When SureType can't guess correctly--perhaps you're typing in an unusual name--you can override the incorrect choices. Doing so does take some getting used to, and it also slows you down a bit. It's admittedly not a perfect solution, but it's a lot better than other typing options I've seen on handsets that don't have QWERTY hardware keyboards, and it makes messaging and e-mail eminently feasible. (You can also opt for more traditional keypad typing in the device's preferences menu.)

The 240-by-260 display is small, yet very crisp and clear. On-screen colors dimmed in bright sunlight, but the content was always readable. Navigation was straightforward using the swiveling Pearl trackball, the menu button, and the back buttons on either side of it. The device has volume controls and a camera button on the right side; on the left is a port for charging and USB connections, and a rubbery Push-to-Talk button.

Easy Setup

BlackBerrys are known for their excellent support of corporate e-mail platforms, and the Pearl 8120 is no exception. It took only a few minutes to sync my Lotus Notes address book, calendar, and to-do list via the included USB cable. Users with access to push mail via a BlackBerry Enterprise Server will be up and running in a few moments more; otherwise, the 8120 can set up accounts with popular Web, POP3, and IMAP servers very quickly.

The 8120 does an admirable job with all routines for enabling its features--I found its Wi-Fi setup, for instance, a snap, simple and straightforward. However, I had mixed feelings about RIM's super-minimalist Web browser. It strips out almost all formatting but headlines, text, and a few images. I loved that it appears to get rid of ads; and the pages came in superfast and were easy to read. But without layout and images, all of the sites started to look the same.

The 8120's two-megapixel still camera took pretty good photos, especially in low-light situations where its built-in flash really made a difference. And the device's software made it easy to crop a portrait for use as a thumbnail that appears on the screen when that person calls.

The camera's 5X digital zoom was not impressive, though, and while this is the first Pearl to capture video, the clip I shot was rather grainy when I played it back on my PC.

However, the 8120's other multimedia features were outstanding, especially for a handset this small. My favorite feature wasn't even on the handset: The bundled Music Manager application went well beyond the usual PC-to-handset copying capabilities of these types of programs. It figured out which tunes were DRM-free and therefore worth transferring (most other apps can't tell the difference, and I've wound up with many unplayable files).