Friendly reminder, folks… RIM’s latest candybar device and lower cost QWERTY 3G handset are now available for purchase from your friendly AT&T store. If you need a refresh on the products, here we go:

BlackBerry Pearl 9100

• SureType keyboard
• 3G
• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 1150mAh battery
• $149 with 2 year agreement

BlackBerry Curve 9300

• QWERTY keyboard
• 3G
• Wi-Fi b,g,n
• GPS
• 2 megapixel camera
• $99 with 2 year agreement

If you’re in the market for a BlackBerry handset from AT&T which one are you going to go for? Or do you think you’ll hold out for the BlackBerry Bold 9780?

Read

In 2006, RIM launched the BlackBerry Pearl 8100. It’s critical reception was mixed, but there’s no denying it helped propel the BlackBerry brand to super stardom. Since then, smartphones have become even more mainstream and many serious competitors have emerged. Yes despite all of the competition and its own success, RIM has remained relatively true to its conservative tradition. Even today, a time when more than half of its customers are consumers, RIM is still sticking with a Java-based OS that has remained relatively unchanged since the Pearl first hit the scene. This year, RIM announced to little fanfare. Can a consumer product from a company that is business-centric at its roots survive in the age of Android and iPhone? Hit the jump to find out as we review the BlackBerry Pearl 3G from Rogers.

The Rogers Pearl 3G ships with OS 5.0.0.629 and has about 130MB of free memory out of the box. Without getting into the ins and outs of the software (sorry, but we’ve been there and done that about 50 times), let us just say that this particular OS build is solid overall. As for the phone itself, like all RIM devices, the call quality wonderful and reception was excellent whether over 3G, EDGE or Wi-Fi. We have to admit that we didn’t observe any notable speed improvements while using Wi-Fi (in fact we found 3G to be faster for web browsing, which is either a testament to Rogers’ network or a shoddy Wi-Fi chip), but the fact it’s on board is a plus, especially with 802.11n. A 624MHz Intel XCore CPU helps the Pearl 3G go through the motions with ease. Not once did we see a spinning clock.

For a phone that many deride as being meant for little girls and sissies (shouts to Justin Bieber fans), the Pearl 3G is a solid device that can withstand drops and tumbles that would make other phones wide-eyed with terror. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its build issues. Even for a low-end smartphone, the fit and finish is nowhere near as good as it should be. Dust easily gets trapped between the display and the housing, and light seeps out around the display, trackpad and keypad.

Speaking of the display, yes it’s small at 2.4″, but it’s also very sharp owing to its resolution of 360×400. The only issue we have with the display actually has nothing to do with the display, but the light sensor which controls it. Its performance was erratic and for the lack of a better description, seemed to believe it was opposite day. When we wanted it to be bright it went dark and vise versa. It might be a small thing to complain about given that you can turn off the light sensor, but that would needlessly drain the battery. And regrettably, the battery on the Pearl 3G wasn’t exactly what we were hoping it would be. Coming from the BlackBerry 9700 and its incredible battery life, the Pearl 3G is a let down. With relatively light usage we struggled to make it through the day.

The SureType keypad is a bit of a contentious issue in these parts. Apart from feeling rather slippery thanks to aggressive ridges and a very smooth and glossy surface, we still aren’t sure what to make of the concept after all of these years. While we understand that there’s no way RIM could comfortably cram an entire full-QWERTY keypad into the 50mm wide frame of the Pearl 3G, a part of us thinks that there has to be a better way — but we don’t exactly feel like going off on a tanget over this. With that said, we shudder to think of the struggles of a first-time SureType user who didn’t take the time to populate the custom dictionary. If you don’t do that, you’re in for one hell of a frustrating time.

The camera on the Pearl 3G does an admirable job when compared to other 3.2 megapixel sensors. It performed well in low-light environments, was able to achieve focus without much of a delay and booted up quickly enough that we find no reason to fault it. Here’s a sample taken in a dark room in which a computer monitor was the single source of light.

The external speaker on the Pearl 3G is situated directly below the keypad and faces towards the ground. To put it politely, the external speaker is simply awful. You’d think that a phone with dedicated media keys would have decent acoustic qualities, but the speaker on the Pearl 3G isn’t even average. A few years back we accidentally drowned a Sony Ericsson W810i while it was ringing (long story, don’t ask) and would have gladly swapped out its drenched speaker for that found on the Pearl 3G. We liken it to a police radio.

The Pearl 3G isn’t for everyone. No one’s trying to say that it is. Power users would be best served by staying away from it and so would those who are looking for a feature-rich smartphone. Ultimately when considering who the phone is designed for — the casual user who wants a dependable phone with more perks than a featurephone and what is still the best platform for PIM — the Pearl 3G is a pretty solid choice.

In an internal communique to employees this evening, Rogers announced that it has launched the BlackBerry Pearl 3G. Now en route and expected to arrive at dealerships across the country over the next few days, Rogers has priced the Pearl 3G at $49.99 on a 3-year contract with voice and data or $449.99 outright. Anyone planning on picking one up this weekend?

UPDATE: According to another Rogers connect, the device is now showing up in Rogers’ system with a promotional price of $29.99 on contract. Hit the jump for a screenshot.

Thanks, anonymous!

Although T-Mobile has remained mum on the issue of whether or not it will carry the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, it’s good to sell the phone so far as Uncle Sam is concerned. Both the SureType and T9 siblings have passed, as the AWS 3G variants just received FCC certification. Of course with rumors recently circulating saying that T-Mobile had passed on the Pearl 3G in favor of a cheaper, 3G-capable Curve floating around, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not we’ll ever see these hit the shops.

Read

It looks like the Canadian BlackBerry faithful won’t have to wait too much longer to get their hands on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, as one of our Virgin Mobile connects just sent us in a bunch of pictures of a newly arrived dummy model. We have been told to expected the actual devices to arrive in stores very, very shortly, and that the 3-year price will be $49.99, with the option for a 30-day contract at $349.99. One more pic after the jump.

Thanks, T!

RIM just opened up the showroom doors to allowing for a quick meet and greet with the new BlackBerry 9650 and BlackBerry 9100. We brought our trusty SLR and have put together a quick image gallery of the new hardware for your inspection. The link is below…go head, click on over…you know you want to. Oh, and do let us know what you think.

Click on over to our BlackBerry 9100 and 9650 gallery!

It looks like the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 will be more expensive than anticipated when it launches with Bell and Rogers, as a leaked screenshot from a Canadian big box retailer has the phone listed at $79.99 with a 3-year voice and data contract. It was initially believed the it was believed that the 9100 would be priced at $49.99 on contract owing to its $449.99 off-contract price. The Pearl 9100 has yet to be announced by RIM or any of its carrier partners, but Rogers Wireless dealerships have already started receiving display units. TELUS will be picking up the 9100, although at this point its pricing remains a mystery.

Read

It certainly can not be long now, folks. HowardForums staple and Rogers dealer “Treatz” has taken delivery of dummy models of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in white and Pearl 9100 in red. No word yet on when Rogers (or any other carrier, for that matter) plan on launching the pair, but with WES kicking off in just 5 days — yes, the BGR crew will once again be in attendance — we’re dead confident that we’ll be able to nail down a release date. But for now we’re keen on knowing what you guys think of the two. The general consensus here at BGR is that white 9700 is hot as hell. The red 9100? Not so much. Hit the jump for one more pic.

UPDATE: One of our Rogers connects sent us in two additional shots of the BlackBerry 9100. You know where to find ‘em…

Thanks, Treatz!

We’re not exactly sure just what’s up with RIM and the next-gen BlackBerry Pearl, but damn it, now we are dying to get to the bottom of this. We thought we knew all there was about the Pearl 9100 after we first saw it, but then came along the rumor of a version that will have a full-fledged QWERTY keypad in lieu of SureType. Today we’re hearing that there will also be a Pearl 9105 with — get this —  a T9 keypad. This information, not confirmed in any way, comes from a recently released OS build for the 9100 which also labeled for and contains files for a model 9105. Although it’s a bit fuzzy how the whole notion of this model having a T9 keypad came about (remember those old RIM patents?), the people behind BBnews.pl seem to be utterly convinced this rumor is entirely true and we’ll all get a glimpse of the T9-packing Pearl 9105 in May or June when it launches in Europe.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Dani!

Read

Hold on to your hats, BlackBerry fans, because this one’s a bit crazy. Truesupplier, a well respected online retailer of OEM and third party phone parts and accessories has published images of what it claims is a full-QWERTY keyboard for the upcoming Pearl 9100. Featuring what is best described as a shrunken down version of the Bold 9700′s keypad complete with guitar-like frets separating each row of keys, we have virtually no doubts that this keypad is indeed genuine. Having said that, we believe it’s for another device. Why? Take a look at the send, end, menu and back keys. See how they’re stacked on top of one another and extend well beyond the top of where the trackpad will sit? ? There’s no way that would ever fit into the Pearl as we know it unless everyone on the 9100 team at RIM collectively lost their minds and decided to shrink the screen. We’re just throwing this out there as nothing but a guess, but perhaps this belongs to a next-gen Pearl Flip? Regardless, we’re really intrigued by the idea of using a full-QWERTY keypad in such a tight space. But level with us, readers. Is this a viable solution, or should RIM just keep going with the SureType keypad no matter what its detractors say?

UPDATE: Kevin at CrackBerry has heard that the BlackBerry Pearl 9100 will be offered in two versions: a SureType and QWERTY device.

[Via CIO]

Read

Right on time, the Pearl Flip has made its official debut on Verizon Wireless’ website and is now ripe for the picking. Surprisingly, sort of, the Pearl Flip has already been discounted — selling for $79 after a $70 mail-in rebate and two year contract instead of the announced $129.99. Apparently, Verizon included the Pearl Flip in that $50 price drop when it ended the BlackBerry BOGO promotion. For those who prefer a more personal shopping experience, the Pearl Flip is also available in stores today. Now with the 8230ccccccc out of the way, Big Red can focus on bigger and better ‘Berrys (Tour, anyone?).

Thanks, Adam!

Read

Reaching out to all the U.S. Cellular customers out there who might feel a little left out with new phones being announced for other carriers, we’re trying our best to stay on top of the handful of handsets due out this month. While the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 and Samsung Code might not be the most exciting of the bunch, one of our sneakier readers managed to snoop dedicated pages for each handset live on U.S. Cellular’s site. Don’t try this at home kids — they’re not easily found from the main site. Hit the read links for each handset to see the full specs and sit tight as both the fliptastic 8230 and, umm, Windowstastic Code are set to drop later this month.

Thanks, TW!

Read (BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230)
Read (Samsung Code)

*sniff* We thought this day would never come but Verizon has officially announced the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230. Available starting June 19th, Verizon asks that you fork over $129.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract. As for the specs, you know the deal: OS 4.6.0, 324MHz processor, external display, vertical QVGA internal display, SureType keypad, 2 megapixel camera with flash, GPS, so on, so forth. Anyone excited? The Pearl Flip is just as cool as the Tour, right?

Read

So check it. We just got a tip from a new ninja but this information looks really credible so we’re running it… Here’s the random bits of info we received:

• All Verizon BlackBerry handsets launched after the BlackBerry Tour will have Wi-Fi
• The Storm 2′s screen does not press in like SurePress, rather it operates more like traditional capacitive touch screen panels. We’re not sure if the rumored TruePress is just localized haptic feedback or what, but we can’t imagine RIM abandoning their entire fucking selling point on the Storm.
• We have no idea what to think of this part, but, our tipster said the BlackBerry Tour would be accompanied by a BlackBerry Atlas with the Atlas having Wi-Fi, not the Tour. Again, don’t flip out, but it’s just what was told to us by this particular tipster.
• BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 release is “imminent”. We’d say May release, June latest.
• 8230 specs… EV-DO Rev. 0, 2.0 MP Camera, 3.5 ounces, Flash 128 MB, RAM 64 MB, SD Card – Expandable to 16GB, Usage/Standby – 220 min. / 216 hrs.

There you have it, guys!

We’ve just received this little nugget from one of our ninjas about an upcoming handset for T-Mobile, the Samsung T349. While the device itself is nothing too fancy, it is nonetheless a pretty interesting device in that T-Mobile has describes it internally as a “20-key messaging phone.” Despite the blurriness of the image above, we are able to see that the entry-level T349 indeed features a keypad much like the SureType keypads found on the BlackBerry Pearl and Pearl Flip. Specs are as follows:

• 20-key keypad
• 1.3 megapixel camera w/ video capture
• SMS, MMS, Email and IM
• Bluetooth
• Speakerphone
• Photo caller ID, alarm clock, calculator,
• Mobile backup
• GPRS connectivity

Look for the Samsung T349 to make its retail debut to both pre and post-paid subscribers on May 20th. Believe it or not, this little guy is the first new handset added to T-Mobile’s pre-paid line-up in the past year. Yay?