BlackBerry 8110

Editor's Review of the 8110

The BlackBerry 8110 is the latest device in the BlackBerry Pearl series, being preceded by the 8120 and before that the BlackBerry 8100. BlackBerry have made no noticeable changes to the handset since the 8120 except for the addition of GPS and removal of Wi-Fi. We take a closer look at the BlackBerry 8110 to see whether this might be as successful as its predecessors.

Released in February 2008, the BlackBerry 8110 looks almost exactly the same as the BlackBerry 8100 released in September 2006, and identical to the BlackBerry 8120 from October 2007. So the initial question is, why is the layout so perfect that BlackBerry doesn't feel the need to change anything?

At 107mm in length, 50mm in width and 91g in weight the BlackBerry 8110 is not too bulky. We do however think it is a bit too thick at 14.5mm in depth. Produced in 10 different colours (although we've only seen 3 so far in the UK) the 8110 is smart and a slightly wide version of the standard candy bar shaped mobile phone handset. So why is it only slightly wide; isn't this a BlackBerry? The answer is the not so new 20 key SureType QWERTY keyboard (compared to 35 keys on a full BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard). This was first introduced on the BlackBerry 7100 way back in 2004 although BlackBerry did significantly improve the look of the handset in moving from that series to the Pearl 8100 series. Anyway, that keyboard has 2 letters on most of the top 3 rows of keys, and it uses SureType software to predict the word you are trying to type just like predictive texting on normal mobile phones. It takes a while to get used to but the typing is faster than on a normal mobile phone so it's a great design if you don't want the extra size of the BlackBerry 8300 or 8800 series.

Above the keypad is a trackball. This again is something that takes some getting used to, especially if you've used other BlackBerrys that rely on the scroller on the side of the unit. But after a couple of days, the trackball on the BlackBerry 8110 really does speed things up, especially as you're able to move up and down or sideways through menus and when browsing the internet or documents.

For a business handset, the camera on the 8110 is surprisingly good at 2 megapixels with video recording capability and with an LED flash. But compared to a non business mobile phone costing anywhere near as much, this camera is decidedly poor. The quality of images was simply not very good, and the LED light only offered limited improvement to indoor pictures. This attempt at a camera feature seems somewhat half hearted, to please the people who ask for a handset with a camera in a store, but with the potentially correct belief that its not a major requirement for the target market. The BlackBerry 8110 can also play music and video files and we impressed to see a standard 3.5mm jack for plugging in your own headphones. To be honest, the 1.9 inch 65k colour screen provides a pretty good viewing experience.

So on to the major feature introduced by the BlackBerry Pearl 8110, an inbuilt GPS receiver. The handset comes with BlackBerry maps that provides a decent location service, similar to that provided by the Nokia Maps applicationg, but it is not so great for navigation on-the-fly. For that, you need to turn to third party software such as Garmin Mobile. We found that the handset was really very fast at picking up the satellites and keeping them whilst driving and the audio is sufficient unless you drive an SUV with the windows down. The screen however was a bit small for our tastes when used for in-car navigation, although it was not bad.

The advantages of the BlackBerry do show when it comes to managing documents, although some users might prefer a unit with Windows Mobile. In any case, on to email handling, the powerhouse of the BlackBerry. The software is fast and easy to use. What was not so impressive is that on occasions the handset would hang for a moment when starting new applications. Also unimpressive was the speed of downloading emails and browsing the web. The BlackBerry 8110 doesn't even have 3G let alone HSDPA so when compared to the newer Samsung and Nokia smartphones, it doesn't really match up. True it's more comfortable for email handling, but speed matters also.

The BlackBerry 8110 made a worthy addition of GPS to the Pearl series. However, we would have preferred to see a greater leap of faith by BlackBerry. It's fine that they haven't changed the layout of the Pearl handset in almost 2 years. What's not fine is that they haven't made the necessary upgrades to the specifications to prevent sluggish software or poor download speeds. That said, the BlackBerry 8110 is a great compromise for a business mobile phone, it just could and should have been better.