Getting Started with the BlackBerry Pearl 3G

The original BlackBerry Pearl combined the excellent messaging services offered by BlackBerry with a ‘regular’ sized phone. It was a great choice of handset for anyone that was new to BlackBerry and was also the first BlackBerry handset to make it on to a pay as you go service. The original Pearl ran on GPRS technology, which is pretty slow by today’s standards.

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G – is a long overdue replacement for the original Pearl and has a number of improvements over its predecessor. It has fast internet access using both WiFi and HSDPA, a simplified keyboard layout that’s more in-line with standard mobile phones and a sleeker, smoother menu system.

The Pearl 3G has also had a few cosmetic changes, the white trackball that gave the Pearl it’s name is gone, replaced with an optical trackpad. The charging and headphone ports are both standard Micro USB and 3.5mm ports respectively.

If you’re getting the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, you’re going to want to be up and running as fast as possible, so we’ve put together a quick 5 step getting started guide.

Charge it up:

It’s fairly obvious, but before you can use your BlackBerry Pearl 3G, you’ll need to charge it. You’ll find that the phone will come with some charge in it, but you’ll still need to charge it for around 4-6 hours before you start to use it. You no longer need to charge them for 24 hours as battery technology has improved significantly over the last few years. Just charge it as you would normally.

If you need to go out and don’t have access to a mains power supply, you can use the BlackBerry Pearl 3G Car Charger to charge it in the car. It will still charge the battery, although not quite as quickly as a mains charger would.

Get a bigger Memory Card:

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G has only 256MB of internal memory, that’s not a lot and it’s nowhere near enough to hold your Apps, photo’s, videos or music so a memory card will need to be one of the first purchases you make. The Pearl 3G can handle memory cards up to 32GB in capacity.

When choosing a memory card for your phone, always get the largest card you can afford. You may not need all the storage pace straight away, but over the length of your contract you’ll easily fill what ever card you get. If your budget allows it I’d suggest either a 16GB or 32GB memory card. A 16GB memory card will let you store over 2000 high quality photos, 2000 songs and around 1 hour of video with plenty of room left over for any apps you download.

Protect it:

Whether you bought your BlackBerry Pearl 3G Sim Free or took it out on a (lengthy) contract, the last thing you’re going to want to do it it is damage it. There are a few simple accessories that you can get to keep your Pearl 3G looking it’s best.

The simplest way to look after the screen is to fit a Pearl 3G Screen Protector. These are tough, precision cut plastic films that stick to the screen of your phone and protect it from scuffs and scrapes. They don’t use any messy adhesive and can be removed easily. The best value Pearl 3G screen protector is currently the MFX Screen Protector. They cost less than £5, are perfectly clear and they don’t distort any colours on the display.

Screen protectors are great for keeping the display looking like new, but what about the rest of the phone? A case is the best way to protect the back cover from those tiny scuffs and scratches and to protect the corners when you drop it. There are loads of BlackBerry Pearl 3G Cases available, but I’d recommend using a genuine BlackBerry Leather Pocket as tit has the magnets built in that will automatically change the profile of your Pearl 3G while it’s in the case.

Set up your Bluetooth Devices:

If you’ve got a Bluetooth Headset, Stereo Bluetooth Headphones or a Bluetooth Car Kit you’ll need to set these up to work with your Pearl 3G. It’s a simple enough process, just search for bluetooth devices on your Pearl 3G and make sure that the device you’re trying to pair with is in pairing mode. If you’re not sure how to do that you’ll need to dig out your instruction manual. Your devices should connect in seconds and be ready for use.

If your Bluetooth devices are looking a little worse for wear or don’t work as well as they should, now is the perfect time to upgrade them. The Pearl 3G supports all the major bluetooth profiles, allowing you to stream your music from your phone to bluetooth speakers or headsets.

One of my favourite bluetooth accessories for BlackBerry phones is the Blackberry VM-605. It’s a Bluetooth Car Kit that clips to the sun visor in your car and allows you to listen to music from your phone and listen to your phone calls through the speakers in your car. Your Pearl 3G connects to it using Bluetooth and then the audio is broadcast over FM to your car stereo. The VM-605 lets you enjoy your music in the car as loud as you like, without any complicated set up or wires trailling across your dashboard and your calls are much clearer too..

Set up Email:

Once your Pearl 3G is charged, has some free storage space and is protected it’s time to start setting up your email accounts. The process has been simplified as much as possible and you should find that you can just follow the steps in the set up wizard to get your existing email account set up on the phone.

If you run into any problems setting it up on your phone, you can always switch to the BlackBerry Email website. It’s a bit clearer and easier to use and gives you greater control over your email. If you’re not 100% sure what you need to do and are looking for step by step instructions, take a look at our BlackBerry Email Setup Guide.

There are loads of other BlackBerry Pearl 3G accessories that will help you get more out of your phone, so if you’ve not seen anything here, head over the the Pearl 3G accessories page where you’ll find everything from a Pearl 3G case through to BlackBerry Pearl 3G Wireless Headphones.