The RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is the most basic of the Pearl series of smartphones, though they are all very similar. The 8100 is compact and resembles a typical candybar handset more than full-size BlackBerry units. It has a QWERTY keypad and trackball layout, though there are two letters per key, one on each side, instead of a dedicated key for each letter. It offers many of the standard BlackBerry features, such as Internet browsing, wireless email and account integration, media player, document viewer and instant messaging. It includes a 1.3-megapixel digital camera with LED flash as well. The Pearl 8100 falls in the spectrum of slightly more affordable smartphones, though it has a smaller screen and shorter battery life than most other BlackBerry models.
