You wouldn’t believe the looks I got while using the BlackBerry Pearl Flip at CTIA Wireless. Most were of surprise, others bordered on disgust, others still were closer to curiosity. Even the RIM people gave me weird reactions – “Really? You use that?” Still, I reassured everyone that my regular BlackBerry was a Bold, which was met with many a sigh of relief. One of the some common complaints for the Pearl Flip have been a cheap-feeling construction, the oddly recessed trackball, how the flip jutts out the rear, and overall size, but after using the Pearl Flip from Telus off and on almost since launch, I can say I’m not that disappointed with it. It wouldn’t replace my Bold in a million years, but the 8230 does have a few things going for it. Since the BlackBerry 8230 just came out on Alltel and we’re expecting it on Verizon soon, we thought it might be worth checking out.
BlackBerry Pearl Flip
8230 (CDMA with 3G)
- Telus, Bell – $49.99
- Virgin Mobile -Free
- Alltel – $99.99
8220 (GSM with Wi-Fi)
Pros
- New, flush keyboard style works well
- Form factor appeals to a new crowd
- External LCD offers new functionality
Cons
- A tad on the bulky side
- Recessed trackball takes getting used to
- Video doesn’t take advantage of full screen
Specifications
Available Features
Camera (2.0 MP)
Media Player
Video Recording
BlackBerry® Maps
Wireless email
Organizer
Browser
Phone
Corporate Data Access
SMS/MMS
Size and Weight
Height: 3.98 inches (101 mm)
Width: 1.97 inches (50 mm)
Depth: 0.69 inches (17.5 mm)
Weight: 3.6 ounces (102 grams)
Display
Internal Display: High-resolution 240 x 320 color transmissive TFT LCD
External Display: High-resolution 128 x 160 color transmissive TFT LCD
Font size (user selectable)
Backlighting
Light sensing screen
Camera & Video Recording
Camera: 2.0 MP camera (JPEG encoding) with flash, digital zoom
Video Camera: Depending on the amount of built-in memory available for use, a third-party microSD card may need to be properly inserted into the BlackBerry smartphone to enable the video recording feature
Battery & Battery Life
BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8220
- Standby time: 14 days (336 hours)
- Talk time: 4 hours
- 900 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8230
- Standby time: 9 days (216 hours)
- Talk time: 3.5 hours
- 900 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
BlackBerry Maps
Preloaded with BlackBerry Maps
Data Input & Navigation
Trackball
SureType® QWERTY keyboard
Keyboard backlighting
Voice Input & Output
3.5mm stereo headset capable
Integrated earpiece/ microphone
Built-in speakerphone
Bluetooth® v2.0; headset, hands-free and serial port profiles supported
M3, T4 Rating for hearing aids
Media Player
Video format support: MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.263, WMV
Audio format support: MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA
Ringtones & Notifications
Polyphonic/MIDI ringtones
MP3 ringtones
Vibrate mode
LED indicator
Bluetooth
Bluetooth v2.0; headset, hands-free and serial port profiles supported
Keyboard Security
Password protection and keyboard lock
Support for AES or Triple DES encryption when integrated with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
FIPS 140-2 Compliant (FIPS Validation In Progress)
Optional support for S/MIME
Wireless Networks
BlackBerry Traffic: 800/1900 MHz CDMA 2000 1X Networks1
CDMA 2000 1 x EV-DO Support
Quad-Band: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz GSM/
GPRS and EDGE networks
North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks
North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
EDGE networks
So those are the specs, but let’s get to the review proper…