BlackBerry Pearl (black, T-Mobile)

Pros: Incredibly Small form-factor, Flawless MS Outlook Integration, Intuitive GUI, Stable OS, Nice Feature-Set (Camera, Bluetooth, IM application), Great battery life, Lots of great 3rd party application

Cons: Does not Work with 2gb micro-SD card (works well with 1gb cards), Lacks Wi-FI

Summary: CNET Editors completely missed the boat on their review of this phone. The editors gave the Blackberry 7130 an 8.3 rating (in June), yet despite significant improvements (much smaller size, expandable memory, camera, excellent navigation via trakcball, blutooth modem support included instant message application, included media player,etc) CNET only gave this phone a 7.3.

I recently upgraded from a Treo 600 and I am not looking back (to Palm). I buy a lot of 'gadgets' and I am rarely this impressed. I was actually ready to go back to a regular phone (move away from a smartphone) because I was tired of carrying around a big brick. The size of this phone is incredible. It is much smaller than the competition. It is smaller than most regular phones (including the RAZR). I think the first thing I noticed was how light it was compared to the Treo that I was used to carrying. You can comfortably tuck this phone into your pocket - no need to strap a clunky device to your belt.

I have been using the phone for 2.5 weeks now, and I am very impressed. The blackberry OS is fantastic. I have installed a lot of third party applications (google maps, berry411, WebMessenger, etc). I have had no issues with the OS crashing (as opposed to the TREO, which froze frequently - forced to reset once a week).

The MS Outlook integration is flawless. It simply works. I am wirelessly synchronizing corporate Email, Calendar, Tasks, and Notes. I receive email on my Blackberry before I see it in Outlook on my laptop. A great feature of the blackberry address book is the ability to quickly search and find anyone in the company's enterprise directory.

I purchased a bluetooth headset and had no issues pairing it with the Pearl. I have also configured the Pearl as a wireless bluetooth modem for my laptop (works flawlessly).

The included IM application uses SMS, so if you don't have a text message package with T-Mobil, I recomend buying a third party application. I am using WebmMessenger and have found it to be very good.

T-Mobile does not offer 3-G Internet service, but their pricing on Enterprise Blackberry accounts is much cheaper than the other carriers. I was not using the internet on my Treo 600 because it was so slow. The Pearl works on T-Mobile's EDGE network which is much, much faster than GPRS (while still not broadband). I am clocking 70-80kbs on CNETs bandwidth meter using the Pearl as a bluetooth modem. I am using the internet on the phone constantly (Google Maps and Berry411 are great applications to look up businesses, flight times, movie times, etc.) The response time for these applications is great.

As far as CNETs comments about the micro-SD card being behind the battery.... I think this is a great feature, not a detraction. The SD card on the Treo was on the top of the phone (and spring loaded). Just the slightest bump to the top of the phone, and your expensive media card would shoot out of the phone. I have no need to remove the media card (BTW the micro-sd card is incredibly, incredibly small). I am very pleased that it is in a secure place (tucked behind the battery), and no longer have to worry about it jumping out of the phone. My only complaint is that the phone does not currently support anything larger than a 1gig card (known RIM issue). I found out about the problem after trying, unsuccessfully, with a 2gig card.

I like the fact that this phone charges using USB. The BT headset I purchased also charges USB. I can now travel with one small charger cable (or just charge using the mini USB cable connected to my laptop).

As far as the phone's sound quality, I have mixed feelings. I am getting better range on this phone than I have with any other t-mobile phone. I used to experience a dead-zone on my Treo; on the Pearl I now have 4 bars in the same location. The volume is very good, however I do agree that the tone sounds a bit digitized at times. Overall I am satisified, given the range advantage over my old phone.

Finally, CNET, what is the issue with sure-type? I think its great. I think I am typing faster on this phone than on the treo (because the keys were so tight). I am very happy to trade a full keyboard for sure-type and get a very small pocket phone. I am happy that I can pull this phone out anywhere; without creating a spectacle (nobody realizes it is a full-blown smart phone, PDA).

To summarize, if you want a smart phone that simply works - buy this phone. If you want a powerful device, capable of heavy business use and running multimedia applications but don't want to lug around a mini-laptop - buy this phone. If you want an intuitive easy to use GUI and a stable OS - buy this phone.