Look what elusive little device showed up at the TheCellularGuru.com offices today, fresh for an unboxing and review.

Between rumors around when it will be launched, speculation of which carrier will actually launch it (and when for that matter), and what it will cost, most info has been shrouded in speculation.

Mainly, the only chatter about the BlackBerry 9100 has been its sporadic OS leaks (for the yet un-released device).

Currently, no official Rogers pricing or release date have been confirmed. However, we can do a little unboxing to show you what you will be receiving if you choose to take the plunge.

Hit the break to read on.

Being a Pearl fanatic myself, I can honestly say this device lives up to the hype. It maintains the comfort and stylings of its predecessor, the Pearl 8100, while adding the updated sexiness (trackpad, 3G, and 3.2MP Camera with auto-focus) of its big brother, the popular Blackberry Bold 9700.

Both share a snappy 624MHZ processor and 256MB of RAM. Packing all this into such a small package gives quick response and hardly any lag. I will admit, it has been inconvenient switching back to a SureType keyboard after the spacious elegance of a QWERTY device, but the keyboard is very responsive and intuitive, so once trained it will learn new words as I type.

Something that surprised me about the device is the firmware it comes pre-installed with.Rogers has become notorious for releasing devices with ancient OS versions, so to release the 9100 running a build over 6xx (.629 to be exact, with .676 being the latest leaked build online) is a definite step in the right direction. There is no better way to describe the screen resolution than “hot.” It is a 320x400px screen and shows everything with crystal clarity. Though the total number of pixels is less than the 9700 (480×360), the screen is arguably sharper, as the smaller screen width packs those pixels more tightly together, producing a wonderfully vivid set of colors. Another key feature to point out is the new battery packed into the device. If you look back at previous 4.6+ devices, the Storm/Curve series received similar batteries, as did both the Bold 9700/9000 respectively. Looking at the comparison between the recently leaked 9670 CDMA Clamshell and the Pearl 9100, both are using the new purple colored “F-M1″ series battery. Though the 9800 Slider battery has yet to come to light, since it’s part of the Bold family I’d expect it to follow suit with the “M-S1″ series.

Overall

I give the Pearl 9100 a solid 8/10. The wait was long and well worth it for the 8100 upgrade. I am positive that those who are anxiously awaiting this release will be happy with what they get. It’s sleek, stylish, comfortable in the hand, almost vanishes in the pocket and runs 3G. What more could you ask for?

Stay tuned for a hands-on video review in the next few days.

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