The BlackBerry is a phenomenon that doesn't need explaining to readers of this Web site. What started as a mobile e-mail device for businesspeople has slowly but surely been transformed by Research in Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry creator, into something with consumer appeal too.

If RIM is on a quest for the ultimate consumer friendly, professional friendly hybrid, the good news is that the Pearl 8120 is a step closer to the dream than anything that has gone before. It certainly looks stylish and attractive with its dark blue and silver colour scheme, and it is small and neat at 107mm tall, 50mm wide, 14mm thick and 91g in weight.

But it doesn't quite offer enough for consumers who are bombarded with flashy, highly specified smartphones.

The e-mail capability is taken as a given. POP3 mail is delivered to the Pearl 8120 after you set up a Web site to capture messages, and we found it worked flawlessly. Businesses can take a server-based approach to the same thing.

There is calendar and contact synchronisation over the air for companies and via desktop software for individuals. Mobile Web browsing is here too, of course. For those who like a bit of fun there is music playback and a camera. And for both businesspeople and consumers we have Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

The Pearl 8120 follows on from the first BlackBerry Pearl, and like its predecessor it is small enough to be mistaken for a candybar-style mobile phone. It lacks the characteristic ‘QWERTY' mini keyboard of the BlackBerry, instead having a system where two characters tend to share a single key.

You can either adopt a T9-style multitap system or use the SureType system. This requires you to press a key only once regardless of which of its letters you want. As you type the SureType software guesses the word you are after, and you can select it from a list or complete it manually; basically it's a predictive text system. It can take a little getting used to but you can become very quick at typing with practice. A spellchecker helps things along.

While RIM is certainly hoping to open up new markets with the Pearl 8120, the 2-megapixel camera is likely to be a little underpowered for many consumers' tastes, and the lack of hardware-based music playback controls will be a turn-off for those with access to more consumer-oriented media playing mobiles. The absence of 3G may also be an annoyance, though fast e-mail download and browsing is helped by the support for EDGE which we tried on O2's network.

The Pearl 8120 is a definite advance on the original Pearl, and shows that RIM is edging ever closer to consumers with a hankering for mobile e-mail.