BlackBerry Pearl 8130 - silver (Verizon Wireless)

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 152 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 5 stars

  Nice looking, but very disappointing...

  by mandolyn221 on December 7, 2008

  Pros: Nice looking, some nice features

  Cons: Verizons have to have a data package crap, trackball unreliable, somewhat poor reception, poor battery life

  Summary: I had a pearl and sold it, I guess it just was not for me.
  
  First off (and I know this is not necessarily and problem with the phone, but ...

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  Summary: I had a pearl and sold it, I guess it just was not for me.
  
  First off (and I know this is not necessarily and problem with the phone, but I had to mention it) Verizon forces you to have a data package with any blackberry. They signed me up for a $45 a month data plan without even telling me. Needless to say I was very surprised when that bill came. I told them I wanted to stay on a "pay as you go" data package that I have had forever and they said that they do not offer that on blackberrys.
  
  As far as the phone itself goes, I was also very disappointed with it. The trackball was really unreliable.. it would work ok sometimes and then other times you would have to really press it to make it work, I even tried changing the sensitivity with no luck. The phone had terrible battery life, it needed to be charged all the time. The speaker phone was terrible, if you turned it up enough to actually hear the person the whole phone vibrated and really distorted the sound. The call reception was horrible, there was constantly crackles. I would caution anyone before buying this phone.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  Good Features, Horritble Phone

  by bluesun28 on July 16, 2008

  Pros: Awesome design, unique features

  Cons: Erases phone logs/text messages, drains battery, freezes, slower than dial up

  Summary: When I first got the phone, I was impressed with the PDA aspect. The track ball was unique, although soon became a hassle as it's the only way to ...

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  Summary: When I first got the phone, I was impressed with the PDA aspect. The track ball was unique, although soon became a hassle as it's the only way to navigate around the slow phone. I found over and over the phone would delete my text messages and call logs, a problem my provider knew about, but has yet to fix the problem. It runs so slow that it freezes constantly so that I have to remove the battery and wait 5-7 minutes for it to reboot. In 3 of the 5 replacment phones I had, the battery would die within hours, causeing me to keep buying new batteries, which never solved the problem. I love the phone for the most part, but after 5 replacments of the same things happening over and over, I have moved on from the Blackberry craze..

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 3 stars

  Memory problems

  by barthjg on June 3, 2008

  Pros: Small form factor

  Cons: Memory woes

  Summary: Forget using all the features like calendar, notes and storing photos. This thing EATS memory and that means emails disappear, SMS messages disappear, too. The only way to get any ...

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  Summary: Forget using all the features like calendar, notes and storing photos. This thing EATS memory and that means emails disappear, SMS messages disappear, too. The only way to get any reasonable storage for when the plane lands and your emails flow in is to erase all photos. Even then, not enough system and short term memory. Phone call quality is only fair. No compatibility with Leopard--you need third party software to transfer phone data to your Mac.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 5 stars

  Warning!!! GPS disabled by Verizon.

  by tomg4255 on May 17, 2008

  Pros: Everything Blackberry, Verizon Plans

  Cons: Phone crippled by Verizon (typical bad behavior)

  Summary: Love the BB. But Verizon has crippled the GPS capabilities of the phone. Only works with their software and only at an additional charge. I've tried BB Maps, Google ...

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  Summary: Love the BB. But Verizon has crippled the GPS capabilities of the phone. Only works with their software and only at an additional charge. I've tried BB Maps, Google Maps etc.
  
  Called Verizon Tech Support. Have heard the following from different techs:
  
  1. It should work, it says it does in our service manuals.
  2. There is no GPS on this phone. It was disabled because it interferes with CDMA.
  3. Its a security issue because GPS was not implemented properly by BB on the phone. (One of the techs sent me a Verizon memo on what the techs were supposed to say to customers!)
  
  Verizon has some good plans and has treated me well when it comes to switching plans etc. But they suck when it comes to the phones themselves. They absolutely cripple the phones with their own software.
  
  I (naively it now appears) thought from reading the marketing materials and the manuals (and from what the sales and support people told me) this BB would be different - that they had left it alone. But Verizon has managed to screw it up as well. Beware.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Comperhensive and well-made interface

  by jkirk1626 on February 27, 2008

  Pros: Great form factor. Great interface.

  Cons: No desktop management software. Keyboard's small, screen res insuff to view docs.

  Summary: The automatic voice dialing feature actually works. Impressive. It is one-handed operable. The new web browser is solid, esp with Verizon's speeds.
  
  Palm's advantage is its Palm desktop
  
  ...

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  Summary: The automatic voice dialing feature actually works. Impressive. It is one-handed operable. The new web browser is solid, esp with Verizon's speeds.
  
  Palm's advantage is its Palm desktop software. Blackberry assumes you'll have Outlook, but many Office 07 packages don't come with Outlook, including mine. This leaves you having to scour the internet for 3rd party apps that you'll likely pay for or use pain in the neck CSV editors.
  
  The keyboard is small and slippery. The SureType works well and improves as you use it.
  
  A downside is that, although it will display PDFs, the screen's resolution is to rough to read them. When you zoom in, you get a closeup of illegible blurriness.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Great all around phone for all your uses

  by frayne182 on January 9, 2008

  Pros: Well designed, Durable, good camera

  Cons: Sometimes takes awhile to load or locks up

  Summary: I have this phone for about a month now and I must say I love it. There are very few problems with this phone. While im not addicted to it ...

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  Summary: I have this phone for about a month now and I must say I love it. There are very few problems with this phone. While im not addicted to it the way some people get addicted to blackberries I find I use it way more than my previous Phone(LG chocolate). I got this phone because of a promotional upgrade so I went with it. Right off the bat I noticed a big difference. I find this phone may be hard for people who are computer illiterate because you can make folders, hide things, etc. It had a good camera and the suretype is something to get used to. But if you text message lots like me it won't take long to get used to. Improvement over the 8100 but nothing spectacular. I have the Telus one from Canada and I love it. I recommend this phone

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  beyyer than I-Phone and LG Voyager

  by afalana on December 23, 2007

  Pros: phone, email, internet, contacts, addresses, tasks

  Cons: the internet should be better in the future

  Summary: Great phone with all that you need. It is not for a basic usage. It is for those, who need to access email and carry the calendar with them. I ...

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  Summary: Great phone with all that you need. It is not for a basic usage. It is for those, who need to access email and carry the calendar with them. I downloaded a few third applications, one of them is Skype ... so I can make cheap international phone calls.
  
  This phone exceeded my expectations ... However, hopefully, the Internet will be "better." I mean I would like to see the whole pages in some kind of "better view."

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Best phone I've owned to date...

  by patmos3 on December 11, 2007

  Pros: size, stable os, e-mail is best i've had on a phone

  Cons: Battery, no native IM application, no document editing. Suretype keyboard takes time

  Summary: I upgraded to this from the enV and am very happy I did so. I never owned a Blackberry before and found that I really enjoy being able to move ...

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  Summary: I upgraded to this from the enV and am very happy I did so. I never owned a Blackberry before and found that I really enjoy being able to move icons to different folders and adjust the settings like you can. After owning 2 treos, a motorola Q, a Q9m and several other phones, this phone has the fewest OS issues (none so far) and gets the best reception of any phone I have used. There are 2 places where I live that I have always dropped calls... not so with the Pearl.
  
  The media apps are pretty good for a phone. 2 MP camera is good for photos that you would normally take with a phone. Flash is also nice. These apps will by no means replace my camera or my ipod but they work well when I need them.
  
  I am a MAC user and this works great with the Missing Sync. The Pearl came with blackberry tools for Mac but I opted for the Missing Sync because of their track record with my other devices.
  
  My only complaints are:
  1. Suretype. Its not bad, just a little cramped. Would rather have a verizon Curve... VERIZON CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??
  
  2. Battery. Though its not horrible, its not great by any stretch of the imagination.
  
  I went for this phone because the Verizon BB plan for consumers is much more affordable and so far has been worth it. Definitely give this phone a look...

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Great device!

  by laufer72 on December 4, 2007

  Pros: Sleek design, size, host of multimedia options, grat camera, works like a charm on BES

  Cons: I really can't get used to the keyboard

  Summary: After years of hating the BB, I finally broke down and got 8130. Well, all I can say is that I made the switch with perfect timing, when the Pearl ...

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  Summary: After years of hating the BB, I finally broke down and got 8130. Well, all I can say is that I made the switch with perfect timing, when the Pearl was just coming out. I used smartphones for a while now (Moto Q, Treo 650, 700w, Samsung I600, I730) and always tought BB's are not as sophisticated as these devices, but this one proved me wrong. I cannot find a single minus to this device but the darn keyboard. Can't get used to it, and probably never will. I use multitap most of the time, and honestly, don't mind it. It's a tradeoff, and I'll live with it. Otherwise, awsome camera, great multimedia capabilities, and ease of use (interface).

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  A GREAT all-around phone from RIM

  by juanriv on December 3, 2007

  Pros: Screen, location of media card, camera, 3.5 jack

  Cons: Steep initial learning curve even for an experienced BB user

  Summary: I wanted to wait a few weeks before writing my review on this phone. I too have had my share of flip-phones and PDA’s throughout the years, so I ...

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  Summary: I wanted to wait a few weeks before writing my review on this phone. I too have had my share of flip-phones and PDA’s throughout the years, so I needed to give this one a good 2 weeks of work before making an assessment. My work phone is a Nextel BB 7520; it is a BRICK but one that has stood the test of time. My last phone was a Treo 700wx; it was another BRICK that just couldn’t pass the test. Constant shutting down open programs out of memory to keep it running smooth and a screen that didn’t match the quality and look of the PDA. When I first saw the Pearl I thought it looked too small to be all that people were saying but after two weeks of work I am convinced that this is a great phone; not a perfect phone but a great phone. Keep in mind that BB’s are business phones first and foremost. That RIM has put an awesome camera, a so, so, video recorder, a decent MP3 player, a super 3.5 headphone jack, a speakerphone that works perfect with its size is just the icing on the cake. The SureType is the subject of much debate. I had not had any experience with SureType and I have to say that I was a bit intimidated by it at first. I read a user opinion that suggested to just type out the message completely and then check for errors instead of trying to fix what I thought would be mistakes before the word was completed and I found that this more than anything worked out just great. 9.5 out of 10 times it will be right. Difficult names will be a bit harder to get right the first time but once the software learns the name, it will get it right all the time. Also if you have the name in your address book it will help minimize the errors. One thing that was a problem for me was the initial set-up language choices. I’m a Hispanic that speaks and writes Spanish. When I went through the first time set-up wizard I chose English as the menu and desktop language and also as the impute language. This proved to be a mistake. If you go through the first-time wizard and do not choose your languages (French, English, Spanish) correctly, the software will delete all other unused languages from the phone and you will not be able to recover them. The desktop manager application loader does not contain add-on languages. After 2 hours with Tech Support I was told to go to the VZW store and get myself a new phone. Did the whole setup thing again, choosing the 2 languages and presto! I thought that this was something that Tech Support should have known more about but on the other hand they took care of the problem. Those that give this phone low numbers due to poor reception are not being sincere. If you’ve lived in an area long enough you will know which carrier works and which one sucks. T-Mobile has no coverage in Fayetteville, NC, so there was no reason for me to buy the BB Pearl 8100 and then discredit it. This is a great beginning for RIM in the multimedia market of smart-phones!

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

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