Blackberry 8130 Pearl Phone Review–Usability Problems Plague This One

Though I really do approve of the Blackberry line, which tends toward the business heavy phone with a real no-nonsense sort of capability, sometimes their usability gets in the way.  Or rather, the lack thereof.



The Blackberry 8130 Pearl is a candy bar phone with an Internet browser, a two megapixel camera, GPS navigation and receiver, a digital player / recorder that works in both MP3 and MIDI format, a headset jack, a USB port, and a maximum of two hundred and twenty minutes of talk time.

It’s not that the Blackberry Pearl doesn’t come with plenty of options.  It does.  it comes with LOTS of them. And though fun things seem to be in short supply (still no games, Blackberry?), it’s got plenty of great stuff for getting the job done.  Sadly, the controls are also still an issue, with tiny keys and an oversensitive trackball feature that takes a lot of getting used to.

So the Blackberry 8130 Pearl is definitely a great phone to get if you’ve got a lot to get done.  Otherwise, you’ll likely prefer something with a little more fun involved.

The Good

Plenty of great add-ons

A very good business tool

The Bad

Minimal fun

Difficult controls

Score 5 / 10