We’re going to start a new weekly series called Flashback Friday, where we look back at some of the products, events and milestones that brought our industry to where it is today.
I was thinking, what better way to honour the release of the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry 10 OS than to talk about my first smartphone, the Pearl 8100. This diminutive device was my introduction to the world of smartphones after my well-loved LG Shine TU920 fell into a puddle. Mind you, I had been toting around a Dell X51v PDA for some time, Windows Mobile and all, but the Shine was my go-to communications tool until the Pearl was released.
I came to the Pearl quite late, in early 2008, but instantly took to its multifaceted resume of BBM, (very basic) browsing, and apps. It wasn’t a fast device by any means, nor was it particularly fetching, but after acclimatizing to the SureType keyboard I was typing twice as fast as I ever did on T9.
The BlackBerry Pearl represented the training wheels on which I learned to ride, and soon after I’d purchased a Bold 9000 and, when Android emerged in a big way in 2010, a Motorola Milestone. Since then, I’ve purchased more phones than I can count, but I’ll always remember my first naive moments in Wireless Wave, using that not-yet-dusty track wheel to navigate through the menus of BlackBerry OS.
What are your first smartphone memories? Let us know in the comments.
