BlackBerry Pearl 3G Smaller, More Powerful Discussion

[Ed Hardy]

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G will be RIM's smallest model yet, but the consumer-focused smartphone will still have a lot to offer, including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and GPS, among other features. It will come in two versions: one with a SureType keyboard and another with a number pad.

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[LandSurveyor]

Smaller still? It wasn't huge in the first place. I know they're popular because I've seen so many but I wonder who primarily buys this model and why. It would seem the Curve would be a better choice.

[Eternal Visitor]

a blackberry with a plain numberpad? almost doesn't seem like it could be real. wouldn't that all but kill most of what makes a blackberry a blackberry?

[zap2]

There was a leaked QWERTY keypad for it a while back...too bad that didn't come out, would have made the Pearl something for me to look at(as far as tiny QWERTY phones go, looks like the Pixi might be where its at!)

[Varjak]

Actually, while I probably wouldn't buy one, this new Pearl looks to be pretty impressive if you can acclimate to the unique keyboard. The numeric-only keypad really seems odd to me though, even for kids or very light users.

[LandSurveyor]

Actually, while I probably wouldn't buy one, this new Pearl looks to be pretty impressive if you can acclimate to the unique keyboard. The numeric-only keypad really seems odd to me though, even for kids or very light users.

I'm stuck with a 12-keypad phone for the moment and will be very glad to get a full qwerty again someday. Can't really see the reason for something that's in-between.

[Ed Hardy]

The numeric-only keypad really seems odd to me though, even for kids or very light users.

There are millions of kids who are very, very familiar with entering text on a regular numberpad. These are the people who, on average, send 100 text messages a day using one. Switching to a SureType keyboard would require them to re-learn how to type.

A friend of mine considered an earlier version of the Pearl and decided against it for this very reason.
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[Varjak]

Geez, today is NOT a good day for me on BH! Here I get nailed from BOTH directions!

1. Yes, most people (including me) would prefer the full QWERTY. That said, I know some people who are as fast or faster (and more accurate) on the BB Pearl's hybrid keypad (see my sister, who's moved on to a Bold, but loved her Pearl).

2. Ed, you are certainly right that some people fly on the 'old-style' numeric-keypad entry; but a teenager is going to be able to 'adapt' to a different keyboard pretty quickly. No kid I know is going to turn down the next cool phone because it (likely) doesn't have numeric-style keyboard. Believe me, they'll 'suck it up.'

[LandSurveyor]

Sorry, didn't mean to nail anyone. In truth I wouldn't mind trying a SureType keyboard out of curiosity. It would HAVE to be faster than the phone I'm using now.

[Varjak]

Ehhh... I was mostly joking. I just was on the minority side of two conversations today. No biggie.

SureType is a matter of taste. But I would assume most people can get the hang of it fairly quickly. I reacted a bit negatively to it when I first saw it; but after playing with it a bit, I could see how it's very efficient. Having 2 characters per key is much different (at least to me) then having 3 or more per key as with most numeric-keypads.