Presented in a striking black finish, the sleek and elegant BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone integrates GPS (Global Positioning System) along with powerful communications and multimedia capabilities. It is one of the smallest and lightest smartphones available, and is designed for people who want to make the most of their work and personal lives.
The phone's built-in GPS with Vodafone SatNav, powered by Telmap SatNav technology, enables users to find an address and track their location simply and easily as the route is displayed on a 3D map, together with audible step-by-step directions.
It features an intuitive trackball and visual interface, along with the popular SureType keyboard system, which allows a narrower handset design while maintaining easy dialling and typing. SureType now offers word completion, easier editing of misspelled words and a built-in spell checker. The smartphone also features Afrikaans as a language setting.
The media player allows users to create and edit playlists right on the handset. Alternatively, users can manage their media files from their PC with the Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry, which is included with the phone's Desktop Manager software. The Roxio software is based on the award-winning Roxio Easy Media Creator 9, making it easy for users to search for media files on their computer, view and organise them, create MP3 music files from CDs, create playlists, add audio tags and album art, and convert files for optimal playback.
The BlackBerry supports the Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP), and comes with a standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack so that users can plug in their preferred headphones or speakers. The handset also provides the convenience of an externally accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot for additional storage of music, videos and pictures. The device from Vodacom includes a 1GB microSD card. It also supports high-speed USB for transferring files between the handset and a PC at data throughput rates of up to 10MB/sec.
It also includes features that improve phone audio quality including enhanced background noise, wind and echo cancellation for better performance in loud environments such as airports or busy streets. An 'enhance call audio' feature allows the user to boost the phone audio's bass or treble while on a call.
This BlackBerry sports a 2 megapixel camera with 5X digital zoom and enhanced flash. The camera also supports video capture in two resolutions (240x180 or 176x144) for sharing via email or MMS. Roxio Photosuite 9 LE is also included, making it easier to create photo albums and edit pictures.
It can be used with BlackBerry Internet Service, giving users access to up to 10 supported work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which enables push-based wireless access to email and other applications along with advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.
The smartphone offers many other convenient features including:
- Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialling (VAD);
- Bluetooth 2.0 with support for headsets, car kits and Bluetooth peripherals;
- dedicated 'send', 'end', and 'mute' keys;
- smart dialling, speed dialling, conference calling, call forwarding;
- a low-distortion speakerphone for hands-free conversations, and;
- support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.
The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone is available from Vodacom outlets beginning February 2008 on selected Vodacom contracts.
