Reviewing the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220

RIM introduced the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, which is the first U.S. BlackBerry to feature the latest version of the BlackBerry OS, which has a slick, more cartoonish interface and an improved Web browser that offers a more realistic rendition of Web pages than on previous BlackBerrys.

The flip phone comes in black or red and 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, 128×160 pixel external display and front-facing 2-megapixel camera, while you get a 65,536-color, 240×320-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.

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. You can also 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.

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.