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BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220
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When Research in Motion had a corner on the mobile e-mail market, the company fostered roughly the same innovation as the Soviet empire circa 1989. Color screens? Who needs that on a phone meant for the working class? A media player? We should not foster idleness and diversion. A camera? That's Bolshevik! But now that nearly every phone can handle e-mail and IM, RIM is forced to play catch-up. With the Flip, a BlackBerry can finally go toe to toe with so-called multimedia phones, while still touting its BackBerryness.
When the Pearl line made its debut, BlackBerry users were treated to a newfound wealth of goodies like a camera, media player and the sweetest trackball we've seen outside an Apple mouse. But the Flip takes it a step further with WiFi calling and browsing, a better camera and an arguably better screen — essentially it has left the catch-up phase and has features worthy of envy.
BlackBerrys have a long history of weak, pale, washed-out screens; even the original Pearls' was a bit lackluster. But the Flip's? We're talking bright and rich at 240 x 320. Being able to switch to WiFi for voice calls and faster browsing is useful (and should be on every phone). The voice quality is just as good or better than calling over GSM. RIM also ups the camera to 2 megapixels, though there's no getting past the "I took this with my phone" look — snaps still abound with telltale blur and lack of detail. The SureType layout (two letters per button) is not that big of a hassle, unless you like impressing your friends with uncommon words like "nidifice" or "yelve," and though typing in e-mail addresses can be frustrating, the Flip will remember all your obscure web addresses the second time around. And even though RIM only promised four hours of talk time, we were able to wring six hours from the phone with the WiFi off.
RIM can pat itself on the back for these successes, but this phone is far from perfect. It's not terribly compact when closed, and when open, it's too big and positively awkward. You'd have to have to be Andre the Giant or Yao Ming for it to fit your head. The side buttons for volume, camera and voice dialing are elusive and hard to press without inadvertently hitting the wrong one. The video player is weak and prone to freezing the picture if you adjust the volume mid-video. In fact, the phone's all-around laggy when switching between applications and after button presses.
RIM's inaugural foray into flip phones is decent, and it's good that the company has a model that's fully up to date, but it could benefit from some design refinements and a stronger processor to reduce some of the phone's almost omnipresent lag. Flip phone enthusiasts aching for a Blackberry (if there is such a thing) will probably like it and overlook its flaws. And though Andre is not here to enjoy it, Yao is. —Roger Hibbert
WIRED The bright, sharp screen is pretty and vivid. Long talk time is a boon for e-mail fiends and talkaholics. WiFi calling is loud and clear with audio fidelity akin to GSM. Comes with a microSD slot for adding storage (and includes a 265-MB card).
TIRED Video playback is low quality and prone to freezes. Images in e-mails are re-rendered for the screen at an uncomfortably low quality. The countersunk nubbin is harder to tap than other Pearl models. Phone is big, awkward and gangly when opened.
$150 (with two-year contract), t-mobile.com
(Photos by Jonathan Snyder for Wired.com)
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