Research In Motion announced today that the much-anticipated BlackBerry Pearl will be available next Tuesday from T-Mobile USA. The smartphone, formerly known as the 8100, packs a lot into a small package, following the "thinism" trend that's sweeping the rest of the cell-phone industry. The chief attraction, of course, is RIM's email functions. And the price, at $199 with a service agreement, is hard to argue with. David Pogue of the New York Times dings the Pearl for its awkward keyboard -- each key represents two letters, in an arrangement that's neither the familiar phone keypad nor a full-on 26-key QWERTY keypad.

The ever-insightful Pogue also notes that the Pearl's predecessor, the 7100, was outmatched by its competition: "More glamorous, powerful multimedia phones like the Treo and Sidekick are bulkier, but offer so much more power." You read it in the Times first, folks: More powerful phones offer more power. Thanks, David!

Getting back to the Pearl, we're not buying the beauty part of the equation. The BlackBerry Pearl is compact, sure, but not that remarkable in its looks. For our money, if you're going to go with a phone named Pearl, how about the sleek, monochrome White Pearl Windows Mobile smartphone from Jaren Goh Design (left)? Sure, at $1,500, it will set you back, but a truly luxurious item should command a premium price.