The 81-day experiment

Case Study: BlackBerry Pearl

In this case study, Oliver from the U.K. shares his experience with the BlackBerry Pearl. (If you would like to contribute your case study, please e-mail it in the same format as shown below to the81dayexperiment@people-onthego.com with Case Study in the subject line). Here is what Oliver has to say about the BlackBerry Pearl.

The Information about the device you are using now:

Manufacturer/Brand?  BlackBerry

Model?  Pearl (8100)

Carrier?  T-Mobile

Desktop Operating System?  Mac OS X

How do you rank the device and the related services in the following areas (rankings are 1 to 5, where 5 is the best)

Overall satisfaction? 4 

Features? 3

Usability? 4

Compatibility with your desktop? 3

Technical support?  not needed so far

Would you recommend this device to others who have similar needs to yours?

Yes, definitely!

Your industry, size of your company, and role within your company?   

n/a

What specific things do you like about the device and related services?

The pearl is a dream phone for me. I previously had an 02 xda 11s and this is a big step up worth every penny. I personnally like the push email feature. This saves me from carrying my laptop. I just use my mobile.

Other features i like are the voice-activated dialing with voice recognition (ie it doesn't need "tags" or need to be "trained" which is a huge plus). No feature is more useful than this, when you need to make an emergency call on the road, want to use a bluetooth headset, or just don't want to bother with searching your address book.

The media player and being able to play videos has been surprisingly fun!

Also the pricing has been suprisingly good.

What things don't you like or that can be improved and related services?

n/a

Which devices have you used in the past? Please list them starting with the most recent device and then going backward and answer the following questions about each of these devices:

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? 02 xda 11s

How long did you use the device?  6 months

Why did you switch?  because I wanted to take advantage of the famous push email on the blackberry.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? 02 xda mini s

How long did you use the device? 3 months

Why did you switch? my network at the time offered me an update at the same price I was paying before the switch so I took advantage of the offer.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? samsung e720

how long did you use the device? 18 months

Why did you switch? wanted a smartphone/pda instead of just the standard mobile

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? sony erikkson k700i

How long did you use the device? 1 year

Why did you switch? I lost the phone and my insurance had just run out

In this case study, Oliver from the U.K. shares his experience with the BlackBerry Pearl. (If you would like to contribute your case study, please e-mail it in the same format as shown below to the81dayexperiment@people-onthego.com with Case Study in the subject line). Here is what Oliver has to say about the BlackBerry Pearl.

The Information about the device you are using now:

Manufacturer/Brand?  BlackBerry

Model?  Pearl (8100)

Carrier?  T-Mobile

Desktop Operating System?  Mac OS X

How do you rank the device and the related services in the following areas (rankings are 1 to 5, where 5 is the best)

Overall satisfaction? 4 

Features? 3

Usability? 4

Compatibility with your desktop? 3

Technical support?  not needed so far

Would you recommend this device to others who have similar needs to yours?

Yes, definitely!

Your industry, size of your company, and role within your company?   

n/a

What specific things do you like about the device and related services?

The pearl is a dream phone for me. I previously had an 02 xda 11s and this is a big step up worth every penny. I personnally like the push email feature. This saves me from carrying my laptop. I just use my mobile.

Other features i like are the voice-activated dialing with voice recognition (ie it doesn't need "tags" or need to be "trained" which is a huge plus). No feature is more useful than this, when you need to make an emergency call on the road, want to use a bluetooth headset, or just don't want to bother with searching your address book.

The media player and being able to play videos has been surprisingly fun!

Also the pricing has been suprisingly good.

What things don't you like or that can be improved and related services?

n/a

Which devices have you used in the past? Please list them starting with the most recent device and then going backward and answer the following questions about each of these devices:

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? 02 xda 11s

How long did you use the device?  6 months

Why did you switch?  because I wanted to take advantage of the famous push email on the blackberry.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? 02 xda mini s

How long did you use the device? 3 months

Why did you switch? my network at the time offered me an update at the same price I was paying before the switch so I took advantage of the offer.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? samsung e720

how long did you use the device? 18 months

Why did you switch? wanted a smartphone/pda instead of just the standard mobile

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? sony erikkson k700i

How long did you use the device? 1 year

Why did you switch? I lost the phone and my insurance had just run out

Case Study: BlackBerry Pearl 8100

In this case study, Bill from Lawrence, MA shares his experience with the BlackBerry Pearl 8100. (By the way, if you would like to contribute your case study, please e-mail it in the same format as shown below to the81dayexperiment@people-onthego.com with Case Study in the subject line). Here is what Bill has to say about his BlackBerry.

The Information about the device you are using now:

Manufacturer/Brand? Blackberry
Model? Pearl 8100
Carrier? T-Mobile
Desktop Operating System? Windows XP Pro

How do you rank the device and the related services in the following areas (rankings are 1 to 5, where 5 is the best)

Overall satisfaction? 5

Features? 5

Usability? 5

Compatibility with your desktop? 5

Technical support? Not needed

Would you recommend this device to others who have similar needs to yours?

Yes!

Your industry, size of your company, and role within your company?

Publishing and Conferences; 12 people; Director of Web Development and Marketing

What specific things do you like about the device and related services?

Where do I start? This phone is a dream! The Blackberry Pearl seamlessly integrates phone and PDA functions, and has the most elegantly implemented email and web browsing I've ever used on a device of this size. Everything is fast and responsive, and running multiple programs (6 running as I write this) has never been an issue. It's the little things, the polish of all the main features, that make this device so compelling.

The voice-activated dialing with voice recognition (ie it doesn't need "tags" or need to be "trained") is a huge plus. There's no more useful feature than this when you need to make an emergency call on the road, want to use a bluetooth headset, or just don't want to bother with searching your address book.

The media player is a welcome addition, and being able to play videos has been surprisingly fun! It's not replacing my dedicated DAP (see notes for improvement) but it has its usees. The MicroSD support also lets me carry around all the files I meet need at any time, as well as save and send attachments in email, which has come in handy multiple times this week.

I know I'm not in the majority on this, but I really find typing on this keyboard much easier than any of the smartphone QWERTY keyboards, like those found on the Q or Dash. The keys are much wider and set at an angle so you almost never hit the wrong key, and the SureType software is so good you have to experience it to believe it. It takes a leap of faith that words will come out right, but once you take that leap you find you can write very quickly on the Pearl. I've even spoken to people who've had one-on-one typing competitions between the Pearl and the Dash, and the Pearl won.

Since I make 90% of my calls to the same 4 or 5 numbers (work, home, etc.), the T-Moblie MyFaves plan suits me very well. I signed up for the cheapest available voice plan and will still have minutes to spare since 90% of my calls won't count toward my minutes.

Lastly, at $20/month, the unlimited data plan for Blackberries on T-Mobile is the cheapest on any major carrier for any device. Compared to $30/month for the Dash on T-Mobile, or $30/month for the Pearl on Cingular, that is a great deal.

What things don't you like or that can be improved and related services?

The media player has a lot of room for improvement. The addition of sorting by navigating by ID tags (Artist, Album, etc.) and more file format options would go a long way toward making it more useful. And the ability to stream audio and video formats (esp. Flash) is sorely needed.

I've already been using the camera on the Pearl a lot (it was Christmas, after all) and while it's perfectly usable, an upgrade to a 2 megapixel camera with a macro mode would make it possible for me to toss my other camera. As it is, I've still taken more photos in this past weekend with the Pearl than I've taken with my camera in 6 months.

There's nothing about the Pearl I dislike, but these are definitely areas for improvement. Thankfully, most of it can be done with a software upgrade, so if RIM decides to make these changes, they could make them available to current and future Pearl owners with a simple download. Here's hoping ...

Which devices have you used in the past? Please list them starting with the most recent device and then going backward and answer the following questions about each of these devices:

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? Motorola RAZR V3 How long did you use the device? 1 year

Why did you switch? I wanted to integrate my PDA and phone

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? Palm III

How long did you use the device? 3-4 years

Why did you switch? Though it worked just as well as the day I bought it, I was embarrassed to still be using a PDA with a black and white screen! I also wanted a PDA with some good connectivity options.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? Philips Nino How long did you use the device? 1 years

Why did you switch? Windows CE was too clunky and error-prone.

Device Manufacturer/Model/Carrier? PalmPilot Personal

How long did you use the device? 2 years

Why did you switch? I broke the screen, and replacing it would have cost as much as a new Palm.

My Speed Typing Contest with Claire (15) using my BlackBerry 8700, BlackBerry Pearl, versus her cell phone keypad

Claire happens to be a text messaging power user. Text messaging seems to be one of the primary means of communication with her school friends. I mentioned Claire a while ago when I referred to her approach to multi-tasking which included chatting on IM with one hand while text messaging with the other. Even though I was warned about her typing speed using her cell phone keypad, I still took the risk of getting into a speed typing contest with her using my smartphones full QWERTY keyboard while she used her cell phone numeric keypad.

I thought I would be “clever” and use my favorite smartphone keyboard which is the BlackBerry 8700. So I dusted off my BlackBerry 8700, got it fully charged and ready for the contest.

Jack helped us conduct the contest by reading to us a paragraph from the newspaper while Claire and I typed as quickly as we could. Here were the results:

- Pierre took 57 seconds to complete the paragraph, with 3 mistakes

- While Claire took 45 seconds, also with 3 mistakes

As if the above defeat wasn’t enough, I decided to repeat the contest but this time using the BlackBerry Pearl and the SureType while Claire still using her cell phone keypad. The fact that my SureType skills were very rusty didn’t help at all. I actually had to stop this part of the contest to save face and avoid any further humiliation.

Is there a moral to this story? One is to never get into a typing contest with Claire. But second is that different users can be comfortable with different types of smartphone keyboards. For instance, if/when Claire gets her smartphone, she may be quite happy with the Cingular 3125 or the BlackBerry Pearl. For me however, I shyed away from the Cingular 3125 and the BlackBerry Pearl because of the lack of full QWERTY keyboard. Another relevant thought here relates to the future of smartphones. The future generations of smartphones are likely to be smaller, thinner, and slicker, without the need for the full keyboards, knowing that Claire’s generation will be the target market. Thank you Claire, and Jack, and happy smartphoning everyone!

The BlackBerry Pearl from Cingular is here

I walked into one of the Cingular stores in San Francisco today and it was quite busy. Obviously, the holiday season is partly the reason for this, and you might say the Treo 680, but it is also the BlackBerry Pearl. There was speculation for some time if it would make it to the stores in 2006, and it did.

It seems to be identical to the BlackBerry Pearl from T-mobile, of course with the branding of Cingular. In addition, it supports the Cingular Push to Talk service which pretty much transforms your Cingular cell phone into a walkie-talkie. Here are some more details about the Push To Talk service if you’re intrigued:

http://business.cingular.com/businesscenter/solutions/push-to-talk.jsp

If you’ve been waiting for the BlackBerry Pearl from Cingular, it is here, and a great holiday present if you need a good excuse for getting it!

By the way, you can refer to the “BlackBerry Pearl in 6 minutes” video if you’re interested in seeing the BlackBerry Pearl in action (the model used in the video is the BlackBerry Pearl from T-Mobile).

My device selection, BlackBerry Pearl, T-Mobile Dash, or Motorola Q? The selection has been made

Finally, and for those who didn’t get a chance to participate in our Lunch & Learn webinar this week, I have selected the smartphone that I will be using now, knowing that the 81-day-experiment is over. The winning device is the T-Mobile Dash, and Jacob Bohall won the drawing and a smartphone (Jacob was one of many readers who guessed that I will be selecting the Dash, even though more readers were leaning towards the BlackBerry Pearl).

The BlackBerry Pearl was actually my first choice, however, the fact that it doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard was the showstopper for me. I use e-mail extensively, and typing quickly is a critical need. The SureType™ method is actually quite impressive, but still, when you just have a couple of minutes in between meetings or calls, and you want to respond to an urgent e-mail, every second counts.

In the Webinar on December 5, I reviewed the 9 devices that I used in the 81-day-experiment, highlighted their strengths and weaknesses, and rated them in five different areas. The workbook (PDF format) which includes the presentation slides with the ratings, as well as the methodology for selecting a smartphone,  can be ordered at:
http://www.people-onthego.com/Wrkshps_Handheld.html (scroll down on that page to see the Workbook link).

In addition, we have the following upcoming live events that you will be able to register for soon:

a) A repeat of the 45 minutes complimentary lunch & learn Webinar about the 81-day-experiment and about selecting a smarpthone, which will be scheduled for the January/February 2007 timeframe.

b) A full 90 minute workshop about selecting a smartphone, also presented as a Webinar, which will also be scheduled for the January/February 2007 timeframe.

Meanwhile, the 81-day-experiment blog continues to provide updates on the latest devices, and additional tips and insights on selecting a smartphone, and more case studies from users who want to share their experience with selecting and using a smartphone.

Stay tuned for more!

“Which smartphone would be best for me” asked Stephanie

Stephanie: “Based on your experiment, can you provide an overall analysis of the rating for each device? I’m considering purchasing a smartphone within the next couple of months and would like your thoughts on the best model out there. Note: I do have Cingular phone service, so I’d need a smartphone that is compatible with Cingular service. Also, I very much want to use the Windows mobile operating system, so that I can sync my calendar, contacts, and appointments with my computer at work. I don’t need any fluff (MP3, camera, other special applications) – I just need the nuts and bolts. Thank you!”

Recommendations to Stepanie:

  a) If you are planning on sticking to Cingular, and your main interest is the calendar, contacts, and appointments, I would say the Cingular 3125 or BlackJack would do the job well. They use Windows Mobile and they are small phones that you can easily carry with you everywhere.

b) The Cingular 3125 doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard (it is a flip-phone). The BlackJack does have a full QWERTY keyboard. But from your description, it doesn't seem that you are going to be doing lots of typing, so this may not be an issue for you.

c) Both of these smartphones offer full multi-media capabilities that you don’t need. But these are not in the way, and you can just ignore them (one day though, when you unexpectedly need to capture the moment, and the camera may come in handy, and then one thing leads to another and you find yourself watching TV on the little screen, who knows!).

  d) If you are not in a hurry to make a selection (you said a couple of months), there is another device that you might want to consider when it becomes available. That is the BlackBerry Pearl from Cingular (no official date has been announced but rumor has it that it is coming soon). Currently it is only available from T-Mobile. It is not a Windows Mobile device, but it is fully compatible with Windows, and can sync extremely well with Outlook.

e) Finally, in terms of ranking the devices, this is what I will be doing over the next few weeks, so stay tuned and please visit the 81-day-experiment blog often to see more details (http://81dayexperiment.typepad.com/)

f) By the way, we also offer a PDF that provides a methodology for comparing devices if you are interested in more details. You can order it online at https://www.people-onthego.com/Online_Trn_OD_Handheld_TestDrive.html This will also be updated in the next few weeks to cover all the devices I used in the 81-day-experiment.

Good luck!

Case study: BlackBerry Pearl from T-Mobile

In this case study, Carl from Richmond, VA shares his experience with the BlackBerry Pearl from T-Mobile (If you would like to contribute your case study, please e-mail it in the same format as shown below to the81dayexperiment@people-onthego.com with Case Study in the subject line). Here is what Carl has to say about his BlackBerry Pearl:

The Information about the device you are using now:

Manufacturer/Brand? RIM

Model? Blackberry Pearl

Carrier? T-Mobile

Desktop Operating System? Windows/Outlook

How do you rank the device and the related services in the following areas (rankings are 1 to 5, where 5 is the best)

Overall satisfaction?                               4

Features?                                               5

Usability?                                               5

Compatibility with your desktop?             4

Technical support?                                 4

Would you recommend this device to others who have similar needs to yours?

YES!

Your industry, size of your company, and role within your company?

Online Media Sales, 15 employees, Regional Sales Manager

What specific things do you like about the device and related services?

I love the Pearl navigation, it's much easier to use than the Blackberry track wheel.

What things don't you like or that can be improved and related services?

Volume on handset still is not great.

Which devices have you used in the past? Please list them starting with the most recent device

I've used Blackberry's since it's first version. Great products. Better with time.

Extra treat today: The BlackBerry Pearl Video

After having used the BlackBerry Pearl earlier in the 81-day-experiment (see day #28 to day #36) and having received some inquiries from users about the BlackBerry Pearl new user interface and its capabilities, I put together the BlackBerry Pearl in 6 minutes video (with the help of Rebekah Smith, our training coordinator and writer at People-OnTheGo). Feel free to check out the “BlackBerry Pear in 6 minutes” video, which has been posted on Google video today.

Day #36 of the 81-day experiment, the BlackBerry 8100 in summary

As I was looking at the BlackBerry Pearl yesterday from T-Mobile, it suddenly dawned on me. The Trackball looks like a “pearl”. Not sure if this is really where the name came from, but at least it was a nice revelation for a moment or two. Then curiosity took over, so I did some searching. It seems that a CIO Magazine article already agrees with my conclusion and one of the BlackBerry weblogs had some thoughts on the topic as well including some predictions about what will the Cingular version of the BlakBerry 8100 be called. It seems that Cingluar will have a version out soon, but I haven’t seen any information about Verizon or Sprint having their versions in the near future.

Today is my last day with the BlackBerry Pearl (I will be moving to a new device tomorrow, that is right, a new device every 9 days, that is what the 81-day-experiment is about). So it is time to summarize my findings and impressions relating to the BlackBerry Pearl.

The BlackBerry Pearl sets new standards in smartphone usability

The idea of having a “mini-trackball” on a smartphone, so you can easily roll in all directions and make selections, works extremely well. But it is not just the idea, it is the quality of the implementation that makes the BlackBerry Pearl a unique device. The trackball has a special feel to it. It is almost “transparent” to the user. You don’t feel that you are rolling a trackball, you just feel that you are naturally navigating through the menus and screens.

They keys on the BlackBerry Pearl represent yet another high quality implementation. When pressing a key, you experience a little bit of tension (or resistance). In other words you clearly feel that you pressed a key and you can also hear a slight audible feedback. This slight resistance and feedback means that you are not likely to press keys by accident or unintentionally pressing the same key multiple times.

The user interface of the BlackBerry Pearl is yet another high quality and innovative implementation, starting with the very bright screen and sharp image (which ironically seems not to consume that much battery power—since I started to use the BlackBerry Pearl, I have never seen the low battery signal), and continuing with the application icons, the menus, the escape button, and menu button. The escape button and the menu button, combined with the Trackball, are the primary navigational tools of the BlackBerry Pearl.

How about functionality?

The BlackBerry Pearl seems to do everything that the other BlackBerry devices do and more (more in this case is referring to the camera, photos, video, music, voice recognition, maps, and you name it). In other words, it kept up with the BlackBerry tradition of being a business device that connects you well with the business world (including your Exchange and Lotus Notes e-mail and calendar data) while bringing to the table the other factors that makes it desirable as a slick phone and multi-media device that you can take with you to a social event.

And what if you are a Mac user?

Synchronizing the BlackBerry Pearl with your Mac will require third party software and it seems that you may need to wait a little for this software to become available. My friend Ralph who got the BlackBerry Pearl last Tuesday (the first day it was released) is waiting for Information Appliance Associates to release their upcoming version of PocketMac which can synchronize the BlackBerry Pearl to the Mac (see http://www.pocketmac.com ). So help is on the way!

So what is the conclusion? Should everyone get a BlackBerry Pearl?

The BlackBerry Pearl is an exciting product and it is likely to generate a much broader interest than any of the previous BlackBerry models. But is it for everyone? Probably not for the following audiences:

-         Users who are looking for a “computing” device that can play the role of a laptop replacement (rather than just an elegant and capable smartphone).

-         Users who have a lot of typing to do (while the SureType™ and multi-tap do a great job, nothing can beat the good old BlackBerry with the two thumbs racing together on that wide keyboard).

-         Users who need faster internet access than what the EDGE network can offer, or who happen to be in areas where the GPRS/EDGE network signal is not ideal (many spots in San Francisco quality), or who are not willing or able to switch to T-Mobile (or Cingular later).

-         Mac users who just don’t want to wait for Pocket Mac to become available.

-         Finally, users who just don’t “click” with the BlackBerry Pearl. Usability and form factor are very subjective, so you won’t know whether the BlackBerry Pearl is for you until you take the test drive (put your hands on the device and see what it does for you).

Tomorrow, a new device, a new experience!

Day #35 of the 81-day experiment, the BlackBerry 8100 at its peak performance

BlackBerry or CrakBerry? Is the BlackBerry Pearl as addictive like its predecessors? Is it going to spread the addiction to the masses instead of being limited to the high-paid professionals who walk from conference room to conference room while staring at their BlackBerry screens looking for answers? Well if you want to learn more, and if you haven’t yet seen Wilson Rothman’s latest article in Time magazine about the BlackBerry Pearl titled “A Smart Phone for Dummies”, you can still see it online at:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1533450,00.html

Multi-Tasking

What is a smartphone good for if it doesn’t let you multi-task? So you’re talking on the phone and you want to take notes, or check calendar, or lookup a contact, or conference call with a third person? Or maybe you’re composing an e-mail and you want to look up calendar or check your notes or browse the web for some information? The BlackBerry Pearl does all this quite well.

Taking notes while on the phone?

Just to give you an example, when you’re on the phone (obviously while on the go and without the luxury of having your computer or a piece of paper handy) and decide that you need to capture some important notes, this capability is just two clicks away when you are using the BlackBerry Pearl.

You press the menu key, and from the menu select Notes. The call screen extends and allow you to type your notes. Well that is not all. When you finish the call, your note is saved, and it will appear in the Messages list where the call is logged. When you want to view or forward your notes to someone later, you know exactly where to look for it (by the way, for calls to be logged, you need to first enable call logging from the phone application options screen).

Browsing and the internet

So far the browsing on the BlackBerry Pearl has been fairly smooth, and as I described yesterday, the EDGE network that the BlackBerry Pearl by T-Mobile uses, seems to be 2 to 4 times faster than GPRS—not as fast as the EDVO network used by Verizon and Sprint but satisfactory for normal surfing.

Today, I tried to do the not-so-normal surfing which consisted of filling out a Web form (the same survey form that I used with the Treo 700p, Treo 700w, and Motorola Q earlier in the experiment). First of all the browsing experience and moving from link to link and field to field were quite pleasant. The BlackBerry Pearl browser takes you through the links and fields smoothly highlighting clearly the one that is currently selected. In addition, the Trackball makes this process easy and efficient.

The option buttons and checkboxes on the Web form however presented a problem. I wasn’t able to check them. I tried to select them and then click on the Trackball and I also tried the space key but neither of these worked. This wasn’t a problem for the Treo 700p and Treo 700w because of the stylus and the touch screen (I was able to use the stylus to click on the option button or checkbox on the touch screen) but it was a problem for the Motorola Q which did not have a stylus. This issue will probably require further research.

Attachments

The Excel spreadsheet attachment I received today was easy to work with. I could easily zoom, navigate around, and move from sheet to sheet. Editing attachments though such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint documents is not possible on the BlackBerry Pearl out-of-the-box. In the past, with previous BlackBerry modules, we used a third party add-on application called eOffice to edit such documents. I haven’t checked if this application is already available for the BlackBerry Pearl, but I imagine that such add-on’s will be available sooner or later.

The PDF attachment however took some time to download (the text downloaded fairly quickly but the images took a while as you would expect). I am not sure if the EDGE network is suitable for such downloads. For most users this is probably not a problem, but if you are expecting to view large images on your handheld, the EDGE network may not be your first choice.

Voice Dialing

The Voice Dialing capability in the BlackBerry Pearl is very similar to the one in the Motorola Q (see day 26). It was difficult for the voice recognition system to differentiate between Susan and Susanne, but otherwise, it was able to successfully pick up some contacts from the address book and dial their numbers.

Sending Voice Notes

Another nifty little application on the BlackBerry Pearl is the “Send Voice Note” application. I just sent a voice note via e-mail to someone and now waiting to see what will come back!

Driver-friendly smartphone

Was the BlackBerry Pearl designed with drivers in mind? Actually this may be true for many of today’s smartphones. As I was experimenting today with voice dialing and voice notes, this “driver friendly smartphone” idea came to mind.

With the BlackBerry Pearl, and smartphones with these capabilities, you can dial someone’s phone number with voice commands, or use a speed dial to check your voice mail (see day #32), send a voice note instead of typing an e-mail, find your way using the Maps application when you’re stranded someplace, and quickly type a short message using your AutoText abbreviations when you are stopped at a red light (even though this last one is not necessarily recommended).

With the BlackBerry Pearl, not only you can do all of the above, but you can do it with one hand. I find it actually more challenging to use the device with both hands, so it is almost assumed that you are using it with one hand.

Rearranging applications

One last thing I did today is to move the “Keyboard Lock” application to the top of the application menu, so that I can lock the keyboard quickly before I slide the BlackBerry Pearl in my pocket (instead of having to scroll down to the bottom of the menu).

Tomorrow is the last day for the BlackBerry Pearl, so I will be summarizing the last 9 days and then moving to the next device!