Why I chose the Blackberry 8100 (Pearl)

I recently traded in my Palm(one) Treo 600 for the hot new RIM Blackberry 8100, aptly named “Pearl.” I had been in the market for a new smartphone, but I was hesitant to make any changes for a variety of reasons (which I’ll get into in a second). So here is why I picked the Pearl, and how I made it sing sweet sweet music to my Macbook:

My criteria for the replacement were the following:

• Good looking screen. The Treo’s screen was so poor that I hesitated to surf the net with my data plan because I couldn’t see the images showing up on screen.
• Bluetooth. I had to be able to tether the device to my laptop for always on connectivity, and cut the wires to my headset. If possible, I wanted wireless sync.
• Camera. The camera must produce images of enough quality to warrant use outside of “photo caller id.”
• Fast data transfer. As much fun as GSM is, T-Mobile’s decision to not support the Treo 650/700, and my inability to break contract meant that I needed an EDGE compliant phone.
• QWERTY Keyboard. I’m a rabid text-messager and emailer. I don’t have time for the standard 12 key hunt and peck.
• Smaller footprint Carrying a brick in my pocket is fun and all, but holding it against my ear felt like I was paying omage to the early 90’s.
• Battery. Three options here: Great battery life, cheap swappable batteries, or convenient charging.
• Software. An active software community, cheap or ideally free.

First of all, the Treo 600 had a pitiful screen. You had to transfer pictures from your on board camera to your computer before you could see if they came out at all. Websites looked like ass, to the best of my knowledge, it didn’t support video playback. If it does, I cringe at the solution. The Blackberry on the other hand has an AMAZING screen. Colors are accurate, video looks great, and the best feature? Light sensitivity that automatically adjusts its brightness for optimum viewing.

Although I could have added bluetooth capability through the SD slot, the fact that I had to spend extra money for capability that most phones have standard was a turn off. The pearl allows me to pass files wireless, tether to my macbook for internet, and the community has their fingers crossed that we will eventually be able to sync via BT.

The Blackberry has a 1.3 megapixel camera with zoom and white balance, while the treo barely registered at 1mp. Add in a functioning flash, mirror for adjustment, and it’s high end screen. The only perplexing feature missing is that while the Pearl can PLAY video flawlessly, it is unable to record it. Again, a 3rd party app might solve this. Since I began hunting for real estate, and don’t feel like lugging my Canon DSLR everywhere, this has proven itself to be invaluable. Plus, the insanely tiny miniSD card allows me to share files via bluetooth, and distribute to the appropriate parties without thinking twice.

EDGE is miles ahead of GSM. Paired with RIM’s push technology, I get my gmail alerts faster via the cell phone than with Google Notifier. AWESOME! Paired with my macbook, I get broadband like speeds almost anywhere in the US. I’ll talk more about this and its shortcomings in the next post.

The Treo 600 had a great keyboard, no doubt about it. Maybe it helps that I’d gotten used to it over its two year lifespan, but it was really fast. I had a tough time deciding between a full QWERTY blackberry and the suretype design of my Pearl, but the form factor made up for it. In interesting note is that its actually harder to navigate the Treo with the touch screen because you have to constantly move your hands from the keyboard to the stylus and back. With the Pearl’s scrollball, I’m at least as fast if not faster than I was. I won’t lie and say that the keyboard doesn’t take some getting used to, but if you are willing to commit - life is better.

Smaller footprint. I can’t tell you how great it is to finally have a small but capable phone. I ride a bike a lot of the time, and it was easier to get the Pearl in and out of my pocket on the fly. The candy bar form factor, with no exposed antenna, and thin design makes you both stylish and efficient.

The battery leaves a little to be desired on its own. In days past, I could go days without recharging the Treo. Standby time was probably a week, and talk time was about 2 days of intensive use. The Pearl’s battery is drained by the end of a day, day and a half tops. Of course, the palm doesn’t have a removable battery, and the charger is clunky and prone to breaking. However impractical, you do have the option of carrying an extra battery with the Blackberry. Also, charging via mini-usb is miles ahead of Palm’s 30 dollar replacement gizmo. I have yet to have it die on me, but I’d be worried about extended trips away from a wall jack or computer.

Software is a huge plus with RIM. They support their devices and believe in rewarding their customers. The Pearl comes equipped with all your standard agenda, phone book etc apps, but it also has cool things like google maps built-in, and support for Google Talk. When something new comes out, you have a good chance of it being provided to you for free. They also don’t shy away from 3rd party developers. Case in point: RIM does not fully support the Mac. While they work on this, they recommend and provide bandwidth for Pocketmac’s Blackberry software. Personally, I’ve had nothing but trouble with Pocketmac, and will only use Mark/Space’s Missing Sync for Blackberry.

So lets wrap this up.
Blackberry
Pros: Community, software, design, service.
Cons: Battery life, trackball*.

*I listed the trackball for one reason: When the Pearl is in your pocket (if you aren’t using a smart case), any movement of the trackball while ringing silences any sound. I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve missed as a result of this imperfection. I’m sure it could be remedied with a firmware update, or getting the smart case out on the market.

That said, I’m officially a convert. And PUSH services justify the title “crackberry.”