBerry Data Pack subscribers): P2K/Premiere/PSA: #C PAM ATT $15 Ensemble/CSM: PAM15UNL Date: 2007-12-22 Best Blackberry yet! I received my 8130 a few days ago. This Blackberry is my fourth and it is my best to date. +) Size. It's much smaller and lighter than my previous BBs. +) Sound quality. I can hear all of my calls with perfect clarity. I've had several people comment on how much better I sound on their end too. It's as good as my land-line phone. +) Keyboard. The person at the Sprint store recommended that I not look at the screen the first few times I entered a message. I took his advice and had no trouble using the smaller keyboard. It's actually quite easy if you don't try to interfere with it. +) Camera. Normally I don't care if my cell phone has a camera or not. Typically they are low quality and there's almost no reason to bother with them. However, the camera in this phone takes really nice photos. I can hardly believe they came from my Blackberry and not a stand-alone camera. All in all, I'd say this Blackberry was an excellent purchase. I would recommend it to anyone. Date: 2007-12-14 Love this Blackberry!! 8830 versus 8130 I have Verizon service unfortunately Amazon doesn't have the 8130 listed for Verizon however, they did for Sprint and a 8130 is an 8130 regardless of the carrier....so here you go!! I have both blackberrys (which my wife continually reminds me of) and personally, I think the 8130 is the winner! All other items being equal, here is where the 8130 pulls ahead: Size - Slimmer form factor 2.0 megapixel camera - Photo quality is amazingly good - Flash - Pictures can be sent via mail or mms or messenger - Video recording Ringer tone volume - Ring tones are much louder Reception - All my other cells drop at this one point in my commute. Not this one!! Highly recommend the 8130! Update 12/16/07 - Speakerphone is great!! Plenty loud enough and clarity on the other end is good. My wife didn't even know she was on speaker!! :-) - Believe it or not I like the keypad better than the 8830. At first I didn't like it at all but once I got used to it, it's pretty nice. The keys are bigger on the 8130 which makes it easier for me. Overall, I continue to be very pleased with my purchase. A word of caution though if you are looking for a case. It is my understanding that cases made for the 8100 Pearl, those that a form fitting and meant to be always on the phone like the Vaja will not work on the 8130. The camera lens is apparently in a different location. Holsters that you just slide the phone in and out of will work fine or if you can find one specifically made for the 8130 even better. Given the newness of the phone they are hard to find though.
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