[GregH-BBPearl]

Best of luck to you. It sounds like you do need the full keyboard for your situation. Nothing wrong with that.
I can not say I have ever seen any memory problem on my pearl but I only get about 50 emails a day and do 600 to 800 txt. Per month. I end up deleting most of those each day as I like to keep things lean. I love the pearl, but have to say I do not type paragraphs.

[noeffectx]

make sure to upgrade the latest OS for your pearl. download the one from cingular.

[ChairmanKaga]

As a light email user, the Pearl's small size outweighs its lack of real qwerty. But I would certainly go with an 8800 (or similar) if I was zapping out emails all day long.

cheers

[kathrynhr]

Originally Posted by ChairmanKaga

As a light email user, the Pearl's small size outweighs its lack of real qwerty. But I would certainly go with an 8800 (or similar) if I was zapping out emails all day long.

What he said.

[mafiaconnected]

yea, thats pretty much the road I am going to take. I need to. I cant keep using my finger nails to type!

[zimbu1234]

Can you let us know one more time that you are going to switch?

Just kidding....

[mafiaconnected]

yea, I have to do what is right for my sake, I need to go back to using the full QWERTY, and a device that doesnt have memory leak issues.

[mafiaconnected]

did I mention that full QWERTY is a must?

JUST BREAKIN' BALLS!

[rivviepop]

Originally Posted by mafiaconnected

Why do people get blackberries if they dont plan to use it for reading/responding to emails??

*raises hand* me me me, pick me!

I fall into this category, I am not a heavy-email-on-phone user but I like the BlackBerry platform. It's stable, fast and relatively bug-free. It has nice internet browsing (multiple solutions actually), runs lots of 3rd part J2ME quickly, and specifically the Pearlball hardware is excellent in usage. It has lots of knobs to twiddle and tweak to change how you like, very good RF and sound quality. The UI is snappy and intuitive and the seperate features are tightly integrated (meaning email + web + sms etc. has cross-APIs that beat out S60 easily).

I also love SureType -- I typed a 3-4 paragraph email in the GMail applet just yesterday while riding the bus, and not once did it go wrong and screw up. A few non-standard things I was typing took a second to get (like "ISO" etc.) but I was pleased with the results of my typing session. This far exceeds my expectations, using crap like T9 and/or iTap is horrible compared to SureType. It's scary sometimes how well SureType guesses the weird things I type.

So to all you old-school BB users who've been around for years typing 80 emails a day on your devices -- say hello to us, your new wave of BB users who want something different that the Pearl is providing. I've sold two of my S60 handsets already, I am more pleased with this platform than Symbian by a long shot -- but I never wanted a QWERTY device, I want small and pocketable. The 8700g is a nuisance to guys like me (god I could smash that stupid scrollwheel with a hammer).

[mafiaconnected]

Suretype is not that big of a problem. I was referring to times when you want to type a common word like "hey" but it pulls up "get". I dont like having to scroll to the word I want to use. Also, Suretype will pull up some of those odd words, that you were mentioning, because it starts to create and save your wordlists.

I am really not complaining about the trackball. It's actually pretty neat how you can scroll all sorts of ways now. So thumbs up on that one.

[catchnow]

I've had problems with my memory too. It drives me nuts! I dont get too many emails, but I text a lot. A few weeks ago all of my call logs, messages, and emails started getting deleted, which was really frustrating. So I bought a memory card which seemed to help for a week or two, but it started happening again. The same thing is happening to my friend Tori who has had her phone only since Christmas and doesnt even get emails. My mother, on the other hand, gets more emails than anyone I know and texts a ton and has no problems with her memory.
Is this new OS from cingular really going to help? Or should I try to send in for a new pearl?

[justdonating]

Originally Posted by catchnow

I've had problems with my memory too. It drives me nuts! I dont get too many emails, but I text a lot. A few weeks ago all of my call logs, messages, and emails started getting deleted, which was really frustrating. So I bought a memory card which seemed to help for a week or two, but it started happening again. The same thing is happening to my friend Tori who has had her phone only since Christmas and doesnt even get emails. My mother, on the other hand, gets more emails than anyone I know and texts a ton and has no problems with her memory.
Is this new OS from cingular really going to help? Or should I try to send in for a new pearl?

Yes for some, no for others. You should try it, worked for me.

[TonyEye]

I'll give you 20 bucks for it.

[kathrynhr]

Originally Posted by TonyEye

I'll give you 20 bucks for it.

LOL!

OP: I hope you find what you're looking for.

[Dr. Jerry]

I think the Pearl is a great device for people who are light email users. Most people bought the Pearl because it was new, small, had a camera and was the 'different' BlackBerry.
Is it the best device for heavy business use? Probably not! Remember what the mission of the Pearl originally was? To appeal to a 'new' audience. RIM wanted to target the 'casual, mainstream' user vs. The typical business user.
The end result is what we all use...a great device that works for most. The suretype is great for cranking out 2-3 line email responses, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to have to type paragraphs as some users have to do! i would much prefer to have the full Querty board. For what it is and who is was targeted to...it works!

[mafiaconnected]

absoutely. you're right. It was targeted for the light user. It's not a completely bad device. I mean, that's one of the reasons that I bought it. It looked sleek and cool, plus I am the kind of person that wants to check out everything new. As with anything, I think there is room for improvement on this device. I dont know...maybe RIM just rushed themselves too much and tried to push out a device to meet the standards and requests of the everyday mobile phone user (i.e. camera, mp3, etc.).

[acexbox]

Try reinstalling the software.

I was also told that changing the time to Network instead of Blackberry fixes the problem.... doesnt make sense, but thats what the tmobile rep told me.

[esbe02]

I can totally understand where you're coming from Mafia.... if you want the pearl tracking ball feature, go and pick up the new Blackberry 8800 from cingular, its full qwerty, super slim, w/ trackball... basically, its a pearl with full qwerty.

[SanFrancisco]

I dunno why this thread has gone on as long as it has. My impression of the Pearl is that it performs its intended functions very well. Reviews, criticisms, and comparisons of the Pearl to business devices and uses [Smartphones, PDAs or whatever] are misplaced.

Fact is, the Pearl was and remains RIM's entry into the consumer market. It never was and never will be marketed as a business device. In fact, I cannot recall seeing any RIM marketing that depicts the Pearl being used by professionals in suits, so to speak.

In contrast the 8800 is RIM's update for business users.

The Pearl is a a phone and multi-media device that also gets e-mails. It is not meant for heavy use of e-mails nor even simple business applications.

And while I'm no expert by any measure, having used the phone since Sept. 15, 2006, my suspicion is that the Pearl OS is asked to do quite a bit if one uses all the features of the phone. So it, just like Windows XP [or even PDA devices] is not going to operate all that well over time, meaning a few days or so. Simply put, the OS and the memory is going to be over taxed to where operations slow down or the system crashes.

For example, I have played videos, MP3 files, checked e-mails, used the alarm, etc., and a few times I have then played poker. Well, the system was so taxed that the cards were being dealt out real slooooooooow. I then had to reboot to freshen up the OS. [same as with Windows XP].

To be sure, even as a consumer device the Pearl is not for everyone nor is it perfect [bugs are still being worked out]. That aside, it most definitely is not a good fit for the business user, heavy or light.

The Pearl is a cool and fun consumer device, not a piece of business equipment.

[rivviepop]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

I dunno why this thread has gone on as long as it has.

Because everyone has an opinion, and some threads are like people chattering. There is no "here's a question here's an answer" need for every single thread, which unfortunately seems to be how you feel. *shrug*

For example, I have played videos, MP3 files, checked e-mails, used the alarm, etc., and a few times I have then played poker. Well, the system was so taxed that the cards were being dealt out real slooooooooow. I then had to reboot to freshen up the OS. [same as with Windows XP].

I disagree. I use this thing like crazy for all sorts of stuff (games, browsing, mails, J2ME apps I play with - you name it) and am not having any of these problems. I think it is unfair to compare such a robust OS as the BB/RIM with a piece of crap like WindowsXP. The only reboots I need are when apps update (like the JiveTalk betas) and the like -- mine has been running like an absolute champ, just like OS X or Linux. You know, real operating systems.

That aside, it most definitely is not a good fit for the business user, heavy or light.

I disagree. I am a business user. I use it for business needs as well as personal. I support XX people and XX servers and this device is great for my needs. Your statement that it is not good for a (light) business user does not hold water, you are making a swpeeing generalization on how *you* do business. There are a million different kinds of businesses, not all of them are corporate behomeths.