[catberryday]

My first blackberry is the 9700 so I am not familiar with the pearl at all. I am thinking of getting my husband a blackberry because he keeps wanting to use my phone but he thinks the keys on my phone are too small and the he doesn't really need a blackberry. I was wondering if the pearl might be a decent alternative for him because it looks more like a regular phone. Basically he needs a phone for tracking medications, facebook, and following sports. So my questions are:

1) What is suretype? And can someone with little patience learn it easily?

2) How rugged is the phone?

3) Are the keys super small?

As soon as I can I plan on getting to a store to play with one. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions.

[californiablackberry]

' SureType combines a traditional telephone keypad with a QWERTY-based keyboard to create a non-standard way to input text on a cell phone. In addition, SureType contains a list of 35,000 English words, so when a user types the beginning of a word, all the possible words which start with those letters show up on the screen. Additional words can also be added to the word list. '

' It’s peculiar a wave pattern where entire rows are sculpted for excellent touch orientation. Keys are well spaced out and clicky enough. It’s a fine keypad for quick typing and there are some rare perks too: Backspace and Enter keys. '

Answers to questions one and two are above.
I think all Blackberry's in general are pretty rugged.
I mean, my 9650 has taken a few hits to the concrete and it's still good.
But I have a hard case on it so, it differs.

[BergerKing]

The keys on a Pearl are larger than those on a Qwerty. There are men that prefer the keyboard size of the Pearl, so it isn't that unusual.

Most of the Pearls have been solid devices, but will last longer when protected.

A SureType keyboard basically has 2 letter characters per key. It can use predictive text to try and guess what the user is trying to say, therefore saving time once you get used to using it.

Research In Motion - SureType Technology

As you can see, the trackpad has replaced the trackball, and they've made the newer versions a lot more powerful than the old 8100 series.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[zocster]

loving my pearl 3g, there is nothing like it, it is a real pocket communicator. small, and does everything a blackberry can ... and to be honest, we are having less problems than the 9700 when it comes to the leaked OS 6 I guess because it's newer.

[anon(106603)]

if that's all he needs to do, don't waste the capabilities of any BB model. Get a phone that doesn't require a data plan and has a keyboard that meets his requirements to do what you described.

as you said - he doesn't need a BB.

[catberryday]

Thank you to everyone for your help. Sounds like the only hurdle for him to use this phone is to learn suretype.

if that's all he needs to do, don't waste the capabilities of any BB model. Get a phone that doesn't require a data plan and has a keyboard that meets his requirements to do what you described.

as you said - he doesn't need a BB.

It is more he is saying he doesn't need a blackberry than I am but he keeps wanting to use my phone for more and more things. Unfornately using facebook and following sports does require the use of data. Most phones now days at least on ATT require some sort of data plan. I also want to get him a quality phone that will last. The last two phones he used he has beat up pretty bad. They fall out of his pocket when he is getting in or out of a vehicle. The other phone I was looking at is the Motorola Tundra but for the price ($180) compared to a blackberry ($200) with a new contract I think he would be happier with the blackberry. Thanks again for everyone's help!

[Laura Knotek]

If somebody needs a rugged case to prevent damage from dropping, the Otterbox Defender is probably the best choice.

[devnicolem]

I think he will get used to suretype. I came from using a sidekick on tmobile (phone with a really nice full keyboard) to the first bb pearl and i got used to it within a week. I've had other blackberries like the bold 9700 and 9000 with full keyboards, and I still love the predictive text on my pearl 9100, and don't see the switch from full keyboard to suretype a problem. It's a great little phone that packs everything a normal blackberry can do into a smaller phone i love it

[Pmungus]

Your husband should get used to the Suretype pretty quickly - in fact anyone spending a modest amount of time with its keypad would. I even find the key layout and size pretty good, even for my big fingers! If he spends a few moments with the custom dictionary inputting some choice words that the phone may not immediately recognise, text input will be on the whole a fast and hassle free affair. And might I add, I was impressed (and just quietly a little concerned) with the vocabulary my 9100 had BEFORE I taught it some sailor speak...