BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Phone, Frost
Friday, February 26th, 2010
- Slim, powerful Blackberry messaging phone in frost with SureType hybrid numeric/QWERTY keypad
- Wi-Fi capabilities for T-Mobile’s Hotspot @Home service for unlimited nationwide calls; compatible with T-Mobile’s MyFaves service
- 2.0-megapixel camera (with video capture); Bluetooth stereo music streaming; MicroSD memory expansion
- Up to 4 hours of talk time, up to 360 hours (15 days) of standby time; measures 4.21 x 1.97 x 0.55 inches (HxWxD)
- Includes: rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, USB cable, stereo handsfree headset, Blackberry Desktop software
Amazon.com Product Description
The latest edition of the BlackBerry Pearl, the 8120 brings support for T-Mobile’s Hotspot @Home service, which enables you to make calls from the GSM cellular network and then seamlessly transfer them to your Wi-Fi network. The Pearl 8120 continues to offer all the communication features that you’ve come to expect from Blackberry smartphones, including email served up by the BlackBerry Internet Service and a full menu of messaging options (SMS, MMS, and IM). Other features include a 2.0-megapixel camera with video capture, Bluetooth for both communication headsets and stereo music streaming, MicroSD expansion, digital audio player, speakerphone, and voice-activated commands and dialing.
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J. Shuck says:
February 26th, 2010
5:01 am
Although I didn’t end up keeping this Pearl, my complaints were with T-mobile and not the 8120. It was tough to gauge the reception of the phone because, in my area at least, T-mobile was mediocre. However, as a smartphone, it was very nice; my only complaints were regarding the WiFi and the keyboard. First, I didn’t sign up for UMA and hoped to use WiFi just for data when around home or a hotspot; it didn’t work very well and I ended up using the EDGE connection all of the time. The SureType keyboard was pretty decent for what it was; it was certainly better than T9. It simply isn’t a full keyboard and though it tries to act like one through a T9-like dictionary, I ended up choosing a Curve the next time.
PROS:
Size – for someone who would like a smartphone that is small and is willing to trade a full keyboard for it, the size is really nice
Call Quality – Voices were loud and clear
Build Quality – the phone was quite solid, though the complaint of others that the battery door feels loose is accurate; it simply didn’t bother me
Battery – I’m not a “power-user” but the battery lasted for several days for me with moderate IMing and web use
Screen – bright with ambient light sensor that dims the screen when a room is dark (I should mention that the extra width of the Curve screen is nice, though)
CONS:
T-mobile service – This is the singular reason I didn’t keep the 8120
Keyboard – if you’re going to write a lot of emails, you may want to opt for the Curve
WiFi – If you’re thinking of the 8120 since the WiFi would make up for the phone not having 3G, it really doesn’t
Rating: 4 / 5