Hot on the heels of its new Curve, BlackBerry is rumoured to be close to updating its other consumer-oriented handset, the Pearl. Word on the web is that the update, codenamed 8120, will increase the camera resolution to two-megapixels camera, and also add wi-fi access and GPS functionality to the handset. Hurrah for features but boo for battery life, we think.
In addition, it’s thought that BlackBerry maker RIM will introduce a couple of new colours for the Pearl, bringing blue and gold to the existing black, red, and white line-up.
(Via Boy Genius Report)
The Pearl (RIM 8100) already has built-in GPS
The Pearl doesn not have built in GPS; it has built in mapping and can be connected to a bluetooth GPS receiver.
I had a look on the BlackBerry site and it seems a bit ambiguous. The browser header bar says ‘Email, GPS, Instant Messaging, Camera & Smartphone’ but under the ‘Features’ section it lists ‘BlackBerry Maps’ - which, not having used a Pearl, I can only assume is some kind of GPS mapping. Reading the info about that application, though, seems to suggest that it can be linked to a GPS receiver (as you say, Steve), or used as-is on the phone (in a non-GPS way, maybe based off cell info or something…?).
Head here to check out the info for the current model of Pearl:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/series-detail.jsp?navId=H0,C101
And here for info on BlackBerry maps:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/blackberry_maps.jsp