Flipping out: RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 debuts

RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8220

(Credit: RIM)

While the fall CTIA show isn't really known for handset announcements, Research in Motion paid no mind and started the show off with a bang by introducing the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 on Tuesday night. While much of the attention has turned to the rumored BlackBerry Thunder as of late, the Pearl Flip 8220 shouldn't be forgotten, as it's the first BlackBerry to sport a clamshell design.

The flip phone, which comes in black or red, measures 3.9-inches high by 1.9-inches wide by 0.6-inch deep and weighs 3.5 ounces. It features a 65,536-color, 128x160 pixel external display and front-facing 2-megapixel camera, while you get a 65,536-color, 240x320-pixel TFT display on the inside. As part of the Pearl series, you get the SureType keyboard (groan) and trackball navigator. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 also comes equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack and an external microSD expansion slot.

Moving onto features, the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) Pearl Flip 8220 offers true world roaming, a speakerphone, smart dialing, and background-noise cancellation. Wireless options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support. There's no GPS, but the BlackBerry Maps application is onboard to at least provide you with maps and text-based directions.

Supported e-mail solutions include BlackBerry Enterprise, Microsoft Exchange, IMB Lotus, Novell GroupWise as well as POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. There's also an attachment viewer for Word, Excel, PowerPoint files, PDFs, and JPG images.

(Credit: RIM)

When you're done working, you can enjoy MP3, WMA, AAC, MPEG4, WMV, and other music and video formats with the built-in media player. In addition, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 has a 2-megapixel camera with flash and video-recording capabilities.

In all, there aren't a whole lot of surprises, as the smartphone keeps very much in line with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120. Research in Motion was a little vague as to release date, but it will be offered by carriers worldwide sometime this fall and the company did confirm that T-Mobile will be one of the U.S. carriers. No word on pricing.

Now, here's the question: Will the flip-phone form factor work for BlackBerry? There's only been a handful of smartphones to come in the clamshell design, such as the Pantech PN-820, but they never seem to really take off. Will the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 be any different?

[kellydcarter]

I love the BlackBerry Pearl (mine is the 8130, Verizon Wireless), but I'm not sure what the attraction is to the clamshell design. Would anybody care to comment on that?

I wish the author had not "groaned" about the Pearl keyboard. Naturally, everyone has his/her preferences, but if you give the Pearl keyboard and SureType a fair chance, you might just find it's SUPERIOR to a full QWERTY keyboard. Hard to believe? Well, for me it IS superior--by only a little bit. And it definitely provides for a much smaller form factor for the phone. That's my big attraction to the Pearl--it's not the size of a Pop-Tart.

To see more of my opinions about the Pearl (and Curve and Bold), please check out my website at http://newBBie.com. For example, I have a series of tutorials on the Pearl keyboard and SureType that I hope demonstrates how cool it is.

Kelly Carter
http://newBBie.com

P.S.--I also own a BlackBerry Curve 8330, and love it, too. Still waiting for the Bold from Verizon.

[Eddie-c]

This device is NOT "true world roaming" with only GSM 850/900/1800/1900. These frequencies do not work in N. Korea or Japan. RIM has fallen **way** behind other device manufacturers such as Nokias old E61 as an example or Samsungs BJ2, choosing instead to have WiFi. RIM could have been out with the front-runners or a front-runner themselves but have shot themselves in the foot, especially as companies are starting to turn to Microsofts' solution which has a lot less overhead than RIMs 2.1 Exchange users per BES device or crappy Goodlink which has hard-reset devices on a whim since v3.
(Don't get me wrong, I think blackberries are decent devices but Balsillie dropped the ball big-time)

As for the clam-shell, there are a lot of people who like clam-shell phones - in my experience women seem to prefer this type - thus there is a market.

[jeremyblaze]

This isn't supposed to be a cutting-edge blackberry. This is the entry-level line of blackberries, if you want the newest and best look for the Bold or Storm.

[jazzygman2004]

Actually, if you look at most of the GSM phones on the market, they do not incorporate the 2100 mhz bandwidths of Japan or N. Korea. So I have to ask whats the point of really adding that when it's very seldom used worldwide? The standard 4 mhz frequencies are a world standard with the except of these two countries. In essence this is a true world roaming phone because it can be used in over 240 different countries because of the frequencies it is able to use.

[ReVeLaTeD]

Clamshell = fashion statement. Look cool while "flipping it out".

I speak from experience...I used to be the biggest clamshell fiend, especially the StarTAC. Before the significant rise in cell carriers I would only deal with clamshell phones because they looked good. The candybar style just didn't do it for me.

As I got older I started to realize that the clamshells always had terrible reception compared to their candybar brothers, for whatever reason. This was especially true with Nokia phones - reception top notch even though they were ugly.

I think this flip Blackberry is "cool looking", but I wouldn't buy it. I much prefer the Pearl.

[JunkBar]

Preferring a flip phone doesn't necessarily have anything to do with cool - some people prefer a form factor that has an angle between the earpiece and the mike, some people don't like to explain why they keep calling their boss while their phone is in their pocket, some like having the larger screen while being more compact when not in use. Lots of reasons other than coolness...I haven't found any form factor to be the clear best for all people in all situations, so it comes down to a personal preference.

Still not sure if I'll get this one, since it's missing 3G and GPS, but it's the first BB that I'm tempted on.

[pcorning]

Why I want the Flip: I have an 8120 that I like, but I can't keep it in my pocket. Even if it's off, minor pocket pressures will turn it on, and when it's on inadvertent button pushes will activate the screen and run down the battery. Even in its locked mode, buttons will keep the screen lighting up this way. A clamshell design should reduce this problem, particularly if RIM made the side buttons tougher to press.

Why I don't want the flip: Not much else seems improved. As Eddie points out, the phone is not really a world phone - 3G and UMTS would fix this, but BB hasn't seen fit to offer this in the Pearl (as a small device it may not have enough space for the appropriate battery, and Pearls run down very quickly with only 2.5G radios, even if you keep them out of your pocket and keep the WiFi off).

Waiting for a faster version....

[tbetz]

Clamshell design in a smart phone is all about practicality for me

I'm still using an old Samsung SPH-i500 because I haven't been able to find another smart phone that fits securely in the watch pocket of my jeans. It's taken a heck of a beating over the years, and if it hadn't been a clamshell design, protecting the screen and the keypad, it would have failed long ago. Though I'm no fan of the Crackberry in general, this is the first smart phone I've seen in a long time that I'm interested in.

[atish505]

Cool. I am Blackberry User who also has an IPhone.
I have to use Blackberry for Business, and iPhone for everything else.

RIM's OS is way superior than Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile SUCKS big time.
I did not have much problems with the new 3G iPhone except for frequent switches between 3G and EDGE.

The World Smart Phone market has room for three players. Theses are Apple, Nokia and RIMM. Everyone else will die a slow death.

[LucyDoggie]

RIM's website advertisement for the new Pearl talks about how it's designed to be carried in your pocket. And, I'm certain this new clamshell design will appeal to the HUGE, growing market of teens who wouldn't be caught dead wearing their Pearl in a holster. Well, RIM knows that the FCC requires them to warn users to never carry the Pearl in their pocket in order to comply with FCC RF radiation exposure regulations. RIM is a reputable company, and they should be doing the right thing.

Check the fine print in the Pearl's safety manual under "radio frequency" or FCC compliance...ooops, this important safety information may be "hidden" on the disk that comes with the phone. And, who the heck looks there for a PDF file with crucial safety information embedded in it?

[Shadcell]

I've recently become a fan of blackberry phones, seeing them all around campus, but I've never owned one. With the three new models that are supposed to come out this fall (not much "fall" left RIM, please announce release dates soon!), I've been looking into which one will be my next phone.

Although the bold captivated me with it's stylish looks and fast processor, I'm not an AT&T customer, and I realized that candy bar phones are not what I really like (even though I've had them for the last 3 years, sadly they seem to make all the most powerful/capable phones candy bar shaped). Being a verizon customer, I looked at the thunder, which looks amazing, but lack of wifi and full touch screen turned me off a little. I'd have to see it when it comes out, but I like a physical keyboard to some degree, and once again, its the same shape.

Now I just kind of walked past this flip phone and didn't look back until now...I've been seeing people with blackberry pearls and thinking they look pretty nice, and then I realized that my favorite type of phone is really a clamshell. Having the phone reach your ear and mouth at the same time is so nice, as is having an external screen to quickly check time and messages, and the fact that the phone itself protects the screen. My main concern is that I've never used a suretype keyboard.

I'm now really looking forward to this blackberry, but what's up with it not supporting 3G? Wifi is a huge plus, and I hope it comes to Verizon as well as T-Mobile when it's released. Any new news on this phone, or any blackberries for that matter? Sorry for the long post!

[Calisurfer]

Looks pretty cool. I'm still a huge fan of the flip phone. Think I'll always be. Actually, Motorola sort of combines everything in one with the KRAVE (motorola.com/krave). They put a flip cover on the phone, also making it touch screen like the iphone. This is also a pretty interesting phone and I'd like to see how it compares to this new Blackberry.

[damsmith]

Pearl 8220, is function rich and good looking phone of Blackberry. RIM always tries to give some new and innovative to its users. Blackberry handsets and <a href="http://www.fommy.co.uk/blackberry-accessories.htm">Blackberry accessories</a> remain in demand due to RIM's new development. You can visit http://www.fommy.co.uk/blackberry-accessories.htm for more Blackberry accessories. Pearl 8220 provides microSD/SDHC cards of up to 16GB capacity. It is also a nice feature for users. Background-noise cancellation. Wireless options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support are some another good features of this phone.

[damsmith]

Pearl 8220, is function rich and good looking phone of Blackberry. RIM always tries to give some new and innovative to its users. Blackberry handsets and <a href="http://www.fommy.co.uk/blackberry-accessories.htm">Blackberry accessories</a> remain in demand due to RIM's new development. You can visit http://www.fommy.co.uk/blackberry-accessories.htm for more Blackberry accessories. Pearl 8220 provides microSD/SDHC cards of up to 16GB capacity. It is also a nice feature for users. Background-noise cancellation. Wireless options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support are some another good features of this phone.

[seandog2010]

This seems like a great phone!!!


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