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SINGAPORE : There's a certain je ne sais quoi about flip phones - you know, when you clamp them shut to end a phone call.
Now, BlackBerry heads can get in on the action with Research in Motion’s (RIM) latest, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (S$768) - the first BlackBerry in a clamshell form factor.
Compared to other casual phones on the market, the smartphone looks considerably thicker at 17.5mm. But it’s a handsome device, with clean, curved lines. The Pearl’s hinge, which gets most of the flipping action done, feels robust and well-engineered enough to warrant a praise.
There’s a nifty 1.6-inch external screen that, apart from displaying a clock, also previews the latest email, text or multimedia message, instant messaging and calendar notifications. When you flick the phone open, the internal 2.4-inch screen will automatically display what is onscreen on the external screen.
A glowing trackball, adopted from the BlackBerry’s predecessors, makes a welcome appearance on the 8220, making it easy for you to scroll through lists and navigate menus and emails.
The keypad, however, might not go down well with everyone. RIM has employed the SureType format, which lays out two letters on each key, unlike the more popular T9 input layout that assigns three letters to a key. Keying in text takes some getting used to and the predictive input can sometimes be annoying when it doesn’t get what you’re trying to spell.
The Pearl 8220 features an operating system that’s similar to the one on the BlackBerry Bold, with big icons and minimal onscreen clutter in its user interface. The phone’s browser renders websites just like a desktop computer, allowing you to navigate using the trackball. But it took a few seconds longer to load websites compared to the other BlackBerries we’ve laid our paws on.
The quad-band phone comes with Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11b/g) but 3G is sorely missing from its list of connectivity features. The clamshell phone is a pretty capable multimedia device: It has a standard 3.5mm audio port, a 2-megapixel camera with flash (that can also capture video) and you can pair a stereo Bluetooth headset to listen to music wirelessly. There’s 128MB of internal storage and a microSD slot.
Just like the Bold, the Pearl 8220 can receive email formatted in full HTML. You can set up to 10 email accounts on the phone. With a smartphone that’s geared for email, it was a cinch (no surprise there) to set up my numerous email accounts. Road warriors will be happy to know that they can also view and edit spreadsheets and text documents on the smart phone.
- TODAY/il
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