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Posted by Jennifer W. Miner Dec 23, 2006 |
Frequent readers of this column know that my favorite multimedia PDA is the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100. Sure, the non-QWERTY keyboard is a minor pain to get the hang of, but the Blackberry SureType works itself out in the end (it's easier if you don't look at the screen while you type).
My fellow gearheads who admire the Blackberry Pearl, but for one reason or another are committed to Cingular's wireless service, rejoice! Now that 2007 is basically here, T-mobile doesn't have an unintentional monopoly on the cell phone feature of the Blackberry Pearl. Some of us gave up Verizon for T-mobile, and I can tell you, switching your wireless service just aint that big a deal.
But: If you love your Cingular, you don't have to worry about switching servers in the first place. RIM Blackberry Pearls with Cingular service should be similar to the high speed access as T-mobile, and now you don't have to make the switch to enjoy a Blackberry Pearl 8100. As Cingular's ad line goes, "that's the power of now." Blackberry Pearl Cingular will support Push to Talk cell phone service, but in all major ways will be indistinguishable from T-mobile's Blackberry.
For a limited time, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular can be yours for $199.00 -- that is, with some fine print. This under 200 dollar Blackberry Pearl Cingular entails a 50 buck mail-in rebate, 2-year service on the Unlimited Blackberry plan, and eligible voice plan, according to the Cingular website. But still! That's a nice introductory price. And the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100, for the uninitiated (where've you been? Mars?), is sleek, fast, and gorgeous. In my experience, the remote email access function doesn't crash half as much as the Blackberry 7100, the dig cam is high quality, and the high speed internet access won't be affected. All in all, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular should be as much of a gearhead's gadget dream-come-true as is the T-Mobile Blackberry. Placing a call from your new Blackberry Pearl Cingular will be a great way to ring in the new year.