The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 smart phone is one of the world's smallest smart phones and packs all of the power of BlackBerry. It comes complete with digital camera, multimedia capabilities and expandable memory. And it offers users everything else they would expect from a BlackBerry device - including phone, email, web browser, text messaging (SMS and MMS), instant messaging, organizer applications and more. The Blackberry provides quad-band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks to allow for international roaming between North America, Europe and Asia.

The Pearl is a very normal looking bar shaped phone if you overlook the two extra columns on the keypad and the trackball where the d-pad or joystick typically would be. The device is clad in a piano black gloss finish that appears to be pretty scratch resistant. The sides of the Pearl are covered in a dark silver/pewter colored metal finish, that is quite attractive and a bit less prone to fingerprints than the black surfaces. In spite of the two extra columns of keypad keys, the Pearl's SureType keypad looks normal enough due to its color scheme. The number keys all have silver colored paint on them that makes it easy to see the keypad as a normal numeric keypad. Some people in the press have complained that the keypad feels cheap, owing partly to the fact that the keys are not separated at all by the front cover, and therefore float a bit. Located between the keypad and the display are the red and green call control keys, a back button, a menu button, and the trackball - the "pearl" that gives the device its name. The buttons are all reasonably normal and nice to use, but the trackball is something we've only seen before on the T-Mobile Sidekick III. The Pearl's backlit trackball has a very nice feel to it, and is easily spun in any direction as needed. It can be pressed in for selecting menu items and the like, and seems to do so without moving off your intended target, as is sometimes the case with d-pads that don't have separate select buttons. The back panel of the Pearl, that which covers the battery, is a bit too flexible for my liking, making the device feel a bit cheaper than it should. The back cover includes a self-portrait mirror for the camera, as well as protective covers for the camera itself and the flash. The right side of the Pearl is where you will find the volume control, a lanyard loop, and the first of two user configurable quick-access keys, which defaults to being the camera access/shutter button. The left side houses a miniUSB data/charging port, the 2.5mm stereo headset port, and the second quick-access key - which I use for voice dialing. The lone control on the top of the Pearl handles ring muting and putting the phone into standby mode.