is it possible to set one of the convenience keys to be activate speakerphone? i kind of see it a bit of a hassle to have to take the phone away from my ear and then activate it.

The key right next to enter is a shortcut for activating the speaker.

the "# and aA" key?

It has $ on bottom and a speaker on top. I'm not sure if it is also like that on the Pearl.

the key next to the enter on a pearl is the key that has the # symbol on it. it also is the Shift key and the key to put it on vibrate (if you hold it down)

Sorry, I dont know anything about the Pearl.

There is a "Speaker" symbol on the "O P" key - upper right - just below the red phone button. It is also the - symbol using the Alt key.

I believe if you hit this key during a call, it activates the speaker phone

Go into options - Screen/Keyboard and scroll down to the convenience key options. I don't know about the Pearl, but if you can assign to speaker, that's where it will be.