Flipping for the New BlackBerry Pearl
Gary Krakow
10/14/08 - 01:20 PM EDT
With all the recent hub-bub about
Apple's(AAPL Quote) iPhone 3G,
T-Mobile's(DT Quote) G-1 (the first
Google(GOOG Quote)phone) and the new
Research In Motion(RIMM Quote) Blackberry Bold and Storm phones -- no one should overlook another new device that has just been announced -- the brand new BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220.
The Flip is the first-ever BlackBerry flip-open phone and is very cool. I've been testing it for a short time, and took a look at it a month ago
in this video in San Francisco. I have to tell you, this is one heck of a terrific device.
First of all, this is the smallest and lightest BlackBerry I've ever carried in my pocket. It measures 2 inches by 3.9 inches by 0.7 inches and weighs only 3.6 ounces. It is a GSM/EDGE world phone (operating on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands) and has a lithium-ion battery that can provide up to four hours of talk and 15 days of stand-by power.
The tiny handset has so many built-in features I don't know where to begin. There's Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel video and still camera, real HTML Web browsing, hi-fi ringtones, a MP3 music player, microSD memory card slot (a 256MB card is included), Internet email capabilities and, of course, BlackBerry email.
The Wi-Fi is a terrific feature for two reasons. The Flip is not a 3G device. EDGE is 2.5G technology. It's a little slower than most 3G services, but is a lot easier on battery life. Wi-Fi allows the phone to fly when you're near a friendly 802.11 network.
Because the Flip does Wi-Fi, it can take advantage of T Mobile's HotSpot@Home service that routes your calls over the Internet via Wi-Fi instead of using your minutes on T-Mobile's cellular network. Think of it as VoIP for your cell phone. The service costs only $9.99 in addition to your regular monthly calling plan and offers unlimited domestic calling via Wi-Fi. This service also solves any problem you might have finding a usable cell-phone signal inside your home. As an added benefit, voice quality when using Wi-Fi to make calls is terrific.
The only feature I questioned was the keypad. The Flip uses the Pearl's two-letters-per-key system. When you first use the phone it takes time to type in information. But the phone's predictive spelling software does a great job of learning how and what you type, so that after a few days of use, it begins to know what words you want to use. I'm now able to fly when sending messages.
I have my corporate BlackBerry mail on the Flip as well as my Google mail. Originally, I tried both the internal BlackBerry system to set up my Google mail account as well as Google's own downloadable applet made especially for BlackBerries. It's not even a contest. Go with the Google app; it's terrific.
And while I'm mentioning applets, I'd like to give a thumbs-up for
TheStreet.com's BlackBerry application, which makes accessing our Web site a breeze.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 sells for $149.99 on T-Mobile's Web site. That's with a two-year service contract of your choice. And don't forget the additional $10-per-month Wi-Fi service, it might make you forget your old-fashioned, wired home-phone service.
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, you may want to take a long, hard look at the BlackBerry Pearl Flip. The tiny phone may just be the perfect fit, both literally and figuratively.
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