T-Mobile's BlackBerry Pearl 8120 gets dated, detailed

At this point, the 8120, RIM's next-generation Pearl for GSM networks is little more than a twinkle in the FCC's eye -- but T-Mobile's 'bout to turn this party out. The Reader's Digest version goes something like this: Hotspot @Home support, February 18. Where's the rest of the story? Why, over on Engadget Mobile, of course!

[modenadude @ Dec 16th 2007 10:50PM]

HotSpot @home on a BlackBerry?!! Awesome!!

[Deez N @ Dec 16th 2007 11:35PM]

Actually, the bb curve already has that capability. T-Mobile totally pawns the other carriers

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 17th 2007 10:20AM]

Yea... except for the whole "3G" thing...
You have fun with those dial-up speeds, buddy

[iii @ Dec 17th 2007 12:28AM]

is there alternative workaround to wifi, such as blue tooth network ?

[dweechin @ Dec 17th 2007 3:41AM]

So, I should expect the 8120 in TMO stores Feb. 18??? I sure as hell hope so since my AT&T contract will be at its halfway point, and AT&T will be pro-rating the early termination fee after January! Yes, I can't wait to ditch AT&T!

By the way - is the 'Reader's Digest' thing just a joke? I can't find any info supporting this.

[maxamillion92 @ Dec 17th 2007 4:37AM]

We've had it here in Canada for four weeks now, just got mine last week. Amazing phone! And the 2.0 megapixel camera takes great shots. I never had a QWERTY phone yet so that takes some getting used to but you NEED this phone.

[Bad Beaver @ Dec 17th 2007 4:47AM]

Duh, well, it has WiFi, so why not. I sent mine back already. It's a neat little device and the predictive texting is awesome, but somehow I don't like having to dish out another $40 so I can synchronize it with my Mac. The Mac software that comes with it is simply not working, so you pretty much have to buy Missing Sync.

[Vivek G. @ Dec 17th 2007 3:21PM]

I am so in for this, wow. WiFi in the Pearl makes it pretty much unbeatable, though the TMobile Shadow looks pretty decent too.

[Bryen @ Dec 18th 2007 8:24AM]

BlackBerrysoft.com one of the best place to buy Black Berry applications / games.

[John Ghabrikh @ Dec 18th 2007 8:26AM]

BlackBerrysoft.com one of the best place to buy Black Berryapplications / games

[striggity @ Dec 19th 2007 3:31PM]

D'oh! I just got a REGULAR Pearl. lol. Oh wells, looks like I'll be swapping out for this one come Febuary. Blackberry's rule!

[dweechin @ Jan 9th 2008 5:50PM]

Hey, does anyone know if the 8120 will have a flashplayer available? Internet usage is futile these days without it! I was unhappy when I found out there was no flashplayer for blackberrys! WiFi, EDGE, c'mon- where is the FLASHPLAYER!?!?

[Kraig @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:31AM]

I really can't wait anymore for this phone its has been way too long. I have had the pearl for a while now and I would like something new. Any ideas how much this will go for retail and also the difference in the price with a 2yr contract? Also I know it is going to have wifi. Thats real great in all but, that sucks bad! They gave it a WiFi anntenna instead of GPS!!! That just pisses me off! I dont give two S about wifi I already have edge, and I dont care about having a WiFi calling at my house or hotspots. I want GPS!

[Greg Scavezze @ Feb 18th 2008 12:59PM]

Well, it's the 18th, where the heck is the phone?

[hijump @ Feb 18th 2008 3:55PM]

Have there been any updates to release of this phone? All of the info on the web seems to be outdated, and tmo's site shows no new phone.

[dweechin @ Feb 18th 2008 6:29PM]

Some more googling will tell you that THE RELEASE DATE HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK TO LATE APRIL. I called tmobile and three of the reps I spoke with told me that boygenius was horribly wrong about the release date (although they all apparently know about boygenius's prediction). Supposedly they were to release a statement about his incorrect info. It's a shame. Oh well. If you want the next gen with GPS instead of WiFi, cross the Canadian border and head to a local Rogers Wireless store. I bought the 8110 (Pearl 2 GSM version of the 8130 with GPS and all of the updated goodies), and then I sold my unopened 8100 on ebay. Word of advice though - make sure you contact your credit card companies before spending more than $400 in Canada. They may suspect fraud and suspend your accounts! I learned that the hard way...

I predict the 8110 will be headed to AT&T. If you look at the BB release patterns, AT&T gets all of the GPS models, while TMO gets the WiFi ones (remember the curve).

[jtaclas @ Feb 19th 2008 10:42AM]

About crossing the border for GPS, did you need to have the device unlocked for use with t-mobile (or other domestic carrier), and if so, did they do that in-store? Does the GPS service require some manner of subscription with rogers, or does it work independently?

and I agree that the trend of TMO getting wi-fi models should hold, as they my start a heavier branding effort for their hotspot@home.

[dweechin @ Feb 19th 2008 2:03PM]

Actually, Rogers does not do unlocking anymore. Period. At least, that is what they told me. I know - it's a little ridiculous. I had to take it back to the states and have it unlocked online via IMEI. It cost me a good $40.

Rogers does not block the GPS feature, however you will notice that BB Maps does not show up on the phone. It is installed, but Rogers doesn't show it because the want you to sign up for their service This is unnecessary, since the phone's GPS feature does work independently. I had to do a couple of work-arounds (thank you blackberryforums!) to get it to show up. If you don't need BB maps, just download google maps or some other third party app and it should detect the GPS in the phone.

Good luck!