| BlackBerry 8100 Pearl: A Multimedia Alternative | Today's Top Stories | ||||||||||||
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(First Look) - RIM has recently announced an updated version of its BlackBerry communications tool, the Pearl. While BlackBerry is a must-have tool for business executives and people with a need to be connected 24/7, it was unfortunate you couldn’t take advantage of multimedia formats as part of the package. Because of that, Research In Motion has decided to launch an updated version of the standard version with multimedia as its primary focus. Physically, the Pearl is slimmer and looks more or less like a cell phone, instead of a PDA-like unit with its 8700 series. Essentially, RIM has reduced the number of keys by approximately 50 percent to give the Pearl a new feel. As many of you might remember, the 8700 series have one key per alphabet, but with the Pearl, however, any given key now contains two alphabets. For instance, the a + w keys are situated on a single key as opposed to two separate ones. If you are used to the Treo or an 8700 series BlackBerry, there might be a learning curve, but it shouldn’t be too bad. The overall design has improved as well, but it’s nothing much to note. It’s more of a complimentary update to the buttons and the like to give you that updated feeling. All of you are familiar with the BlackBerry’s push e-mail options, call features and other standard aspects. What has changed is the device’s capability to support multimedia formats with a 1.3-megapixel camera. The camera comes with a built-in flash, 5x digital zoom and an expandable storage option with a microSD card. As we mentioned earlier, the 8100 can support a wide array of audio and video formats with an included media player. This is a welcome characteristic for a device that’s so widely used. The positive thing to note here is that your multimedia capabilities are limited to the storage size of the microSD card. You can get the highest capacity and enjoy to your heart’s content, but then again, be prepared to manage them as well. RIM has removed the scroll wheel to a trackball navigation design, which is another significant change over the 8700 series. In addition, you will also get an integrated map utility to map out directions and a voice activated dialing option. Needless to say, RIM has made a number of significant changes in terms of physical characteristics and included features, some of which include multimedia playback capabilities, voice dialing, trackball navigation and a slimmer outlook. The BlackBerry 8100 Pearl is available immediately for $399. |
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