Optus and Research In Motion have recently announced plans to launch the new BlackBerry Pearl smartphone in Australia. 

The feature-rich BlackBerry Pearl comes complete with digital camera, multimedia capabilities and an expandable memory slot. It integrates support for phone, email and data. Measuring 107mm x 50mm x 14.5mm and weighing approximately 89g, the BlackBerry Pearl is one of the smallest and lightest smartphones in the world.

The BlackBerry Pearl delivers features, such as Speaker Independent Voice Recognition for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD) and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones. It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth 2.0 support for hands-free headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver.

Featuring a 1.3 megapixel camera with built-in flash and 5x digital zoom, the BlackBerry Pearl allows users to easily snap a picture and instantly share it with friends and family via email, MMS or BlackBerry Messenger.  Photos can also be set as caller ID images, and can be easily transferred between the handset and a computer using the included USB cable.

The BlackBerry Pearl also comes with a media player and stereo headset jack so users can enjoy their favorite music and videos.  MP3 and ACC music files and MPEG4 and H.263 video files are supported.

Images appear vivid and crisp on the BlackBerry Pearl’s large, ultra-bright, high resolution (240x260) display. Built-in light sensing technology automatically adjusts the keyboard and screen brightness for optimum viewing in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.   The BlackBerry Pearl also introduces an intuitive user interface with a responsive trackball that makes vertical and lateral scrolling fast and easy. RIM’s popular SureType keyboard technology allows users to type messages and dial phone numbers quickly and easily.

The BlackBerry Pearl is supported on BlackBerry Internet Service as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, with a new set of IT policy controls on the latter to allow IT departments to manage camera and expansion memory usage in a corporate setting.

The BlackBerry Pearl is expected to be available at Optus in early December. For more information, visit www.BlackBerryPearl.com or 1300 678 872.

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