So far none of the US carriers have officially announced they will be picking up the Pearl 3G, but T-Mobile were figured to be a likely candidate given their track record of handsets.

The Pearl 3G will launch in the US with a SureType 20-button keyboard, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth.  It also has quadband GSM and triband UMTS, an optical trackpad and GPS, together with a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and image stabilization.  No word on pricing as yet.

[via CrackBerry]

The BlackBerry Tour 2 9650 is tipped to include WiFi and use the new BlackBerry 5.0 OS; other BlackBerry devices will include the new BlackBerry Pearl Flip.  Meanwhile there’ll apparently be a Motorola Windows Mobile smartphone, which given the company have said they’ve no plans for a WinMo 6.5 device would seem to suggest it could be a Windows Mobile 7 device.

Elsewhere there are several LG devices – the LG LN510, LN240 and LS680 – with various combinations of touchscreens and QWERTY keyboards, models from Samsung – the M350, M570 and M910 – and a new Sanyo 8600.  The tipster also reckons Sprint will launch a full-touchscreen Android 1.6 smartphone, the Motorola i1, for its Nextel iDEN subscribers, complete with a 5-megapixel camera, together with a black version of the Clutch and new rugged i680 and i890 devices.

Video demo after the cut

In terms of specifications, the Pearl 9100 has GSM 3G (i.e. it uses a SIM rather than CDMA networks) and of course there’s the optical trackpad as seen on some of RIM’s other recent BlackBerry devices.  Around the back there’s a 3.2-megapixel camera, and the handset runs BlackBerry OS 5.0.0.350 with 256MB of memory.

Particularly nifty are the multimedia controls running along the top edge of the handset, which allow you to skip tracks, play or pause music (as well as control the phone ringer) without having to take it out of your bag or pocket.  That almost makes up for the side-mounted 3.5mm headphone socket, ideally placed to catch your headphones cable as you try to whip out the phone.

[via IntoMobile]

Instead they’re using shots from other sites which have had access to prototype 9100 handsets, which amounts to asking $3,000 (Buy It Now) for a smartphone sight-unseen.  Still, it’s enough promise to push bidding up to $710 at time of writing, with just under seven hours left to run.

We’ll save our money and wait for the official release, we reckon.  So far specifications for the device are unknown, though it does obviously have the SureType keyboard and an optical trackpad rather than a trackball.

[via Wayne Schulz]

No word on things like camera resolution, though there does appear to be an LED flash next to it, so we’re guessing the Pearl 9100 will hover near or roundabout the 3.2-megapixel level of its full-sized BlackBerry counterparts.  The styling obviously follows on from the BlackBerry Bold 9700 which is no bad thing, and adds up to a rather handsome handset.

CrackBerry are promising more photos and details of the hardware in due course, so for the moment it’s leaked shots and nothing else.  No word on when we might see the Pearl 9100 arrive on shelves, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s soon.

[Thanks Alex!]

In fact BlackBerry handsets occupy three spots in the top five, with the Storm holding position three and the BlackBerry Pearl (not including the clamshell model) at number four.  The T-Mobile G1 comes in at fifth place. 

Analysts at The NPD Group put the BlackBerry success down to Verizon’s “aggressive marketing of the BlackBerry Storm”, together with the buy-one-get-one promotion.  That, plus its low price and presence at four US national carriers, pushed the Curve ahead.

In case you’ve forgotten, the Pearl Flip is a smartphone encased in a clamshell design with a small external display and an internal display with a 240 x 320 resolution. Other features include GPS mapping, a SureType keyboard, a 2-megapixel camera that’s capable of video, microSD or microSDHC card support and more.

This phone can play music and offers Bluetooth support. You can get the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 on Alltel for $79.99 with a two-year contract and a $70 rebate. The contract is for the carrier’s unlimited plan which costs $70/month.

T-Mobile UK

Beyond that, owners “top up” their BlackBerry with credit in the usual pay-as-you-go (PAYG) fashion, adding money to their account to cover any calls and SMS or MMS messages.  T-Mobile are hoping the deal will appeal to those interested in push email but wary of ongoing contract costs.

Right now the deal is not showing up on T-Mobile UK’s PAYG pages, so you may have to head into stores to find out more about it.  The gauntlet is down; which of the US carriers will be first to offer a similar deal?

[via Register Hardware]