While the smartphone world is moving toward touchscreen technology, Research in Motion on Monday partnered with T-Mobile to announce the first BlackBerry flip phone.
According to Leslie Grandy, vice president of product development at T-Mobile, the flip phone remains the preferred design for mobile phones in the United States. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 offers the same core features other Pearl models offer, but adds a few new bells and whistles.
At a glance, those features include a large keyboard that aims to make it easier for consumers to type and dial. The flip design seeks to protect the large screen and offer consumers assurance the call is over when they close the device. The Pearl Flip 8220 also offers an external display for previewing calendar reminders, e-mail, text messages and phone calls without having to flip the phone open.
RIM Pushes ‘Refined Usability’
The Pearl Flip 8220 boasts multimedia capabilities, including RIM’s mobile push e-mail solution, text and picture messaging, mobile Web browsing, and built-in W-Fi that targets consumers who frequently share pictures, check sports scores, and access social-networking sites.
Beyond the flip design, the new model also boasts advanced multimedia capabilities through video recording and playback, a 2.0-megapixel camera with digital zoom, stereo Bluetooth support, and an external memory card slot.
“The BlackBerry Pearl Flip takes all the advanced features and refined usability that customers have come to expect from BlackBerry smartphones and makes them available in a friendly and innovative design,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at Research In Motion. “Whether they are sending text messages or e-mail, listening to music, or simply making phone calls, customers are going to love using this phone.”
T-Mobile’s additions to the BlackBerry Pearl Flip include support for unlimited hot-spot calling and myFaves support for one-click access to instant messaging, e-mailing or texting…