Pearl 17th Most Innovative in 2006

Posted
by
Steve St. Pierre
on December 28, 2006, at 1:19 PM
in News
.
Comments: 4 responses
4 Comments

bbpearl.jpgWe’ll save the pleasantries – I’m back. But more importantly, the Pearl has been listed by PC World as one of the most innovative products in 2006. PC World compiled a list of “intriguing, often useful, and sometimes surprising” products, and the Pearl was able to slide in at lucky number 17.

“We’ve seen business-oriented smart phones and multimedia phones, but the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 brings those two worlds together and backs everything up with RIM’s network, which is still the best for always-on connectivity. The sleek Pearl ($350 from T-Mobile) adds a 1.3-megapixel camera, an audio player, and a video player to the usual BlackBerry features. Caveats: The unit lacks a full QWERTY keyboard, and its trackball navigation and compact keys can be awkward.”

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  • L. M. Lloyd

    I find it really interesting how much praise the Pearl is getting. Having played with a couple of them, they really don’t seem like that big an improvement over other contemporary BlackBerries, yet people really are taking it as some revolutionary new device.

    I often wonder if it is simply an issue of people who would normally ignore the BlackBerry because it is ugly, noticing it for the first time because they put out a pretty design?

    Aside from the obvious trackball, I have a hrd time coming up with anything the Pearl offers that is an innovative addition to the BlackBerry platform. All of its features seem like pretty predictable steps in the direction RIM has been heading for a few years now.

  • L. M. Lloyd

    I find it really interesting how much praise the Pearl is getting. Having played with a couple of them, they really don’t seem like that big an improvement over other contemporary BlackBerries, yet people really are taking it as some revolutionary new device.

    I often wonder if it is simply an issue of people who would normally ignore the BlackBerry because it is ugly, noticing it for the first time because they put out a pretty design?

    Aside from the obvious trackball, I have a hrd time coming up with anything the Pearl offers that is an innovative addition to the BlackBerry platform. All of its features seem like pretty predictable steps in the direction RIM has been heading for a few years now.

  • Thought

    Lloyd: I think you hit the nail on the head: it’s the design.

    Design matters big time. Tom Peters as remarked that design is often the differentiator between life or death for a product.

    I know of your skepticism regarding the success of the iPod, but one thing you will have to admit is this: the design of the iPod has become a cultural icon. In short, design made the iPod.

  • Thought

    Lloyd: I think you hit the nail on the head: it’s the design.

    Design matters big time. Tom Peters as remarked that design is often the differentiator between life or death for a product.

    I know of your skepticism regarding the success of the iPod, but one thing you will have to admit is this: the design of the iPod has become a cultural icon. In short, design made the iPod.