RIM formally introduced its first flip, or clamshell, BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 was formally unveiled at the CTIA I.T. tradeshow, taking place this week in San Francisco. “The quad-band EDGE based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9” x 1.9” x 0.7”,” said RIM in a company statement. The new flip phone has all of the BlackBerry functions smartphone users have come to love, including:
- SureType QWERTY keyboard
- Bluetooth 2.0
- BlackBerry Media Sync
- High Speed USB 2.0
- Wi-Fi with support for UMA
- Compatible with BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server
The phone is scheduled for release this fall. Flip phone designs haven’t really worked too well for the smartphone crowd. But RIM is making an aggressive push into the consumer market, and this new design is aimed squarely there.
