BlackBerry Pearl-8120 Titanium Review - Introduction

About a year and a half ago I reviewed the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100 for T-Mobile.  I didn’t really like it all that much, mainly because the keyboard was a bit small for my hands and thumbs, I found the OS ugly and the handset itself felt a bit cheap to me.  Now T-Mobile’s gone and sent me their new Pearl, the 8120, and I took to testing and reviewing it with an open mind. 

Seems both the phone and the reviewer have grown up just a little bit in those 18 months or so.  While the 8120’s still not the best fit for my large-ish hands and thumbs, this time around I appreciated its combination of diminutive size and large feature set a little bit more.  As consumers demand more and more Web, Email, and Media functionality from their handsets, it’s really great to see a device that does it all while retaining the size and shape of a good old fashioned cell phone.

The 8120 improves on the 8100 in a few ways, most notably by integrating a WiFI antenna for fast Web browsing and access to T-Mobile’s HotSpot@Home calling plan.  $10/month gets you unlimited voice calling anywhere there’s an open WiFi network - great for extra minutes (and improved reception) at home and on the road.  A few other upgrades make this new Pearl noteworthy, as well.  Now if only RIM could make the BlackBerry OS look like it was designed during the current millennium. 

Okay, it’s not that bad ... but it seriously is in need of a makeover.  Especially in the area of system fonts. Some of the Pearl’s menu screens really remind me of the VAX terminals my high school used for its library card catalogue system back in the late ‘80s.

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