Review: BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220

RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl variations have become very popular. Their pocket-friendly candybar design means they are easy to carry and they share the familiar and efficient RIM mobile email solution. There are two distinguishing features of the Pearl range.

One is the small white miniature trackball which is used to move around within applications, and the other is a keyboard on which two qwerty characters share a single key. Both are popular among Pearl fans and both are present in the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8820.

But in one important respect this is like no BlackBerry we’ve ever seen before. Because it is a flip phone. Doubtless inspired by the American love of that format, RIM has chosen to take the flip route and we aren’t at all sure it works for us.

Specs & info
Price: £contract
Operating system: BlackBerry OS
Processor: not specified
Memory: 128MB flash
Dimensions: 100mm x 50mm x 17.5mm
Weight: 102g
Display size: 2.2 diagonal inches
Display resolution: 320 x 240
Expansion slot: 1 x microSD

One very important aspect of the Pearl range is its small size. That is thrown out of the window with the Flip 8220 which is almost as tall as a candybar Pearl 81xx phone when it is closed, is thicker than one of those, and grows to something approaching twice as tall when it is opened.

The benefit you get from this leap in size is certainly not in the inner screen, which at 2.2 inches is not very much larger than the screen on a candybar Pearl smartphone.

The benefit is all in the keyboard which is a lot larger than that on a candybar Pearl smartphone. So if you’ve had trouble hitting keys correctly, maybe you might have better luck here.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 retains the small white trackball that is synonymous with the Pearl series of smartphones. In this case it is heavily recessed which we felt made it a little difficult to get to at times. We are pleased to see a 3.5mm headset connector and a side-mounted SD card slot, as well as two characteristic ‘convenience keys’, one on either side of the casing, which you can set to launch any application you like.

The user interface is very much like that on the Bold and Storm, and a big step forward from what went before. A full 23 icons for application groups and services sit on the main menu screen so there is no flicking between pages of menu options to get to what you want. The Home screen has five shortcuts to often used applications.

There is a front screen, of course, and this displays a neat analogue clock with date as well as incoming email notifications.

The Pearl Flip 8220 has Wi-Fi built in but no GPS (making it a complete switcheroo from the full screened Storm with its GPS and no Wi-Fi). It is a quad band GSM but has no 3G so those wanting fast data over the air for Web browsing and suchlike will be disappointed.

There is a 2 megapixel camera with LED flash. The lens is on the front flip so it faces outwards when you open the phone, towards you when the phone is closed. Sadly we found we were unable to use the front screen to frame pictures including ourselves.

We like the music player which benefits from a 3.5mm headset jack, but if you use your own headset you’ll loose out on handsfree calling as RIM’s provided headset is a one-piece affair. The alternative is A2DP which is, thankfully, catered for.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 has a couple of serious drawbacks. It isn’t 3G and it is pretty large for a flip phone. We do like the new look user interface though, which is matched by some ‘back-end’ tweaks like support for HTML email.

Essential Verdict
Performance: 8/10
We found battery life and call quality to be fine though neither were outstanding.

Design: 6/10
Really too tall for a flip phone which we think should be neater.

Features: 7/10
With no 3G or GPS on offer this is not a state of the art device.

Value for Money: 7/10
You can get it for free if you choose the right tariff.

Overall score: 6/10
Not a disaster by any means, but this is not really in keeping with what we have come to expect of the Pearl range.

Review originally appeared in Smartphone & PDA Essentials magazine. Words by Sandra Vogel.

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