BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Cell Phone Review
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 18, 2007 Comment on this |
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The Pearl 8130 is a slightly updated version of the original Pearl 8100. The differences are so small, in fact, that it’s hard to call it much of an upgrade. Some of the new features include an improved browser and camera. The changes to the browser are fairly significant, and propel it pretty far up our list of proprietary browsers. The camera is now 2-Megapixels and capable of capturing video. The quality hasn’t really improved much, however, as we noticed our captures tended to suffer from horizontal bands of noise. Though both of these are improvements, neither can compete with Nokia’s offerings: their proprietary browser is the best out there, and the N95 has one of the best cameras on a cell phone.
In case you’re not familiar with the Pearl series so far, it’s basically a much smaller version of a typical BlackBerry with a slightly different keypad. Those who find themselves in need of BlackBerry but don’t want to carry around a slab of phone might find the compact Pearl a viable option.
The Pearl 8130 is available from Verizon for $199.99 after a $100 online rebate and with a 2-year contract.
Below is a table of contents of the review. The links will lead to their corresponding sections.
Tour & Design - The Pearl is just like any other BlackBerry, just a bit smaller.
Audio Quality - The Pearl's audio quality was good, for the most part. Its side tone might make you talk more softly than you should.
Imaging - Video capture is a new technology for the BlackBerry line, so, of course, it isn't very good yet.
Making/Receiving Calls - The Pearl handles phone calls really well, and we were able to access all the advanced features easily through the comprehensive menu.
Messaging - BlackBerry phones are messaging machines. The Pearl follows in this legacy.
Organizer - The organizer is very comprehensive, though BlackBerry falls behind Series 60 devices in terms of comprehensiveness.
Multimedia - The Pearl is by no means a multimedia handset, but it does all right for itself anyway.
Software - BlackBerry provides a great operating system. Also, the Pearl has a much-improved browser the series will hopefully adopt.
Battery Life - Battery life was slightly above average in every category, which is somewhat below average for a BlackBerry.
Connectivity - Without wi-fi, the Pearl falls behind competing smart phones.
Hardware - The Pearl's hardware isn't very impressive. It has a lackluster screen, not much internal memory, and a keypad that really could've benefited from better key differentiation.
Other Features - The Pearl has GPS and can be used as a tethered modem. Both these services will require a fee, however.
Value & Comparisons - Despite costing four times what its predecessor is going for, the Pearl 8130 isn't necessarily a bad deal.
[page title="Tour & Design"]
Front
The front of the Pearl contains a similar layout to typical BlackBerry devices, just with a different keypad. The top has a speaker and an LED. The next feature is the 2.15 inch display. Under this is the standard trackball array, which has the send, menu, back, and end keys. Under this is the SureType keypad, which has a somewhat wavy design.
Left
The silvered left side of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which immediately boosts the Pearl above most phones. Below this is a standard Mini USB port. Next is the Micro SD card slot, which is covered by a silver panel. The last button down the line is the dedicated voice command key.
Top
The top of the Pearl has its speakerphone and mute button.
Bottom
The bottom of the Pearl has a tiny microphone hole toward the left side.
Right
Like the left, the right side is also silver plastic. It contains the volume keys, camera shortcut, and the ever-important lanyard loop. It’s honestly a pretty bad lanyard loop, because it will cause the phone to hang at an awkward angle. If this is make or break territory for you, perhaps you’d best move on to the next handset.
Back
The most major feature on the back of the Pearl is its battery cover. Towards the top is the lens for the 2-Megapixel camera.
Battery Out
Taking off the battery cover off and battery out will let you survey absolutely no additional features.
In the Box (5.5)
The Pearl comes with a wall charger, carrying case, Mini USB cable, stereo headset, some software CDs, and a single manual.
Handling (7.0)
The Pearl is a great little device. It basically compresses most of the functionality of a typical BlackBerry device into a much more manageable package. The phone is small and thin, but retains a good amount of heft. The phone has rounded edges and should fit comfortably in any hand. Most of the phone’s weight is situated to the bottom, so the low grip necessary for typing isn’t an issue.
Portability (9.0)
The Pearl is very portable. It is very thin and smaller than typical phones. It’s also relatively light. It will slide pockets, purses or bags of any sensible size. There are also a ton of holster options available; holsters will even change how the phone behaves, meriting their own section in the ringer profile.
Aesthetics (7.0)
While not a knock-out by any stretch, the Pearl is a much sleeker version of the typical BlackBerry design. Since this is such a familiar look, the Pearl is best seen as a new take on an old trend. It could almost be seen as an updated retro look since BlackBerry has been making handsets since the mid-eighties. Again, it’s not something that will make the typical user’s jaw drop, but it is stylish and a great-looking, relatively tiny alternative to a standard BlackBerry.
Durability (9.0)
RIM know how to make a quality phone. The Pearl is a tank; it certainly looks and feels like it could brush off a beating. It doesn’t have any moving parts, which increases its durability considerably. However, it does have a large, exposed screen that seems like it could pick up scratches. To its credit, though, we’ve accidentally scratched a few of our last BlackBerry Pearl 8130s (science is a full contact sport) but the Pearl remains untouched. The only other source of paranoia comes from the trackball, which could feasibly allow dust and sundry grime into the guts of the phone. We wouldn’t worry too much about this, however.
We test audio quality with the same hardware and software used by manufacturers. Our hardware is a head and torso simulator (HATS). We use Listen Inc.'s SoundCheck software for the analysis. Using the two in tandem, we compare each phone to industry standards; our scores are based off this comparison. You can read more about our testing here.
Sound Receive Frequency Response (9.28)
| Cell Phone | BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | Palm Centro (on Sprint) | HTC Tilt (on AT&T) |
| Score | 9.28 | 6.24 | 8.04 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Sidekick LX (on T-Mobile) | BlackBerry Curve 8320 (on T-Mobile) | Nokia N73 (Unlocked) |
| Score | 6.74 | 8.30 | 4.47 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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Sound Send Frequency Response (8.66)
| Cell Phone | BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | Palm Centro (on Sprint) | HTC Tilt (on AT&T) |
| Score | 8.66 | 7.82 | 7.44 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Sidekick LX (on T-Mobile) | BlackBerry Curve 8320 (on T-Mobile) | Nokia N73 (Unlocked) |
| Score | 5.35 | 7.51 | 6.22 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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Handset Side Tone (7.45)
The Pearl's side tone is a bit quieter than we would've liked at -20.55 decibels. This will make you think you're not talking loud enough, and prompt you to speak louder.
| Cell Phone | Side Tone Measurement | Score |
| BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | 20.55 | 7.45 |
| Palm Centro | 17.86 | 9.86 |
| HTC Tilt | 20.29 | 7.71 |
| Sidekick LX | 19.74 | 8.26 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 17.88 | 9.88 |
| Nokia N73 | 21.66 | 6.33 |
[page title="Imaging"]
Resolution (4.27)
The
| Cell Phone | BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | Palm Centro | HTC Tilt |
| Score | 4.27 | 1.41 | 4.80 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 980/450 | 581/596 | 1039/1057 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Sidekick LX | BlackBerry Curve 8320 | Nokia N73 |
| Score | 2.55 | 5.25 | 3.98 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 782/662 | 1087/933 | 859.9/773.4 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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Color (5.13)
The Pearl didn't do such a good job with color. It tends to grossly undersaturate yellows, and purples are skewed towards blue. Greens seem to be skewed towards blue as well.
We perform this test by taking pictures of an industry standard GretagMacbeth color chart. On it are 24 color swatches meant to represent commonly photographed things: green foliage, blue skies, flesh tones, etc. We then run our captures through Imatest, which produces the above charts.
| Cell Phone | BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | Palm Centro | HTC Tilt |
| Score | 5.13 | 8.08 | 5.50 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Sidekick LX | BlackBerry Curve 8320 | Nokia N73 |
| Score | 4.00 | 4.92 | 5.88 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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Noise (1.08)
The Curve didn’t do very well on the imaging test. Typically we can blame resolution: the higher the Megapixel count, the more noise, because more information is being captured. In this bout of comparisons, the Curve also had a 2 MP camera, and the Centro and N73 had 3 and 3.2 MP cameras respectively. The
| Cell Phone | Score |
| BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | 1.08 |
| Palm Centro | 0.91 |
| HTC Tilt | 1.23 |
| Sidekick LX | 0.76 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 1.41 |
| Nokia N73 | 1.17 |
Live Preview (6.0)
The live preview on the Pearl is pretty good. It kept up with very rapid panning with only minimal blurring, even at lower light levels. There was minor pixelation, which wasn’t present in the final capture. Also, the opaque toolbars at the top and bottom waste screen space.
Unlocked Standby to First Shot (6.33)
The Pearl took 3.19 seconds to take a picture after being in standby mode. This is faster than average, though not by very much. The phone comes out of standby very quickly, and the camera application begins to load without much lag. There is a slight lag between the appearance of the camera interface and the live preview, and once you’ve snapped a picture there’s also a bit more of a pause than we’ve seen on typical phones. The Pearl might not be the best phone for impulsive photographers, but it should suffice for most users.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | 3.16 | 6.33 |
| Palm Centro | 3.8 | 5.26 |
| HTC Tilt | 3.7 | 5.41 |
| Sidekick LX | 3.3 | 6.06 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 2.9 | 6.90 |
| Nokia N73 | 5.3 | 3.77 |
Shot to Shot Time (0.90)
We knew as soon as we didn’t see a burst mode that the Pearl was in trouble, It took 14.9 seconds for us to snap a series of five pictures, and we’d already turned automatic save on and preview mode off. By our calculations, this is approximately 0.34 frames per second. Fortunately for the Pearl, however, none of the phones in the table below had a burst mode either. Phones with burst mode tend to get between one and two frames per second. Shot to shot time is very important for taking action shots, which the Pearl probably won’t excel at.
We arrived at our shot to shot time by taking five consecutive pictures of a timer. We start the timer the second we hit the shutter button. We get the total time for the test off the fifth and final capture.
| Cell Phone | FPS | Score |
| BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | 0.34 | 1.02 |
| Palm Centro | 0.28 | 0.84 |
| HTC Tilt | 1.36 | 4.08 |
| Sidekick LX | 0.21 | 0.63 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 0.35 | 1.05 |
| Nokia N73 | 0.52 | 1.56 |
Shutter to Shot Time (4.17)
The Pearl has a shutter to shot time of about 0.48 seconds. This is fairly slow, but relative to other smart phones it’s a quick-draw. Again, the Pearl isn’t ideal for spontaneous captures, but its camera is better than many competing ones.
Shutter to shot time refers to the delay between pressing the shutter button and the actual capture. To test this, we first aim the lens at our timer, then press the phone’s shutter key and the timer’s start button simultaneously. The captured image will show the total time the process took.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| BlackBerry Pearl 8130 | 0.48 | 4.17 |
| Palm Centro | 0.88 | 2.27 |
| HTC Tilt | 1.64 | 1.22 |
| Sidekick LX | 1.2 | 1.67 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 0.43 | 4.65 |
| Nokia N73 | 3.1 | 0.65 |
Interface (5.0)
The interface for capturing stills is pretty straightforward, and will be familiar to BlackBerry users. The top contains a thin toolbar with the date and battery life. The bottom toolbar lets you know how many pictures you have left to take, the current zoom level, and the flash setting.
The menu key will bring up a slightly different set of options from other BlackBerry devices. The only two important choices are to go to the album or open op an options menu. In the options menu you can fiddle with the flash, chose a white balance preset, set picture size and quality, add a color effect, choose between external and internal memory, and set the folder pictures will be saved to. There are no options for full screen viewfinder mode. There is also no shortcut to video capture mode.
Once you've captured an image, it’s automatically saved, then the usual BlackBerry post-picture options appear. You can erase the picture, the crop “Set As” button, a “Send As” (email or MMS) button, and an option to rename the picture right then and there. We really wish BlackBerry would swallow their pride and make a new icon for their Set As button, because anyone familiar with image editing software will verify that the crop tool had it first.
Photo Album Software Internal (5.0)
The Pearl has BlackBerry’s usual album software, which is solid. The main window will display 2-5 thumbnails per row, as set by the user. When a picture is highlighted, its title and file size are displayed at the bottom. The Pearls can also perform basic slideshows. It will cycle through a folder’s contents at a user-determined interval from 1-15 seconds. Of course, the menu will also offer all the basic management options: renaming, copying, moving, deleting, sending, assigning to a contact, or setting as wallpaper.
Clicking an image will bring the picture up in view mode. While you can zoom or rotate the picture, these changes can’t be saved. The zoomed/rotated picture can be set as wallpaper though.
Manual Control (0.0)
There aren’t any options for true manual control, such as shutter speed or aperture settings.
Zoom (1.0)
The Pearl has digital zoom. Digital zoom is only worth a single point because in virtually every case you’re better off not using it. What happens when it’s used is the picture is enlarged and cropped, which can be done much more gracefully and accurately with even basic image editing software.
Focus (0.0)
The Pearl has a fixed-focus lens. This translates into faster image capturing than auto-focus lenses, but worse quality overall.
Flash (6.0)
The Pearl has a flash, which is atypical for phone cameras. Further, it’s an actual flash as opposed to an LED that just stays on when flash is enabled. The flash is only good for a close range picture; when you get more than four feet away, captures will look dark and muddy. Even so, the Pearl’s flash puts it head and shoulders other over camera phones.
Metering (0.0)
The Pearl doesn’t have metering options.
White Balance (4.0)
There are quite a few white balance presets available above and beyond the default automatic setting. The six presets are sunny, cloudy, night, indoor, incandescent, and fluorescent.
Image Handling (2.0)
The only image handling options available are renaming and resaving images. As mentioned in the album section, while you can zoom and rotate pictures while viewing them, you can’t save these changes.
Video
Overall Video Score (4.0)
One of the Pearl’s main upgrades is the ability to capture video. Unfortunately, the quality isn’t the best. The supporting options are pretty good, however. You can set capture resolution to normal (240x176) or MMS mode(176x144). There are white balance options as well. There is also a flash/flashlight you can turn on for night capturing.
Video Resolution (3.25)
The Pearl had a video resolution of 171 lw/ph horizontally, and 190 lw/ph vertically. This isn’t the best video capture we’ve seen, but at least now the feature exists in the BlackBerry universe. We’d recommend you keep your captured video to the small screen, as enlarging it any more will produce a rather messy result.
Video resolution is tested in much the same way as still resolution. We first take a video clip of our industry standard resolution chart. Then we pull out random frames and run them through Imatest. Again, Imatest will analyze the pictures and determine how many line widths per pixel height (lw/ph) the camera was able to discern. This means it basically counts the number of individual lines the camera could make out before it blurred the black and white into a patch of gray.
Cell Phone
lw/ph horizontal/vertical
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
171/190
3.25
Palm Centro
249/274
6.82
HTC Tilt
183.2/177.3
3.25
Sidekick LX
N/A
0.0
BlackBerry Curve 8320
N/A
0.0
Nokia N73
272.4/224.8
6.13
Video Compression (2.0)
The Pearl can only capture 3GP video.
Interface (5.0)
The video capture interface is remarkably similar to the camera’s, even though it looks slightly different. The toolbars are still there, but the bottom one has no zoom option. It does have a timer that keeps track of the length of the capture. The options menu is more or less the same, with a few options removed. You can still set white balance and the folder your videos will be saved in. Resolution comes with two options, a normal (240x176) setting, or MMS mode(176x144). There is also an option to enable the video light, which will switch on the flash to help illuminate your subject. It can be set to on, off or automatic. Automatic will make use of the light sensor to dictate when it’s necessary.
As with the camera, there are no manual control options available.
Zoom (0.0)
There aren’t any zoom options.
This is the first BlackBerry capable of video capture at all. Video editing software is still a ways down the production line.
There is exactly one mode available: MMS mode. This will help you optimize your captures for sending in a text message.
[page title="Making/Receiving Calls"]
Dialing Speed (7.38)
The Pearl was able to get a call outgoing in 2.71 seconds. This is a very fast time; typically dialing takes somewhere in the 3-4 second range. The keys are small and close together which allows for some quick twitch-typing, and they have very distinct textures that separate all the keys. We really like the keypad, though we must say it takes some getting used to.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
2.71
7.38
Palm Centro
3.62
5.52
HTC Tilt
5.57
3.59
Sidekick LX
4.2
4.76
BlackBerry Curve 8320
3.16
6.33
Nokia N73
3.26
6.13
Talk and End Buttons (3.0)
The send and end buttons on the Pearl are set in the top left and right corners of the keypad. Buttons in corners are always easy to navigate to, as you can just run your thumb along until you run out of keypad. In this case, however, there isn’t a lot to differentiate the buttons from the surrounding casing. The buttons don’t provide much tactile feedback, but we were always sure we’d hit them.
Call Management (5.0)
Call history is easy to access: just hit the call button on the home screen or main menu. The default view includes everything, and there aren’t any options to filter based on incoming, outgoing, or missed calls. This is a basic feature BlackBerry has yet to embrace. Clicking on an entry will bring up a short menu allowing you to quickly call, SMS, or MMS that number. You need to access the full menu to add the number as a contact, an option which should’ve been included in the short menu. Another option in the main menu we felt should’ve made the shorter one is “View History”. This feature will allow you to check out your total call history with that number.
While in a call, pressing on the trackball will let you mute or go to speakerphone. The menu key offers more options, such as allowing access to the home screen and, by proxy, any other application on the phone. There are also shortcuts for some of the more commonly used applications, such as the contact list. We liked the easy options for call waiting or conferencing, but we thought recording a call was a pain (you have to go to the home screen first and then open the voice recorder).
Startup to Call (16.10)
The Pearl was able to start up and place a call in 6.21 seconds. This is incredibly fast; most smart phones typically take over a minute. We initially thought the phone was in a standby mode, but there’s an option on the home screen that says, “Turn Power Off”, so we don’t think BlackBerry would lie to us. In any case, this is the way most users will turn off their phone.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
6.21
16.10
Palm Centro
42.66
2.34
HTC Tilt
64.55
1.55
Sidekick LX
56.54
1.77
BlackBerry Curve 8320
7.12
14.04
Nokia N73
36.7
2.72
Ring Volume (8.50)
The Pearl was capable of outputting 85.0 decibels. Virtually every phone we’ve tested falls somewhere in the 80-90 range, so the Pearl finds itself in the middle of a very large pack.
Cell Phone
Volume (decibels)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
85
8.50
Palm Centro
85.5
8.55
HTC Tilt
85.7
8.57
Sidekick LX
84.5
8.45
BlackBerry Curve 8320
85.6
8.56
Nokia N73
85.3
8.53
Ringtone Customizability (6.0)
The Pearl will let you use your own music as ringtones, and lets you do so through a simple browse window. The Pearl will support MP3, AAC, and WMA files. You won’t be able to edit or record your own ring tones.
Non-Audio Alerts (6.0)
Non-audio alerts are typical unimpressive BlackBerry fare. The backlight will turn on revealing a gray alert window with all the attention-grabbing power of a sidewalk. Also, the vibration is weak and not particularly noisy. Unless you’re looking at the phone, or it’s sitting on a hard surface that’ll amplify the sound of the vibration, you’ll be missing the call.
[page title="Messaging"]
Supported E-mail Services (8.0)
Part of the reason you buy a BlackBerry is for its excellent email client. True to form, the Pearl will support POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail accounts. All you need to do to setup an email account for a popular service like Gmail or Yahoo! Email is to type in your email address and password. It will configure them for you.
Push Email (4.0)
The Pearl also supports BlackBerry's own brand of push email via their Internet Solution or Enterprise Solution. As suggested by their names, the former is for individuals and the latter is for companies.
Multiple E-mail Accounts (10.0)
The Pearl can keep tabs on up to 10 email accounts. We're not sure who would need this many, but we're sure some prolific emailer out there can make use of them all.
HTML and Attachments (2.0)
The e-mail client won’t support HTML-encoded messages. This support is becoming more standard amongst advanced devices, and we’re surprised this round of updates didn’t reflect that trend. All our test attachments could be viewed easily (Word, Excel, PDF, Powerpoint and Zip files).
E-mail Customizations (2.0)
The Pearl doesn’t provide many options for email customizing. Font still can’t be changed, which is a functionality hole BlackBerry could stand to fill in. Apparently it isn’t professional to send emails in a giant blue Comic Sans. Outgoing email signatures are really the only option for customization.
Time to a New Message (16.36)
We were able to create a new message in a mere 1.22 seconds with the Pearl. This is fast. All that’s necessary is a flick of the trackball to highlight the proper inbox and three clicks to open up the new message dialogue.
One thing to keep in mind is that, since the cursor stays where you last positioned it, the time it takes to get to a new message will vary. On the whole, however, it will take a bit longer to open a blank email on the Pearl than on typical BlackBerry devices. The reason lies in the default icon arrangement which, thankfully, can be changed. On handsets like the Curve and the 8820, the first icon is the universal inbox, while on this phone it’s a shortcut to phone setup. This means quickly flicking the trackball until the cursor gets nestled in the top left corner won’t work any more; an additional, careful scroll one icon to the right is necessary. This adds a small amount of navigation time, but it’s not as convenient.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
1.22
16.39
Palm Centro
1.86
10.75
HTC Tilt
6.45
3.10
Sidekick LX
2.22
9.01
BlackBerry Curve 8320
1.7
11.76
Nokia N73
5.2
3.85
E-mail Usability (11.0)
E-mail is just as usable on the Pearl as it is on any other BlackBerry. Every email account gets its own inbox icon in the main menu and are added to the communal inbox as well. Scrolling through emails is, as per usual, very easy to do with the trackball. Just in case it isn’t fast enough for you, space will jump down a page, and shift + scroll will jump to the start or end of the list. Selecting multiple emails is as easy as holding down the pound key while scrolling.
Supported IM Services (1.0)
The Pearl only comes with BlackBerry's proprietary messenger installed. This program can send IMs to other BlackBerry owners for free. Since the phone is very extensible, if there’s another IM client out there you’d prefer, you’re free to download and install it. Most major IM clients have BlackBerry compatible versions.
MMS Support (6.0)
MMS capabilities have been inconsistent through BlackBerry’s lineup of handsets. Fortunately for the Pearl, it takes after the Curve family as opposed to the 8800 family. MMS support is support as well as it can be without being fully integrated into SMS messaging. Both types of messages share an inbox, and MMS messages can be sent from any form of capture or their respective albums. Again, the only place you can’t create an MMS message from easily is once you’ve started an SMS message.
SMS Smiley Face Interpretation (0.0)
The Pearl doesn’t endorse the simple joys of small yellow faces.
SMS/MMS Ease of Use (6.0)
Texting uses the same inbox setup as email. A new SMS message is handled slightly different than a new email, however. Assuming you’re creating a new text from the inbox, the recipient must be chosen from the onset. The rest of the process is straightforward.
Time to a New SMS Message (2.09)
The Pearl took 4.78 seconds to open up a new SMS message, which is uncharacteristically slow for a BlackBerry device, and slow for handsets in general. The reason for this delay is twofold. First of all, it requires a bit of menu navigation to find the option. Once you do, you have to choose a recipient before you actually get to the new SMS dialogue. Regardless, we’d have expected a far quicker time from a BlackBerry.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
4.78
2.09
Palm Centro
0.86
11.63
HTC Tilt
0.79
12.66
Sidekick LX
1.86
5.38
BlackBerry Curve 8320
4.22
2.37
Nokia N73
4.28
2.34
[page title="Organizer"]
Synchronization (6.33)
The Pearl comes with software to make synchronizing very easy. The program is very straightforward and incredibly accessible, more so than Series 60 sync software. It doesn’t look as nice as the Windows Mobile sync, but remains slightly easier to pick up for newer users.
The synchronizing software works with calendar appointments, contacts, tasks, and notes. You can connect to your PC either with the included USB cable, or with the Pearl’s Bluetooth. The included desktop software is compatible with both Outlook and Stop Manager. Relative to other top end smart phones, this is a bit basic. Series 60 Symbian devices will also synchronize with the Lotus suite of programs.
Alerts (7.0)
There are a lot of options for alert customization. They can be set to go off between zero minutes and one week before the event, with 25 available presets to choose from. You can also set a recurrence. The rest of the alert customization options, such as the style (ring, vibe, or both), and the number of times the alert will sound. This latter setting is where functionality is a bit lacking. Once it’s rung its 1-3 times, the only option for a repeat notification is the blinking LED. If your Pearl is in a pocket or purse and you miss the initial alarm, there’s little to tip you off unless you actually take out the device and look at the screen. This being said, if you have a BlackBerry, you’ll probably keep very close tabs on it and not want it annoying you in meetings.
Over the Air PIM Sync (4.0)
The Pearl does support over the air synchronization. Straight out of the box, you can use either the BlackBerry server, or an Exchange server. Though you can’t use the Yahoo! or Google sync services out of the box, they can be installed later.
Address Book
Adding Contacts (6.73)
The Pearl took an average of 14.85 seconds to add a contact. This is pretty fast, though it took a bit longer than BlackBerry phones typically do. Both the Curve 8320 and The Palm Centro was able to perform faster because their full QWERTY keypad is easier to use. Of course, both these phones are a lot bigger than the Pearl, which is typically the trade off between QWERTY and SureType keyboards. Other QWERTY phones tend to be slower because they need to flip open to access their keyboards.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
14.85
6.73
Palm Centro
12.22
8.18
HTC Tilt
19.74
5.07
Sidekick LX
19.58
5.11
BlackBerry Curve 8320
14.1
7.09
Nokia N73
23.1
4.33
Looking/Sorting/Search (6.5)
Contacts can be sorted by first name, last name, or business. They can also be filtered by group for another layer of sorting. There is also a search bar you can input either of the three sorting criteria into to get to the entry you want. Standard phones typically only offer one or two of these options.
Fields (7.6)
There are 28 fields you can fill out for your contacts. This includes first name, last name, a picture, company, job title, an email address, various numbers, two physical addresses, birthday, anniversary, categories, notes, and four user-defined fields. You can also assign a custom ringtone, though that option is hidden in the menu as opposed to the actual list of fields. Though very comprehensive, Treo and Series 60 devices offer almost twice the number of fields.
Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (5.67)
The Pearl has twelve slots for speed dial assignments and good voice command software. You can set speed dials either via the menu button or by holding down an available key on the home screen. The voice command software did well, recognizing the names of all our test contacts. Although voice tags aren’t supported, the voice command software should be able to make up for it.
Calendar
Adding Calendar Items (15.31)
The Pearl was able to add a new calendar appointment in 6.61 seconds on average. While very fast compared to most phones, this is actually a bit slower than other BlackBerry phones. The reason is the interface is slightly different and also because the keypad isn’t as fast.
To get this score we first had to access the main menu, then select the calendar item. Scrolling between days is easy with the trackball. Once we found our time slot, a click brought up the new calendar item entry dialogue. A fifteen minute reminder is automatically added. From here all we had to do was fill in a short title (lunch) and set the time to noon; setting the time was the most time consuming step
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
6.61
15.13
Palm Centro
4.8
20.83
HTC Tilt
7.46
13.40
Sidekick LX
12.44
8.04
BlackBerry Curve 8320
6.04
16.56
Nokia N73
18.96
5.27
Calendar Views (4.7)
The Pearl’s calendar software is almost exactly like the typical BlackBerry suite; it just has a few minor interface changes. The views are the same though, and monthly, weekly, daily, and agenda function just as they always have.
The default is day view, which is a very helpful view. The left hand side contains the hours you’ve set the day to run between. Appointments are written in the main part of the screen, and receive orange brackets to show their duration. Scrolling left and right will change the day. If you get lost, just reference the handy mini-map in the top right hand corner.
Week view is a cell phone standard: hours down the left, days across the top. Appointments are highlighted orange in the grid. Selecting an appointment will display its title location and duration. Clicking on an entry will zoom to it in the day view.
Month view isn’t the most helpful view. It’s the standard six week lineup, and each date gets little hash marks for the number of appointments that day. Highlighting such a day won’t display any information about the appointments, however. Clicking again sends you to day view.
Agenda view will list every appointment you’ve scheduled. Free time is clearly marked.
Fields (11.0)
The Pearl will let you set a title, start/end/duration, location, and reminder. Advanced features include recurrence, notes, status and two checkbox options: “Mark as Private” and “All Day Event”. In the menu you can also invite a contact. If you have multiple email addresses, you can choose which one you’d like to send the invitations from. The only field we would’ve really liked to see included was a category.
To Do/Tasks
Adding To Do/Task (7.05)
We were able to create our sample task in 14.18 seconds. This is a good time, and, unlike other timing tests, actually beat most of its BlackBerry brethren. The main reason for this was because the tasks application was accessible from the main menu, which cut down on navigation time a bit.
Cell Phone
Time (sec)
Score
BlackBerry Pearl 8130
14.19
7.05
Palm Centro
11.52
8.68
HTC Tilt
17.77
5.63
Sidekick LX
14.30
6.99
BlackBerry Curve 8320
14.80
6.76
Nokia N73
13.16
7.60
To Do/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (7.0)
Tasks can be sorted by name, priority, due date, or status. The search feature included will let you type in any word in their title.
Fields (10.0)
The Pearl has good task functionality. You’ll find all the basic fields (title, priority, due date, reminder) and also a healthy amount of extras: notes, status, time zone, and recurrence. You can even assign a category, which makes us slightly more disappointed in the calendar’s lack of them. There are more fields here than most standard phones have in their calendar application.
Notes
Adding Notes (5.41)
It took 9.25 seconds to enter in our sample note. This is a fast time; the times in the chart below that are under nine seconds are very fast. It was also a bit faster than other BlackBerry devices because the notes application was on the main menu. Most phones tend to bury the notes application under at least three layers of menus.