New 3G Blackberry Pearl 9100 Spotted

I’ve become quite addicted to my slim but functional Blackberry Pearl. Despite its penchant for butt-dialing nearly every single contact in my rolodex, it’s a great little phone.

Today is a good day for my fellow Pearl lovers. Some pictures of the next-generation Blackberry 9100 have hit the Web courtesy of CrackBerry, and while it doesn’t look like a huge makeover from the 8100, the new phone is a tad bit svelter and more rounded, borrowing some design cues from the Blackberry Bold 9700.

The most noticeable difference is that the trackball has been replaced by a trackpad, leaving a bit of a gap between the phone’s name and design.  It looks like some form of plastic backing is used, which should provide a bit of extra grip over the current teflon-like profile of the phone. The new Pearl is also supposed to support 3G.

With the pictures out, we expect that further specs and availability details should be just around the corner. [via CrackBerry]