Rating  - Great Phone but some quirks
This is the first phone I've had of this kind (s'appelle "smartphone"), but the battery life is bad when using for email, texts, calls, browsing, etc... when using all day. I don't know if that is the nature of the beast, because I haven't had a phone of this caliber before, but my impressions are that it is a battery drainer. No tech problems at all and it is an all around an awesome phone for any purpose.
Rating  - Don't buy into the hype. This "smartphone" is a dumb buy.
If you have not yet bought a Pearl, then don't. I've had this almost two years and I can't wait till my contract is up so I can chuck this POS into a recycling box!
Why?
#1 Poor durability (and I'm easy on phones). I had this phone for a month when the button that holds the batter cover on popped off. It's a piece of plastic with a tiny spring the size of a toenail clipping. Somehow this was my fault and this sort of defect didn't fall under the manufacturer's warranty. AT&T, the Company I bought it from, would do nothing. OEM (The manufacturer) offered to repair it for $90 dollars! AT&T offered to SELL me a new phone for $199 (when I got it free with a 2 year contract). Both Companies' best suggestion was to buy a silicon cover for the phone to hold the batter back on. Also, the chrome like paint on the phone wore off within 6 months of using it. C'mon people!
#2 This phone interferes (makes that buzzing sound) REALLY loudly with any audio device. More than any other phone I've owned. So if you want the convenience of using your USB cable to charge it on your laptop or pc, mute your speakers, or you'll be sorry. Also GREATLY interferes with car stereos, TV speakers, PA systems, and etc.
#3 I am equally disappointed that bluetooth headphones are not any option for this phone because the Pearl doesn't use the new technology that most, if not all, of the stereo headphones do. The headphones available for this phone are junk, and there is no good off brand alternative either. I've tried every adapter electronics store sell.
#4 Make sure your cellular carrier has a REASONABLE data plan for blackberry. AT&T only has the "blackberry data plan" that costs a minimum of $39.00 in addition to your minute plan. You cannot use the blackberry feature without this plan. This doesn't include using your blackberry as a wireless modem, that costs extra and you are limited on how much date you can use. (Don't go over unless you're prepared to take out a second mortgage.)Not useful as a personal organizer unless your willing to spend over $100 a month for a cellphone bill.
Seriously, this has been a thorn in my side, rather than a helper (which is why I bought a Blackberry).
Rating - Burned by T-Mobile, dishonest lying company!!!
This is not a review for the phone which is probably great. This is a rant about T-Mobile. T-Mobile had lied to me when I was going to the Carribean with my Black Berry. The Representative had told me that I would be charged according to the data used and instead signed me up for BB International Roaming, which is $19.99. The service had never worked, I wasn't able to recieve or send email, but this is not what this is about. Four months later I had opened a bill, which I usually don't do since the bill is paid automatically every month, and discovered that I am being charged $19.99 for the past 4 months. Manager at T-Mobile insisted that there's nothing that they can do regardless of the fact that I am being charged for the service that never been used. The Manager did not even attempt to accomodate me in any way, no partial credit offer, not even for one month, not even free text messages for next month.
T-Mobile is out there to take advantage of you. They take no responsibility for lying to their customers and charging them for services not provided.
Avoid T-Mobile
Rating - Small, great when new, design flaws
This phone is great out of the box. After putting google maps and opera on it you almost would think it is a nice little phone. (if you get one of the ones that lets you install maps or setup opera... more than one of these i owned i had to jump through hoops and read forums to get it working properly) It is a little slow to start up but once your going the phone is rarely sluggish. calender is great, able to add alarms through it with relative ease and the reminders are very helpful. voice clarity is good however the ringer died on one of the phones i had... let me explain now... i'm on my sixth 8100. warranty is for one year and i'm in my seventh month. the main flaw of this phone is the track ball. if dirt or grime get in there it stops working. also, when browsing the web on a page with multiple pictures it would sometimes freeze... forcing me to remove the battery for a restart. a few other things that bother me about this phone... the minisd slot is located behind the battery, forcing you to power down to remove it... the headphone jack is not universal.. not easily customized visually... when crossing time zones it doesn't automatically change time for you... i have talked to several other people that like the blackberrys they own however, after this experience i will never buy another device from RIM
Rating - Very usable and takes decent pictures
I've had this phone since October of 07 and it's held up very well to the abuse I've put it through. It's very easy to use, just get through the set up wizard, install the BB organizer on your PC and enjoy. The qwerty key pad is great for typing out E-mails for my work while off-site. Any E-mails or pics I receive can easily be put onto my home pc with the usb cord and software that comes with the phone. I can also send decent pictures of my son to my family across the country whenever I feel the need.
My only problem with this phone is finding a durable case which isn't the phones fault, but I gone through 2 swivel cases and a silicone case in the last 9 months.
I do recommend getting some additional memory if you plan on using this for an mp3 player or take loads of pictures.
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Customer Reviews for BlackBerry,8100,610214613370,610214613370,0610214613370,B000ID10JE, |
