Pearl includes 64 MB of onboard memory - not bad for a phone this small. And it has a microSD slot (inside behind the battery) that can take flash memory cards up to 2GB (as little as $100). Even a gigabyte (well under $100) will store hundreds of pictures and low-bitrate MP3s. (There's no point using 120-Kbps files as we'll see.)

The camera is mainly important for symbolic and, of course, marketing reasons. With many makers now offering 2-megapixel cameras in their phones and the odd one raising the bar with even higher-resolution components, the Pearl lags with its 1.3-megapixel camera.

It does include a built-in flash, but when set to Auto, the flash rarely fires, even in low light situations. If you set it to On - so the flash always fires - the device warns you that this could impact battery life. Which of course it will.

RIM also claims the camera has a 5X zoom, but this is really a digital zoom which simply fills the frame with a portion of what the lens sees. If you zoom in, the pictures will be fuzzy - or rather, fuzzier - and pixilated. The best that can be said about this camera is that it's at least as good as other second-generation 1-to-1.3-megapixel phone cameras and better than some. It is decidedly not what makes the Pearl attractive, only what makes it a marketing breakthrough.

The same could be said for the other multimedia capabilities. The idea of a phone that doubles as a music player is an attractive one, but RIM has stumbled a little here as well. As with any MP3 phone, you can listen to music on the tiny phone speaker, but what you really want to do is listen on stereo earphones or earbuds. The Pearl, however, only ships with a hands-free phone headset with a single ear bud (and microphone).


                Pearl Media Apps

Listening on the included headset probably doesn't do the Pearl's music playing capabilities justice - it's not a great experience. The problem is, you cannot plug in a standard mini-stereo headset or earbuds. The headset socket (on the left-hand edge) only takes teensy-weensy jacks of the kind used for hands-free phone headsets. RIM will sell you a set of stereo earbuds that will work - for another $30. Or you can pick up an adapter from Radio Shack for about $5.

As a photo and video player, the Pearl is not bad. The sharp, bright screen is the saving grace here. The trick, as always, will be to find digital videos both appropriate to the size and shape of the screen and processed well enough that they offer sharp images and smooth motion.

Bottom line? The Pearl puts RIM solidly into the business/consumer market while offering the best of earlier products, most importantly the unparalleled e-mail experience. This is thanks to the new user interface, easily up to usual RIM standards, and the e-mail software and systems behind the device, which don't change here. One caution: if you're an e-mail-intensive user, spend time with device before buying to make sure you can type relatively easily on the keyboard.