BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 early review: Email for small hands

Update: Our full BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 review is now on the site.

BlackBerry has always specialised in Qwerty keyboards, but it's branching out with the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9105 -- its first phone with a traditional alphanumeric keyboard.

The lack of BlackBerry buttons makes the Pearl a centimetre narrower than the Bold 9700, the current top-of-the-line 'Berry. But it has all the features of the Bold, as well as a little extra in the form of 802.11n Wi-Fi. It's also got b and g flavours of Wi-FI, GPS and HSDPA, for speedy downloads over 3G.

The Pearl 3G is pitched at people who prefer the traditional keyboard but still crave the email prowess of a BlackBerry. Rest assured that's all in place, including reliable push email and BlackBerry Messenger, which gives you free instant messages to other BlackBerries, for free, anywhere in the world.

The Pearl's shiny case, range of colour options and small size could make it a good choice for anyone looking to join the BlackBerry massive without looking like a suited-and-booted business type. 

The Pearl 3G is escaping the oyster and landing in shops in early summer, but RIM hasn't announced how much we'll expect to pay for this gem -- if that's not hopelessly mixing jewellery metaphors. 

Watch our video hands-on below then click 'Continue' for more of the Pearl 3G's fruity features. 

Despite the small screen, the Pearl 3G has the usual BlackBerry menu, navigated with a very responsive optical trackpad.

The Pearl 3G has access to the BlackBerry app store, which doesn't have the selection of some other stores, and tends to be more expensive too.

A 3.2-megapixel camera with an LED photo light graces the back of the Pearl 3G.

Handy media buttons on the top of the phone mean you can control the music or video without having to unlock the phone.