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| BlackBerry Pearl 8100c Smartphone Slate Grey (AT&T) | 
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| Brand: BlackBerry
Category: Wireless
List Price: $499.99
Buy New: $0.01
You Save: $499.98 (100%)
New (1) Used (1) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 2177
Color: Blue
Media: Wireless Phone
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
Model: 8100c
UPC: 843163013018
ASIN: B000KFUK9Q
Release Date: November 20, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Data not available Terms and Conditions
Promotion: Save $5.00 when you spend $25.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
I absolutely love this phone! April 5, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
My first blackberry and I love it! I wanted to stop lugging around a phone AND a rather heavy Dell Axim just to have contacts, calendar and task-to-do list. I wanted a phone that synched with Outlook and was a great phone. The Pearl is definitely the BEST choice. I didn't really care about internet, music or camera, but the cheapest $30 internet plan from Cingular lets me have unlmited internet and access to home email instantly - it's just great! I bought the $40 1Gb card and now have about 150 mp3 songs and pictures on it. I use the mp3 songs as ringtones and it's GREAT to be able to instantly recognize who's calling from the music. Camera is ok - not great, but ok and very nice to have for on-the-spot photos that you don't want to lug around the regular digital for. I actually emailed a picture on the spot - very cool. Battery life is phenomenal so far. However, I'm not a heavy user and I used the profiles to have phone automatically shut off from 2am to 6am every day.
Only cons so far are: 1) getting used to the keypad - believe what every one says about the intuitiveness of the keypad figuring out the correct word. I've followed other folks' advice and don't really look at the words letter by letter - i type a sentence and then look - it works like a charm 9 times out of 10 that the keyboard correctly identifies each word. Still, this type of entry is so different for a first time blackberry user, but getting used to this is still better than using a stylus and touch screen like the Axim.
2) Also having trouble with having to restart if I change a ringtone for someone - I have to reseat the battery to get the change to take effect. Hmmm...
3) Volume when talking, even on speakerphone, is average - not terrible, but ok. So far, my reception is fine.
4) I also wonder how long the track ball will last - I'm not a heavy user and I still use it constantly. I think i'm going to buy the insurance plan just in case.
These minor cons are far outweighed by a simply GREAT phone that synchs with Outlook and so very much more. Bye Bye Dell Axim. It's true what some say - I'm a "crackberry" because playing with this thing is addictive. I'll update this review again in 3 months or so, but I don't anticipate any problems. My only regret is I didn't hold out until a red Pearl came in stock at my local Cingular kiosk. I would honestly give this phone 4.5 out 5 stars if they let you.
Love it! (from a hard core BB user) April 2, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Top line: This is the best BlackBerry I've ever used, and among the best phones I've ever used. I can use it at work and after hours with out compromise in functionality and style/size.
I've been (some what grudgingly) using Blackberry since the first "pager-style" 4 line text device and the 8100 is a breakthrough for me. Finally, I have a corporate device that treats me like a consumer!
The good:
- Great voice dial: particularly if you are a commuter with a headset. No need to record your voice for each address entry- just say who you want to call and it it doesn't understand you it will prompt you for more info.
- Size and appearance: Finally I don't look like a dork talking to something the size of my palm. The phone is as small as many phone-only candy bars.
- Easy private email set-up (as with all modern BlackBerries). Seems to have some sort of auto set-up for Mac mail and Gmail, others too I imagine
- Macintosh compatibility: I just bought "The Missing Sync" for Apple Mac OS X ($40 USD) to synchronize my address book, calendar, tasks and notes from my MacBook Pro. Works great! The software provided by RIM is not very easy to use.
- Fantastic screen and innovative "Outlook Today" style summery screen for missed calls, latest emails etc. Look for this feature in one of the alternate themes that ships with the phone.
- As others have mentioned, the keyboard is very good. Coming from a full size BB keyboard, I thought I might miss it, but the 8100's is a breeze to use.
The not as good:
- Speaker phone is functional and sound quality in general is fine. Nothing like my Sony Ericsson though...
- I think I have a minor voice quality issue between the phone and my Motorola H700 headset (the best headset I've ever owned). I think that it might be a compatibility issue.
- More Mac compatibility would be appreciated - like native iSync and bluetooth support.
Loving the BB Pearl March 21, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is my first BlackBerry device. In fact, this is the first cell phone I've had where I had a data plan setup. I gotta say I'm luving it! My email gets to me sometimes even before it shows up on my desktop. The browser is very robust and seems to work great. I've installed a few extra applications (google maps, bbweather, and Yahoo go to name a few) and I haven't had any problems. The applications cover a broad spectrum of interests and are really useful. I still have yet to try the Opera browser for the BB. The camera is so clear with and without the flash it's scary. It beats my old cameraphone hands down!
I've discovered that the moniker "CrackBerry" is so true. I'm just hooked on getting emails, surfing the web and listening to some tunes, all from the same device at the same time. I've discovered a whole community of simmilar BB addicts and they are really helpful in discovering the ins of this device.
The pearl's suretype keyboard learns as I go and words it didn't get right at first it now picks up and selects as I type. I don't even need to censor the typing too often anymore. I stuck with the suretype mode and caught on to it right quick. This may be because I've never used any other type of mobile device keyboard prior to the pearl. The learning curve was but a shallow hill.
My only complaints are that the mp3 player will not play through a wireless headset. You can trick it into doing so, but normal play is only through the speaker on the device or through the wired headset. Also the speakerphone is a bit muffled as the battery cover actually covers up the speaker! Now there are after mod kits that have an oem battery cover with a hole for the speakerphone, but come on. Finally the vibration of the phone is kind of weak. Not a big complaint but it bears mentioning.
Overall this device is great for beginners like myself. I cannot recommend it enough!
 I LOVE MY BLACKBERRY!!!!!! March 19, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I just recently bought the Blackberry Pearl and I love the device. Its stylish, beautiful, small, and it has some awsome features. However, since i bought it from Amazon, Cingular took forever just to approve me and give me a new number. So I constantly had to call amazon and ask them about my order. Then I receive the phone almost a week later than the day I placed my order and as I follow the instructions my phone didn't want to work. So the representatives told me there was something wrong with my SIM card... when it wasn't. Luckily I called Cingular and a very HELPFUL representative helped me set up my account and ACTUALLY the service when Amazon told me there was something wrong with my SIM card LOL. Overall, Amazon should be more careful how they describe their phone activation process because it wasn't easy. But whatever I love shopping @ Amazon and I truly love my phone and I bet you will love it too. :)!!!
Review from a non-techie March 18, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've had this phone for about a week now and I'm glad I waited to post a review because my initial reaction was not very positive. Coming from owning a RAZR and many Windows-based devices, there was an initial learning curve to some of the functions. Also, I was NOT convinced that the strange keyboard would really recognize what you were attempting to type. Boy was I wrong about that one. OK, so for the review.
My motivation for purchasing was primarily to get a PHONE first, with a few bells and whistles for when I just want to play with the device. The Pearl fits that bill perfectly. Phone quality is excellent. Loading ringtones (a pain at first) proved to be relatively easy once I did a little research. Ringtones play very loud and clear. The music player is MUCH better than first impressions would lead you to believe. After a few hours of frustration, I was all ready to purchase a 3rd party app. Again, did some research, visited a few forums, and found out there is much more functionality in the included music player than you might realize. As an owner of a NANO, I was disappointed with the interface of the player. But once you go into the menu functions, you'll find much more functionality. It's not an ipod, but it works as an decent replacement. And if you're not an ipod owner, you'll likely have no complaints. Sound of tunes is quite nice when using headphones. Camera is only so-so, but I don't really care about that anyway. Must admit that I thought it would be better since it is a megapixal camera. The couple of pictures I took were dark and somewhat grainy. Part of why I dropped my rating from 5 stars. As far as email, I have a BB from work and they won't let me use a non-work issued device to access the network, so I have no opinion on email functionality. Organizer features (calendar, tasks, notes, etc) seem more than adequate. Much better than any of my old Pocket PC devices.
The only complaints I would have is that there are still 2 basic things that I haven't been able to figure out and while I'm admittingly not a techie, these should be pretty basic and intuitive. One, I would like to set one of my ringtones as the default ringer. That should be fairly simplistic but I can't figure it out. Two, I would like to change the order of the icons on some of the themes. Again, should be pretty basic, but no go. Almost forgot, can't listen to music through bluetooth. Not sure why, but this is really my only MAJOR complaint.
Only minor complaints. All in all, a pretty sweet device. And BTW, form factor and looks are simply the best out there. I came so close to purchasing the Blackjack, very happy that I went with the Pearl.
UPDATE - Figured out how to set default ringtone and move icons. Coming from a Windows mobile environment, I was expecting something along the lines of: Start-programs-etc-etc. Everyting in windows takes so many keystroks. With the Pearl, it was so easy. I was simply expecting it to be much more difficult based on my prior experience. I'm going to still keep it at 4 stars because of the lack of BT stereo. Otherwise, as close to a perfect device as I've used (and I've used quite a few).
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