Box Content

Once again we start by listing what you get inside the box or should we say tube. There is a USB cable, Mains adaptor and a pair of headphones/hands free kit.

Specification

• Ram: 64MB Ram
• CPU: N/A
• Display: 2.3” 240 x260
• Dimensions: 107 x 55 x 14 mm
• Weight: 91g
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, EDGE
• Camera: 2MP with Flash

Design

The original Peal was a stylish phone, but the 8120 goes one better, by adding some more consumer friendly touches.....

For a start the phone is ultra light weight at 91g and is great for making long calls without having your arm ache.

It now features a 3.5mm headphone socket and a microSD card slot to the left side of the phone. Its back camera has been upgraded to 2MP and it now has a video function thrown in - which was missing on the original.

Its screen is excellent - despite of its size - and the keypad beneath the screen is responsive and features the SureType system that we will explain in the next section.

Controls

To start with the Peal features a trackball that looks like a Pearl (where it gets its name from), which allows you to navigate through all the menu options easily in true 360 degree fashion.

For space saving the device is fitted with a smaller keypad at the base of the screen that features two keys per key and contains Blackberry’s SureType system which has to be one of the best predictive text systems we have used.

You can type as if you were on a full Qwerty keypad and 9 times out of 10 it determines the correct order the keys need to be in when producing the text. It also seems to learn well from its mistakes and after a bit of practice we could type as quickly on this keypad as we could on the Curves Qwerty version.

Multimedia

The Pearl may be geared towards the Business end of the market but it does offer multimedia functionality, when you select the Media option from the front screen you get options for watching videos, viewing pictures or playing music.

You can select multimedia content from the internal memory, which is only 64MB or from an expansion card (can take at least 4GB High capacity microSD cards).

The interface is not as flashy as those found on Symbian/Windows Mobile OS and you won't find any equalisers, but for a Blackberry it does the job.

Its camera also takes some respectable images/videos (though don't expect stunning results) and should suite the devices target audience well.

Software

The Pearl is only really useful as a business tool and this reflects in its supplied software as you have Push email Enterprise Server compatibility support for Exchange, Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise.

Meaning you can get emails, contacts, scheduling and calendar info pushed to your device. So instead of collecting your email by initiating a connection you are always connected and receive your emails in real time.

For small business/consumers you can use an Internet Solution service, which allows you to configure up to 10 supported email accounts.

You also have the Blackberry Desktop software for installing applications, getting media to your device, backup/restore and synchronisation between your PC's address book, memo pad, calendar and tasks.

We found that any emails we sent from our desktop PC to our Pearl 8120 were received virtually instantly, it’s only when you have attachments that it takes a bit longer.

On the subject of attachments the Pearl does not have a standard document viewer as standard (though Documents To Go is set to be released on this platform at some point), but when you receive an attachment its contents can still be viewed using its own API (Application Programming Interface).

Consumer: Other software comprises of GoogleMaps, FaceBook and the rather addictive Brick Breaker game.

Connectivity/Performance

Another area that has been improved over the original Peal is the inclusion of Wi-Fi support, which is handy due to the absence of 3G.

However it’s an area that seems to be constantly talked about and though it’s a shame that you can't take advantage of this platform, the EDGE network does more than an adequate job of handling emails/web browsing without too many problems.

You also have Quad-band GSM/GPRS and the call quality was clear during our test calls.

Generally the devices performance was quick, it could nip around the menu options quite easily.

Battery Life

Battery life is optimised to good effect, but this is due to the lack of 3G support more than anything else. It has a claimed battery life of 360 hours standby and 4 hours of talk time.