The BlackBerry Pearl (8100)/(8110)/(8120)/(8130) is a mobile phone developed by Research In Motion, and the first BlackBerry device with a camera and media player. It was originally released September 12th 2006.

Description: The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 smartphone is one of the world?s smallest smartphones and packs all of the power of BlackBerry. It comes complete with digital camera, multimedia capabilities and expandable memory. And it offers users everything else they would expect from a BlackBerry device ? The BlackBerry Pearl provides Quad-Band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks to allow for international roaming between North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The BlackBerry Pearl is small enough to take anywhere. It?s the ultimate combination of brains and beauty. So you can live large.

Ironically, displaying the phone to make calls is optional. Bluetooth wireless headphone connectivity is built-in. So is the first application of voice activated dialing in a U.S. marketed BlackBerry. A speakerphone is also standard. That's perfect for situations where hands-free operations are safer or more convenient. But it does take half the fun out of owning the latest in wireless business technology and showing it off.

The difference between the Pearl and all the other phones listed here is its primary focus. The Pearl is not exclusively meant for music playback, photos or perhaps even phone calls. Instead, RIM?s latest device (and the BlackBerry in general) exists to fill a variety of business needs, including e-mail, text messaging and calendar organization. Songs, pictures and phone calls all fall in somewhere after that.

The BlackBerry Pearl is a great looking device that is trying to take the email side of things and combine it with the kind of features you would find on a high end mobile or smartphone - for example it is the first Blackberry to feature a camera. You can also browse the web plus there is an organiser, media player, IM, Micro SD expansion not to mention the pearl trackball navigator.

If the original BlackBerry asked you to the school dance?you?d have turned and ran. The original RIM device, although very useful, is hardly the most attractive phone on the market. That?s the reason behind the company?s release of the Pearl, and although it?s far from perfect, this gizmo is much cuter than its predecessor. Some serious shrinking has given the Pearl a ?petite?

Now that you know all the fun stuff, let's get back to why you buy a Blackberry in the first place, business. And in particular emails and messaging. The Pearl can host up to 10 email accounts (Business-secure, POP3, IMAP, SMTP). It's as usual push-technology: all your emails are received onto your device without having to log in. It can view Word, Excel and PowerPoint attachments. An easy set-up wizard function in the phone menu guides you through setting up all accounts as well as other personalization features.

Since it tries to integrate so many more features than the average cell phone, the BlackBerry Pearl is, alas, open to an equal helping of criticism. The keypad, which has been shrunk down to keep the device so small, now assigns two letters to each button. That can be more awkward than a grade seven boys?

Unlike previous BlackBerry devices, the Pearl includes a music player, camera, as well as other multimedia functions. It requires the purchase of a MicroSD memory card to support storage of multimedia files beyond the 64MB provided internally.

Most notably, the Pearl uses a translucent trackball instead of the traditional BlackBerry scroll wheel. This facilitates horizontal scrolling and is the origin of the Pearl's name. The back lit colour of the 8100 trackball is controlled by a series of LEDs; the 8130 trackball is lit only in white.

Finally, RIM packages the device with a travel charger, a pair of earbuds, a USB cable, and a desktop companion software CD. There are, however, belt clips and cases for purchase. The RIM BlackBerry Pearl has generated so much buzz because it represents several firsts for the company. Though revolutionary for the product line, these new multimedia features are pretty basic compared to those of other smart phones on the market.