Though the company was able to make an impression in the business class, its potential as a mass solution remained unexplored. There were much talk about taking the Blackberry out of the boardroom.



In a much awaited move, the company is venturing into the mass consumer market with a sleeker and much lighter model - the Blackberry Pearl. Apart from Blackberry's traditional stronghold - mobile email, the latest model have a mp3 player, a camera and also supports memory cards.

This is the first time the company have included any of these features in any handset. The phone dimension too is not typical to other Blackberry models but is narrower and surprisingly lighter at 89.5 grams.

Easy user interface is one of the high points of the Blackberry Pearl. The scroll wheel has been replaced by a miniature white trackball which is very convenient once you're used to it. The device also sport a 'convenience key', which can be programmed as you wish.

1.3-megapixel snapper, though not the best integrated camera ever, is very handy and creates decent pictures. They have done a great job with the built in media player, considering it is their first time. It supports MP3, MIDI, AMR NB, AAC, AAC+ & eAAC+ formats. The handset have 64 MB in built Flash memory to carry your files apart from the external memory card option.

The quad-band handset with GPRS and EDGE gives you the unique 'mobile email' experience. The QWERTY Keyboard makes data entry easier and faster. You can download and view files in either Word, Excel, Power-Point or PDF format through document viewer.

With the Blackberry Pearl, it is always fun to work.