Grab your Alltel BlackBerry 8130 Pearl now
By Will Park on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 10:29 PM PST In Alltel, Announcements, Devices, RIM (Research in Motion)
Alltel’s finally joining the BlackBerry 8130 Pearl-party with today’s announcement that the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Pearl 2 is now available to all Alltel subscribers. If you’re not familiar with the BlackBerry 8130 Pearl by now, well, you should have been paying attention - there’s going to be a quiz at the end of all this.
Anyway, this SureType successor to the original BlackBerry Pearl will be bringing that 2 megapixel camera and integrated GPS receiver to Alltel’s “Largest Network.” There’s also that regular 3.5mm headphone jack, microSDHC card slot, all packed into the Alltel-only Amethyst (we call it “Blue”) colored body. A 2-year contract and a rebate will net you an Alltel-flavored BlackBerry 8130 Pearl for about $150.
I got my Pearl the day after it came out. So far so good. I replaced my HTC6800 which was nothing but problems from the start.
The pearl keyboard takes some getting used to but even after just over 24 hours, I can tell that practice makes perfect.
The camera seems to work pretty well, and with it taking a micro sd card I was able to continue using the one I already had.
One issue I realized is that the phone currently does not have the ability to send pictures/audio files via text messages (MMS). The pearl on other carriers does have this functionality.
I called Alltel and was told the software for MMS functionality was still being worked on but they could not provide an ETA.
I too replaced the HTC which was a hassle. However, I have not been much happier with the Blackberry Pearl.
It keeps erasing my SMS Messages and my Call Logs. I did a master reset on the phone yesterday, hoping that it will help. Also, the fact that I cant send and recieve picture messages, is also a major problem for me…hopefully they will work that out sooner than later. And yes, the keyboard totally took some getting used to!!!!!!!!!!!
Man I cant send picture messages or receive messages. And I really miss the video message jokes. Alltel needs to hurry up and fix this problem.
I just replaced my kRzr today with the Pearl. I must say it’s not very attractive… this “blue” shade is typical Alltel, very poor on the looks scale compared to phones on other carriers.
I was halfway through the purchase of the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition but went to find the camera (friends and I send a lot of pictures back and forth) and was shocked that there wasn’t one! So I got the Pearl. They failed to mention something’s up with the ability to send and recieve picture messages. I could have the World Edition in my hands! Not this piece of crap.
Any idea when this will be fixed?
Hello TJ! I FEEL YOUR PAIN! I am thinking as we speak - why didnt I just keep my cute little flip phone and leave well enough alone! I have had so many problems with this phone in three weeks it doesnt make any sense! I have had it replaced once already and its just not doing what I need it to do.
As far as picture messaging (which is a biggie in my life!) they told me it “should” be fixed by first quarter…what the heck does that mean??
Also, not to add insult to injury - make sure you do a backup of your phone regularly! The phone will systematically ERASE ALL OF YOUR SMS MESSAGES AND YOUR CALL LOG - FOR NO REASON!!!!!!!!! I have my phone set to save my messages FOREVER and I still lose my messages and call log at least twice a week
As a matter of fact, it just happened to me last night! Oh I am pissed.
Unfortunately, I sent in my rebate form before it started deleting my stuff or I would have just returned it!!
BTW the erasing of messages is also a software issue that they are working on
OMG. this pearl is making me mad. I ALWAYS PICTURE MESSAGE and now I cant. Yes it is making me mad, but I have also turned my rebate in and I wish I would have just kept my razr, which I miss tremendously. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY THE INTERNET IS SO POOR? like I paid so much for this phone to get the better options, and the internet isnt even a real page. WHY??
within the quarter means hopefully by March. THEY NEED TO HURRY UP!
there is an upside to this phone, i keep leaving things out, there is a website: crackberry.com. where blackberry users can download free ringtones and wallpaper on their phones via blackberry email.
@ Brie. Downloading Free ringtones is very easy w/ just about any phone nowadays with opera/firefox and an extension or two. Download any ringtone I want off of any site just about for free.
Hello All. After getting fussed out by my boyfriend for not returning his calls and texts that I never saw because my phone deleted them…I took that Blackberry Pearl back to the store. I had also already sent in my rebate, but because of the software issues that the store i purchased mine from was not aware of, they helped me out a great deal and I went bak to my HTC which I absolutely love this time around. Good Luck to all of you - but im sending Picture Messages again and Loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For all you pearl users out there. There is no planned “update” for MMS. It is a system flaw, any of the “smart phones” (besides the 8600) cannot and there is no plan to have that fixed. The workaround is to send it to the phones email.
Also http://www.tuneusin.com is a free ringtone site
good luck to all of you with the pearl
I’ve been wanting a pearl for a while now, so when I found out Alltel was finally getting it I was so excited! I got it as soon as I possibly could and I was totally in love with it…that was a few months ago and to be honest I still like the phone alot but I really don’t like that my sms messages and call log get deleted every few days even though I have it set up to hold the messages for 2 months!
I also didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t send picture messages and it took me about an hour to figure out that I should send and recieve them via email. Its a bit of a hassle but I definitely believe its better than not having the ability to send and recieve pictures at all.
Does any one know, with absolte certainty, if Alltel will be fixing the sms and call log problem any time soon?
I just got off the phone with an Alltel representative and they informed me that for those of you who have been having the problem with your sms messages and call logs getting deleted that it is in fact a program error on the phone but if you follow these simple steps you SHOULD have less problems with it:
go to Options > Auto on /off > enable both weekend and week day and set the turn on time for 12 am or midnight(both the same thing) and turn off at 11:59 pm > press menu and save then once you are done with that pull the battery out of the phone then put it back in.
Once you’ve done that there shouldn’t be any more problems (I can’t say for sure if it will work or not because i was just informed about it a few minutes ago) but I hope this information may be useful for other pearl users
Hey you guys…i don’t have a blackberry pearl but i am thinking about getting one so thanks 4the tips.
how can i send a text message to multiple contacts without creating a distro list?
Hey everyone! I have a blackberry pearl too, and when I first got it I was having the same problem with the deleting of my call log and SMS messages.so I called up a representative and they told me that if you don’t have a micro sd memory card your phone only has so much memory and once you use it all or its almost used up, your call log and SMS messages will start deleting by itself to try and clear up some memory.to keep this from happening you can either buy a memory card or you can just delete unnecessary things on your phone every so often to prevent this from happening to your phone.
The call log / SMS deletion issue can be commonly found on the web when searching for the term “memory leak.” Essentially, there is a flaw with the phone’s software that keeps if from managing its internal memory efficiently.
Alltel’s current “fix” for the problem is suggesting that user’s add a microSD card and store photos, etc on it to free up memory on the device. I further suggest to delete un-needed applications and unused languages from the phone’s memory. Finally, any programs that are set to ‘pull’ info from the web such as RSS readers or the wildly popular VIGO should be temporarily uninstalled until RIM releases an update for the phone.
(I have also been using the auto on / auto off feature and have it set to about 3AM when I am usually asleep. This also tends to free up extra memory. The attempt of one previous user to set his or her emails to never delete will actually have the opposite effect than what is desired. Tried shortening the time so that messages are deleted more frequently. You can also save individual messages; this way, you can keep the important ones and have the phone automatically delete the day-to-day stuff.)
The auto delete is because you have to many pics, ringtones stored to your phone. If you get a memorycard and move them you wont have that problem. If you fill your phone up with crap, the bb will delete it so you can still use it without a trememdous slow down. As far as a full browser name one phone that does. the iphone is close but none to my knowlege support flash (not even the iphone). That is just the way all of them are. Even windows mobile isnt a full browser. If you do a little research before you buy, you wont have problems. Oh and give me a razr with all the screen and unable to charge problems, Yeah that is a better phone. Motorola needs to step up and do a massive recall on those P.O.S
Hey everyone i am thinking of purchasing this pearl i wanted to know if its worth it. is the internet actually internet or some crappy look a like and have they fixed the pic sending problem because you stopped mentioning it.
well i hate to badmouth but honestly i was told when i bought the phone that by the end of the month the video and pic text issue was going to be fixed. that was in Feb. i have called no less than once a week since haveing it to hear the same ol.i was not told about the deleteing of calls and text untill i had to learn that the hard way. i have the mem card and still have problems. also i couldn’t send and or view video even through e-mail and was informed via Alltel support that was not pos. i have to take the Bat. out about every 3 days to get it working like it should agian. i am seriously considering throwing it as far as i can. lol na but i want to some days!!! i think i’m going to raise a little fuss and see it they will exchange it for a Htc since i have been told that is will send and receive video and pic. i was informed by the alltel support rep the last time i called (today) that they have no idea if the problem will be fixed!
upset and lied to O-0
Still no news?
My SMS messages and call log got deleted yesterday for the first time, and now they never save. I was going to take it back cause I had no idea what was happening, and wouldn’t have if I didn’t find this page. So thank you for the help
I am soooo angry with this phone right now
I’ve had my pearl 8130 for 4 months now and keep having the same problem with my call logs, messages, etc. This website had some great tips concerning leaving applications open, which depletes memory space.
http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/text-messages-email-call-logs-disappearing-insufficient-application-space-keep-getting-a-tumbling-hourglass/
I’ve taken my phone in three times to try and fix this problem, and I get a different explanation each time, it’s extremely frustrating.
Samantha is correct. That is a VERY COOL site.
I don’t think Alltel knows how nor wants to fix the picture sending problem. I have a friend with a Pearl who has a different service provider and she’s had NO problems. I’ve called several times because it deletes EVERYTHING, call log, even SAVED messages.. they just tell me to take the battery out everyday. Is that not ridiculous? And the picture problem… they said that you just have to email pictures. Ok but I want to send pictures from my phone to another phone… not to someone’s email that they can’t access until they’re near a computer… like normal picture messaging. Alltel seems to be great at making it sound like they love and take care of their customers.. but once you are one they couldn’t care less about you. I would say NO don’t get the Blackberry.. far more problems than benefits.
Just an FYI - I am not sure if I posted this before or not - BUT I went to Alltel and raised a fuss because I am such a picture message freak!! I told them that it wasnt fair for me to be stuck with a phone that does not do what it is supposed to do and I had gotten mine within that first week that it came out. And they did allow me to switch into the HTC 6800 with the full keyboard…but I had to go into my hometown corporate store - they wouldnt do it over the telephone…so hope this helps!!!! And yes Scott, I am able to send and recieve picture messages!
Hi I have a question I recently purchased a blackberry pearl and i’m trying to set up my email on it through @alltel.blackberry.com, but I can’t figure it out. When I click the email set up wizard it only gives me the option to set up a blackberry enterprise server email through my work, but in my instruction booklet it shows I should be able to add my blackberry email through the set up wizard can anyone help?????
you can download picture messaging programs from the internet. search for blackberry 8130 programs
I was the first to post on this thread when I got my Pearl in December. In addition, I convinced my Fiance to switch to Alltel and get a Pearl.
We both have experienced the Memory Leak issue constantly . As is readily found online, it is a defect in the phone that none of the companies will freel tell you about. It was only recently that an Alltel Tech Support person told me that they had received a memo indicating the Phone Log / SMS erasing issue MAY be memory related.
Blackberry does have a cool service “Blackberry Messenger” which is used based on a BB phones unique PIN number. You can send pictures and voice notes through this service, but you are limited to other BB phones. It does not matter which service they use though.
The inability to send pictured via text is extremely frustrating. I was told they were working on fixing it but that the phone was released quickly to make the X-Mas buying season. Well it is now May and still nothing.
Recently my fiance and I went to the store, they are having replacement phones sent to us. I am hesitant since the phone hardware has not been modified and neither has the OS, so this is a waste of my time. Unfortunately, this is the step that must be taken in order to force them to move you to another phone. This was the process I had to follow when I had so much trouble with my HTC6800.
I see now they have the Curve out, wonder if that runs any better?
Also, I downloaded the program referenced above. It is not a fix, but it is as effective as pulling the battery out with only pressing two buttons, so it makes the other issues a tiny bit easier to contend with.
http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/text-messages-email-call-logs-disappearing-insufficient-application-space-keep-getting-a-tumbling-hourglass/
Here is an article about a very useful application for freeing up memory. Highly recommended:
http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/app-review-softreset-a-silver-bullet/.
hi!
well, i was kind of wanting the pearl, but with all the stuff going on with it i’m really hesitant. i have a razr and i love it, but the darn thing breaks too easy and gets crappy service where i’m going to college, but good service at home *about 2 hours away*
i was just wondering if alltel has fixed the messaging problems on the pearl. i wanted one so bad, but now reading this i’m sort of let down! i just want a phone with decent push email, picture messaging *with a camera obviously* and a decent keyboard. call me picky, but dang. this is just pathetic.
This phone has the potential to be amazing! I am jsut curious why Alltel can’t make it work when other companies’ versions do. What a disappointment. I may swtich to another company when my two years is up.
This is the 15th day that I’ve had my Pearl from Alltel, and I’m still not sure if I want to return it or not. I love it when it works correctly, but unfortunately it doesn’t do that too often. I’m extremely upset with Alltel for not being upfront and telling people that there were so many issues with this phone when they buy them… Customer service and a rep from another carrier told me that EVERYONE that does anything with cell phones knows that there is a memory leak issue with the pearls.
But there is a way to temporarily fix your phone. A very nice guy from advanced tech support told me that he also has a pearl that is having the same problems, and he takes his battery out for at least one full minute once a day (try to do it the same time each day) and this forces the phones memory to reset itself.. I don’t know exactly why it works, but it keeps it from deleting my texts and call logs (most of the time). You do have to do it religiously though! If you go over by an hour or two, you’re probably going to lose your messages.
He also told me that they’re expecting their patch from blackberry that will fix the issues in late May or mid June. He said that they know the patch will work because it has on all the other carriers. He told me that it will also fix the problems with sending or receiving picture texts.
But last night the phone just completely froze up and I couldn’t access anything. I turned it off and took the battery out three or four times and nothing. It finally starting working okay again this morning (or as okay as this phone gets right now). I have no idea what was going on with that.
Another issue I’m having though is that they said they had to disable bluetooth on all new phones because of piracy of ringtones and such… But I bought a bluetooth connection for my laptop and a computer program that allows me to make my own ringtones and wallpapers.. and now it’s useless. It’s not always piracy and I don’t think it’s fair to make the choice for us. That’s also another thing that they didn’t tell me before I bought the phone.
Also, I have a ton of contacts in my old razr and my Alltel store tells me that they don’t have the software to switch them over to my pearl. They said I could take it to another store (that’s about 75 miles away) and they can do it there. Ughh!!
I am SOOO disappointed in the way Alltel has handled all of this! I think I’m going to return my phone and switch back to my razr until they actually have the patch up and working and I know the phone is going to be worth the money and/or extended contract. If nothing else, I’m getting some guarantees in writing!
~Mandy~
P.S. - Does anyone know if buying an unlocked phone (like the pink pearl from Verizon) and having it activated with Alltel would work? Customer service doesn’t want to answer this for me.. lol. I know it has to be the same technology, but Alltel and Verizon are both CDMA so I would think it could be done. And if Verizon has their patches up and running, then I may do that. Pink is better anyways!
Hello,
I am switching from Sprint/Nextel to Alltel next Thursday. Sprint is a pain in the Butt!! Im supposed to be getting a BlackBerry Pearl. I have talked to friends who have it and they love it. I live in a small town where its hard to get service with any network. Its very dissapointing. After reading all the complaints and only a few praises on it, im now getting worried i made a mistake..I havent tried it out, so i cant pass judgment yet..But im starting to be hesitant…
Can someone please list some goods and bads about this..i know its been said many in other replies on here..i just wanted to see some more opinions.
Thanks a million,
Briana.
Briana,
I returned my pearl yesterday. I loved it when I first got it, up until it started having these issues.. which for me only took a few days. Some people say longer. If your friends have a Pearl with another carrier, I think most of them have already received their patches to fix them. Alltel told me yesterday that the expected launch date of their patch is now late June (approx. June 24). I got a Blackberry Curve, and so far I love it. It’s only been a day, so I’m still nervous.. but surely they didn’t release another phone with so many problems. I really liked the Pearl because it was smaller and red - it was mostly asthetic reasons. I agreed to try the Curve, and I like it better than I did the Pearl. The full keyboard takes some getting used to, but it’s much faster for me already. And with more memory, I noticed that the phone operates much faster (saving and moving files, switching between applications).
If it were me, I would wait till the end of June and try to find out from people that have the Pearl with Alltel and see if the patch fixed everything before I got it.. or go with the Curve. But I did notice at the store yesterday that they dropped the price of the Pearl from the $250 that I paid to like $80 or something. Big difference in two weeks, which makes me wonder if there really is a patch coming. ??? Why else would they try to dump them now instead of waiting and selling them for $200 more in a month?
Sorry! I know how you feel… I really wanted it, too!
ok ive read through all these posts and i have a few things to point out. first off the MMS update is supposed to be out by mid june, you will have to go onto blackberry.com or google alltel 8130 mms update and download it then sync your phone using the desktop manager software that came with the phone. now i know that the update kept getting pushed back and pushed back again which idk exactly why but as of right now alltel and sprint are the only carriers that the pearl 8130 doesnt support mms messaging. and to add to that yes the bbmessenger does work good for sending audio files and pics but the smart phones are still new and not alot of ppl have them at the moment… once they become a little more popular that will be an easier way to send those mms type messages rather than sending an actual mms message.
as to the memory leak i have heard that a patch is coming out with the 4.5 os which last i heard was set to be released june 17th and idk exactly how downloading that update will work i have been told several different ways i was at a conference last week where (and hoping this was correct unlike the others i had heard) that you can go about getting the 4.5 os one of two ways either take your phone into your local alltel store and ask them to update the os, or again find the os online download it then with your phone synced to your computer place it on your phone that way. but from my understanding the mms update and the os update are two seperate updates.
ok as to Brie’s comment about the web pages not looking like an actual web page. on your phone go to crackberry.com then to software and download opera. opera is an internet browser which allows you to view the page exactly as you would on your computer. now i will tell you when the page loads it loads zoomed way out you have a little box with a multi directional arrow just scroll that over to the section that you want to view and click the track ball and it will zoom in. however like previously stated no it doesnt support flash but i to dont believe any phone does at this time although i have heard with the release of the updated safari of the i phone that it will but i wont hold my breath on it.
lastly the comment made about the bluetooth being turned off on new phones is FALSE!!! in this day-in-age everything is bluetooth this bluetooth that and if that were to be disabled so many companies would lose money which would be bad obviously. There is an update for alltel (i cannot speak for other service providers) for any phone other than the smart phone that actually disables them from being able to use mp3s as ring tones to help with the pirating. while i think that is dumb because if you purchase the software you can no longer use it but i also understand trying to cut down the pirated tones. but any smart phone will still be able to use mp3s as ring tones and these phones will be the only phones that will be able to. and on a positive note there are so many sites that you can get them for free. ie. crackberry.com, tuneusin.com, myxertones.com just to name a few.
so i hope this helped with any confusion and i hope that these updates dont get pushed back yet again. i have had my 8130 for about 4 months now and i absolutely love it it definatly takes some getting used to as to how to work everything but play around with it youll learn some neat tricks and the only way to have a better experiance with any smart phone is to understand it. and while not everyone can answer your questions you may have alot of times if you know your phone you will have a better hassel free experiance. and if all else fails go to the blackberry.com or crackberry.com. i personally recommend crackberry.com there are so many people on there and they arent afraid to help plus all the forums you never know just search and maybe someone has already asked the question that you have.
actually. my mom bought a blackberry curve wendsday and she can’t use bluetoothed mp3s as ringers or anything. she can just listen to them.
Well here is something new to the page! I love my blackberry pearl! I don’t send many pic and vid messages with my friends, but when I need to, all I have to do is use the email client to recieve, to send you can use a free service provided by alltel, axcessmypics.com! You can send an MMS that way! Other than that I have no idea what you all are talking about as far as the messages and call logs being deleted! I have had this phone for 3 weeks and my messages and logs stay on my phone until I actually go and delete them!
Shawn,
I was reading your post about Opera and I went to Crackberry.com but I can’t find it anywhere. Does this download cost? And could you tell me where to find it.
Ashley sorry a little Mia guided information. First off no opera is completely free and you can download it OTA(over the air) just by going to operamini.com on ur phone existing web browser. Then click the download operamini link and click yes to all the installation instructions. I’m sorry for the miss leading information I thought I had seen it at onetime on crackberry but it could have been that it was just in a forum on crackberry that I saw it. Hope this helps!
Thanks Shawn! I really appreciate. I am trying it now
Guess they were just waiting for the buyout from Verizon. Maybe it will take a little longer to fix stuff… But after the merger, we’ll all be saying, “Can you hear me now? - Good.”
Ok. Now. The switch to Verizon…hmmmm. How do you guys feel about this? From what I have been told, we will have to switch to verizon by the end of the year. The problem that I have with that is that Verizon’s plans are not as good as Alltels. For what I get now, I wont get half of that through Verizon…how do you all feel about this?
@Stephanie
Well, due to the merger you are REQUIRED to switch over to a verizon plan or change service. I understand Steph that you are not sure about the whole thing but by what I have been informed, Verizon is considering to adopt some of the features of the Altell plans to make things alittle better for those of you that must make the switch. Now remember, I said CONSIDERING. You still have until around end of fall before the merger is completed so just wait it out to see if this plan for new rate plans will take effect. I’m sure they will have to anyway to compete with Sprints new rate plans that take effect on Friday (tommorrow).
Well Step. I’m not sure. I agree with you Verizon charges you for every little thing. I have been with Allhel(lol) for years. The only hope I have is that since we are grandfathered in mabey they can’t change our plan. I have no idea how this is going to work. Atleast now mabey we can get our MMS working!!! Guess we will see! Cross your fingers.
does anyone know how to master clear the blackberry pearl 8130. i can not seem to find it anywhere!
ya i have a good feeling that the merger is goin to be painful. i feel that customer service and phone updates are gonna be at the bottom of alltels list and the total merge will not take place for some time
Okay i got my blackberry pearl about a month and a half ago and I’m kinda pissed. i love it but i hate it too. I’m mad that i was mislead about the mms messaging and the email. My hotmail account won’t work on this phone i was told it has to be a google account. However, i can go online and login to my hotmail account like normal but takes forever its not convenient like i thought it would be. And i was told the same thing about the mms software update as everyone else has been being told when i complained about my phone. They talked me out of exchanging it by misleading me and now I’m stuck with this stupid piece of crap. its always freezing up on me and i can’t hardly do anything online my last plain flip phone was way more fun than this one. i could go online and send mms and texting was easier.the only thing i really like on this phone is the mp3 player. i shoulda just kept my old phone and got an ipod.
Amy
I’ve had my pearl since late may of this year. I’ve been loveing it. I’m not relly sure what’s going on with youre email. I have Yahoo mail through sbcglobal and it works great. Have you tried crackberry.com for answers and questions??? This is a very good site. Now for the mms stuff. I was also upset about the fact of how the mislead me also. I just wish there was a way we could complain to someone and it would affect them.