Research In Motion today unveiled the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry phone to come in the popular flip form factor. It should prove attractive to clamshell fans who want easy access to e-mail and text messaging on the go. Although it lacks 3G, this sleek device packs Wi-Fi for fast surfing and better voice coverage when you’re on your home network or in a hotspot (assuming you sign up for the T-Mobile HotSpot@Home service). The smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. The Pearl 8220 will come in red or black, and looks like a standard flip phone on the outside. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9″ x 1.9″ x 0.7″. Flipped closed, the 8220 is a little shorter but a little thicker than the existing Pearl. Featuring two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, the external LCD makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset, while the large, 240 x 320 internal LCD displays messages, videos and web pages with impressive detail and contrast.
As part of the Pearl series, you get the SureType keyboard (groan) and trackball navigator. Like the BlackBerry Bold, the Pearl Flip sports the new version 4.6 operating system, which means you should expect to see the same slick interface, an enhanced Web browser, iTunes sync capability (via BlackBerry Media Sync), and a lot more goodness under the hood. Having DataViz Documents to Go on board means you’ll be able to view and edit Office attachments the way they are meant to be seen without loss of formatting. We’re also psyched to try out the RSS reader. Other features on board are in line with the latest BlackBerrys. It has Wi-Fi, but no GPS; music and video players; Bluetooth; and a MicroSD card slot that’s fortunately in the side of the phone, rather than under the battery as with older BlackBerrys. For music lovers, there’s a standard 3.5-mm headphone jack and a new software application (common to all new ‘Berrys) that lets you sync with iTunes on your PC.RIM didn’t announce a specific date or price for the 8220’s release
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