Orange offers BlackBerry Pearl 8120 on pay as you go

Orange has launched the first pay as you go BlackBerry deal in the UK.

On Thursday, the operator said the Pearl 8120 model will work with its pre-paid data services, making it the only BlackBerry deal in the UK that does not require the customer to sign a long-term contract.

"With nearly two-thirds of UK mobile customers now using pay as you go, we are really pleased to be bringing one of the most popular email and multimedia devices to the masses," Orange UK's head of pay as you go, Pippa Dunn, said in a statement.

BlackBerry smartphones tend to be tied to the BlackBerry Internet and push-email service, and Orange's deal is offering that service on a monthly rolling subscription, at £5 per month. The handset itself costs £145.

The candybar BlackBerry Pearl 8120 has a two-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a media player, but no 3G connectivity. It also uses a SureType keyboard, which gives a Qwerty-style layout, but packs multiple letters on to each key.

While none of the other major UK mobile operators supports the BlackBerry on their pay as you go plans, they do offer various smartphones that can be used with pre-paid data connectivity. For example, T-Mobile customers can buy a Sony Ericsson W880i for £98 and get a day's use of the mobile Internet for £1, and Vodafone sells Nokia's 6210 Navigator smartphone for £170, after which pre-paid mobile Internet use would also cost £1 for a day's use.