3. BlackBerry Goes Multimedia

The Pearl's camera is only 1.3 megapixels but the it takes good photos, especially in daylight.

The 1.3 megapixel camera takes photos with good color and reasonable detail and the controls are simple and intuitive, using the trackball for zoom and giving you automatic or manual flash. You get the best results in daylight rather than indoors and the zoom is surprisingly effective. This is a good megapixel camera but 1.3 megapixels is the basic resolution you'd expect in a phone; RIM claims that's what users in focus groups wanted but 2 and 3 megapixel phones from other vendors are selling well. The microSD slot is hidden away under the battery, so you can't easily switch cards. Businesses can use standard security policies to turn off both the camera and card slot if they're against company rules.

The camera and charging contacts are all you see on the back of the Pearl.

The media player on the Pearl is definitely a first generation application. The screen gives you clear, bright and colorful images for photos and videos but there's no way of getting rid of the menu and title bar when you're watching a video (although you can see images full screen). And while playing and pausing by pressing the trackball is very intuitive, there's no way to fast forward or rewind within a track. The sound is excellent and the stereo headset is good quality, with a pause button on the microphone so you don't have to fumble to turn the music off when you get a call.