Techno Sider

Bharti Airtel (Airtel) and Research in Motion (RIM) have just announced the new BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smart phone in India.

The small and stylish smart phone sports a Titanium finish, and weighs about 91g. It packs a 2 mega pixels digital camera with 5x digital zoom and enhanced flash that supports video capture in two resolutions (240 x 180/176 x 144) as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The new BlackBerry sports an updated visual interface, and integrates a new font rendering technology. The Browser is further enhanced with a new 'Page View' option that displays a full Web page on the screen along with a magnifying glass that allows the user quickly and accurately point out to- and zoom-in on- specific areas.

The 8120 features trackball navigation system, and an enhanced SureType keyboard system, which provides for word completion, easier editing, plus a built-in spell checker.

The phone offers advanced features such as: Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD); Bluetooth 2.0 support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, and other Bluetooth peripherals; a low-distortion speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3, and MIDI ring tones; and an 'enhance call audio' feature that allows users boost the phone audio's bass or treble while on call.

The 8120's built-in media player will now allow users to create and edit play lists right on their handsets. Alternatively, they can manage their media files from their PCs, using the Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry. The phone supports Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP), and comes with a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack for users to plug-in their preferred head phones or speakers.

Besides, it provides the convenience of an externally accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot for additional storage of music, videos, and pictures. It is compliant with most Wi-Fi security protocols, and supports high-speed USB for transferring files between the handset and the PC at data throughput rates of up to 10MB/sec.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120, which is supported on the BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server, is available for Rs 24,990 at all Airtel Relationship Centers and retail outlets.