BlackBerry Pearl 8220 KickStart from CTIA San Francisco 2008

There’s nothing like a little hands-on time with a “first of its kind” mobile phone. Research In Motion, our favorite little BlackBerry manufacturer from Canada, came to CTIA San Francisco 2008 with just these kinds of little gems in tow.

We came to the Moscone Center and immediately noticed the BlackBerry booth proudly displaying the latest BlackBerry handsets to cross the northern border. Following on the RIM’s Pearl 8220 announcement, RIM had the clamshell BlackBerry on hand for some, well, hands-on time. RIM’s first clamshell BlackBerry smartphone has emerged from the land of rumor, as expected, on T-Mobile’s network in the US.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8220 sports a decently sized screen with just the right combination of clarity and brightness (which is to say, abundant amounts of each). The BlackBerry 8220 passes over an integrated GPS receiver in favor of a WiFi radio. That’s fortunate because you’ll want a WiFi connection to complement the EDGE data connection – nope, no 3G for the BlackBerry 8220 Pearl.

But, the most notable aspect of the BlackBerry 8220 Pearl is its somewhat deceptive form-factor. From pictures and mockups, you’d think that RIM’s first BlackBerry flip-phone would be one hefty sucker. Having held and actually played with the Pearl 8220 for long enough to know what is what, I can say that the BlackBerry 8220 feels a lot slimmer and lighter than I had expected. And, the slick clamshell even looks slimmer in person – perhaps due to the lighter-colored metallic accents adorning the front flip creating a sort of optical illusion.

Whatever the case, we don’t care how big the BlackBerry 8220 Pearl is. All we care about is how it feels in the hand. And, when it comes to the hands-on experience the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 doesn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, the lack of 3G could be a deal-killer to many a smartphone user.

For those of you that just can’t wait to get your hands on a BlackBerry flip-phone, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The combination of cool form-factor and surprisingly svelte profile will definitely offer a unique BlackBerry experience.