In case you hadn’t noticed, the smart phone is no longer just a buttoned-down business tool for 
executives. Manufacturers have been working very hard to broaden this jack-of-all-trades device’s appeal to get everyone from students to soccer moms (and dads) hooked. The [tag]BlackBerry Pearl[/tag], available exclusively from T-Mobile for $199, is the perfect case-in-point.
BEST FOR Style-obsessed hipsters who want the most portable keyboard phone possible.
DESIGN The very sexy Pearl repudiates every dour smart phone aesthetic. The glossy black finish, bright 240 x 260-pixel color screen, and silver side bezels radiate style. At 3.2 ounces and half an inch thick, the Pearl is like two stacked iPod nanos. The old BlackBerry scroll wheel has been replaced by a trackball seemingly borrowed from the SideKick 3; as a navigation tool the ball is intuitive and very sensitive. :: LAPTOP Magazine • BlackBerry Pearl ::