Tomorrow’s release of the BlackBerry Pearl on T-Mobile marks the beginning of a new era of multimedia enabled BlackBerry devices for Research in Motion. Although there have been rumors that a Cingular branded BlackBerry Pearl could hit shelves as soon as October, it will be quite some time before the Pearl, or, any CameraBerry for that matter, is offered by the CDMA carriers Verizon and Sprint.
The question that I have is for those of you that really want a Pearl but are on networks that won’t have it for a while. Will you switch carriers just to get a BlackBerry Pearl?
For me personally, I am not sure what I am going to do. I know that I will not leave Verizon no matter if I decide to get a Pearl or not. If I do get one, I will just buy it outright so that I don’t have to sign up a long term plan because as soon as a CameraBerry comes out on Verizon I will get it, BlackBerry Pearl or whatever else they come out with. That is a lot of money to spend on a phone that I know I will be replacing as soon as possible. If I do get it, it will be one of those spur of the moment purchases that where I just pick the thing up in a T-Mobile store justifying it by feeling that I need to write about here on RIMarkable.
Forgive the rambling… I am just trying to talk myself into going and picking a BlackBerry Pearl tomorrow.
I am definitely switching. My two year plan was up at the end of July and I was going to re-up with a new plan and either get a Q or a Treo 700w. Thats when we really started hearing rumors about the Pearl so I decided to wait and see who it was going to come out on.
I really like Verizon but they take too long to come out with new BlackBerries. I am still using a 7250 becasue they still haven’t come out with a QWERTY 8700 yet. I live a a big city and coverage with all the big cell phone companies is a wash anyway.
Verizon defector,
I hope that you realize that the BlackBerry Pearl doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard. It usese SureType like the BlackBerry 71XX model devices…
I am surprised that RIM just wouldn’t send you one seeing all the free plubicity they are getting. I still think that a BlackBerry with a camera is a dumb idea but will be glad when it comes out just so you guys can start talking about something else.
i’d rather spend a little extra and get an unlocked one than leave cingular right now. there are too many people i know with cingular allowing me to benefit from the free mobile2mobile minutes to switch. plus, i’d really rather wait for a qwerty version. i’m not a fan of suretype and the 8700 suits my needs just fine.
Verizon Defector,
You may want to hold off for a little bit. Boy Genius, the first one to start all the leaks is not liking the BlackBerry Pearl all the much according to his review…
http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-8100-series-discussion/46272-boy-genius-8100-review.html#post313823
With t-mobile right now, and will try out the pearl (sure type) even though i love my qwerty keyboarded 8700g, and because everyone else has the cingular silver one, i feel special with my dark blue. Anyone heard any rumors about a qwerty 8700g/c/r coming out? I would hate to extend my contract pay $399 and find out next month the qwerty version will be coming. Anyone heard any rumors about such?
i meant a 8700g/c/r PEARL version, the 8700 is already a qwerty.
Just switched. Love the Pearl.
Brian,
How did you get your BlackBerry Pearl a day early?
Yes. I am switching from US Cellular tomorrow to T-Mobile for a few reasons. Mainly the pearl. But we get 500 family minutes for $50 a month right now, and T-Mobile doubles that offer, so just another reason to switch.
Am I seeing this correctly? No more trackwheel on the Pearl? Why did they get rid of the trackwheel and replace with up/down buttons? One of the main features of any blackberry has always been the little trackwheel on the right for your thumb…
That actually replaced the trackwheel with a trackball in the center of the device so that they could make the device thinner.
I switched yesterday and so far so good. I left Verizon and this is the first BlackBerry I’ve had. My husband has a larger, older one and I thought I was never going to get one. But, I was able to check one out on the 11th and told to come back the next day…and I did.
No regrets as of yet.
Does anyone know whether the Pearl will be compatible with Cingular’s new HSDPA network? This is the network which will compete with Verizon’s and Sprint’s EVDO networks.
I switched over from Verizon to Cingular for Pearl. Would do it again since I was able to expense phone but would switch back to Verizon as soon as they have Pearl available.
Cons:
* Expensive switch – canceled Verizon voice, canceled Cingular data, ported Verizon number = $400.
* Inferior Cingular voice coverage vs. Verizon in most Northern California and Orange county areas, especially if hilly (GSM sucks here).
* Need to reboot Pearl often whereas 8700 was bullet proof
* Keyboard isn’t nearly as good as full QWERTY 8700
Pros:
* Form factor – Single device, didn’t use 8700 as phone because looked/felt like talking into a brick
* No need to borrow phone for Europe travel
Overall, still relatively happy to make switch because I’m only carrying a single small device that I can put into pocket. The battery life is amazing. Typing is decent after getting used to Pearl. Cingular reception sucks in areas outside of large metro areas or hilly areas vs. Verizon (except in Lake Tahoe where Cingular works).