When you enter http://www.blackberry8800.com, you get to a BlackBerry Pearl page.

Considering that the BlackBerry Pearl is the 8100 series, this makes me want to go "hmmm." Why is the view I am getting of the Pearl, with the 8800 URL still intact? Shouldn't I have been redirected to the main BlackBerry page?

First, a backgrounder. By now, we've established that the next major series of BlackBerrys will be the 8800. So it is not implausible that BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion would reserve that domain, and rather than place a "coming soon" holder, would employ what is called a "redirect" to the Pearl page.

But from what I can gather, this doesn't seem to have happened. The view here is not the same as the main, Flashed-up Pearl page.

When www.blackberry8800.com is entered, you see a Pearl main page view immediately. And I do mean immediately. There's not that quick "redir" in the browser's address line.

I looked at the source code for that "8800" page, and I don't see that either.

Then I thought of going to a WHOIS server and seeing what information I could find there. WHOIS is the Internet's registry of individuals and organizations that own specific domains, as well as relevant information about those domains.

First, keeping in mind that the BlackBerry Pearl is actually the BlackBerry 8100, I wanted to see what the real www.blackberry8100.com WHOIS server information revealed.

I got:

Note that Research In Motion's name is displayed, and Register.com is listed as the Registrar.

To see if this pattern held, I them performed a WHOIS search for www.discoverblackberry.com and then www.blackberrypearl.com.

Here's what discoverblackberry WHOIS showed:

Same obvious RIM ownership and Register.com domain service.

Then I performed a WHOIS search for www.blackberrypearl.com:

Same Register.com, but "Account Masking" is implemented. Given the name was registered on July 14, 2006- just short of two months before the Pearl was officially announced- the "Masking" might have been done by RIM to keep sleuths off the trail.

But when I executed a WHOIS search for www.blackberry8800.com, now that's when things got really interesting.

Look at this:

Notice something?

OK, three things.

First, this registration is private, rather than "masked," as the blackberrypearl.com is.

Second, this registration isn't through Register.com, but with 1&1 Internet (which happens to be my domain registrar for my own site). Not that it wouldn't be unthinkable for RIM to use two registrars, but why switch now?

And if this is just a simple redirect- would RIM use two different domain name registrars for two Web addresses that presumably are joined at the hip?

I next tried TraceRoute, and saw a completely different string between www.blackberry8800.com and www.blackberrypearl.com.

I'm not a TraceRoute expert. Maybe one of you who is knowledgeable about TraceRoute can peform a quick contrast search ebtween 8800 and one of the other domains- and let us know what is going on?

The answer to this can be simple and quite innocent, but up until I have these questions answered, I'm scratching my head and am wondering.

And when I wonder, I posit scenerios.

That's part of what I get paid to do around here.