A little over a month ago, I gushed in my review of the BlackBerry Pearl - the new, sleek and sexy smartphone from RIM. It was my first long-term experience with a BlackBerry and I was hooked - so much so that I abandoned my trusty Treo and adopted a Pearl as my primary phone.

Now, along comes the new BlackBerry 8800 to succeed the trusted 8700 series used by so many in the business world. Sharing a design similarity with the Pearl, but adding a full keyboard and a larger screen and larger size, the 8800 is the "New" BlackBerry we will most likely be seeing quite a lot of in the future. How does the Pearl's "Big Brother" stand up? Should I have waited and bought the 8800 instead of the Pearl? Read on for my thoughts.

Last year, it seemed that Research In Motion was at a crossroads - facing serious litigation that threatened to shut down their famous e-mail service, it looked like they might just about be at the end of their trackwheel. Well, they have emerged as possibly the fastest growing Smartphone manufacturer with lots of new, eye catching models released and more on the way. They did come to the end of their "trackwheel" however, as the famous trackball AKA the "Pearl" is now present on their flagship business device.

About RIM

Here are the features and specification for the BlackBerry 8800 from the RIM web site:

Features Available

The BlackBerry 8800 features complete functionality, including*:

• BlackBerry® Maps
• Media Player
• Corporate Data Access 1
• Wireless Email
• Organizer
• Wireless Calendar 1
• Phone
• SMS
• MMS
• Wireless Internet
• Paging
• GPS-enabled for Location-based Services

• 64 MB of memory and expandable memory via microSD card*
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• The tethered modem capability lets you use the smartphone as a wireless modem for your laptop or PC**
• Dedicated Send, End and Mute keys, a trackball navigation system, plus user definable convenience keys
• Speakerphone and Voice Activated Dialing
• High capacity battery
• Bluetooth® capability for hands-free dialogue via headsets and car kits
• Stereo headset capable
• Integrated attachment viewing
• Compatibility with popular Personal Information Management (PIM) software
• High resolution, light sensing screen that adjusts lighting levels automatically for ideal indoor and outdoor viewing
• Easy email set-up directly from your BlackBerry 8800 via the set-up wizard

Enterprise friendly

The BlackBerry 8800 works with your organization’s BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution to provide enterprise class functionality, including:

• Advanced security features
• Push delivery of data from corporate applications
• Remote address look-up
• Wireless synchronization with corporate PIM tools
• Single mailbox integration

Unlike traditional mobile phones, the BlackBerry 8800 can be centrally managed and supported by IT departments.

Specifications