BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 13, 2008 by Eric M. Zeman
RIM takes on the clamshell form factor with the Pearl Flip. Is it worth flipping out over? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great Phone
This is a solid phone. OS is much more stable then the older Pearls. Looks great, feels great. Larger suretype buttons and redesigned track ball makes this Blackberry a dark horse from other imfamous device like the Storm and Bold. Another innovation from RIM. Five star for me.
Awesome, Mature Phone
I have had Nokia, Motorola and Erickson phones and this BB is by far the most well designed, functional phone I have ever used.
I really wanted an iPhone, since I am a Mac guy, but I came from AT&T to T-Mobile and I just could not bear going back to AT&T. I really like T-Mobile as a provider.
My brother, who is already with AT&T, bought an iPhone the day I bought my BB and he hates the phone just about as much as he hates AT&T.
His main complaint is that it's phone functions have a lot to be desired.
I looked the G1, but felt it was not developed enough yet for prime time.
The BB is a serious, adult phone with vast business applications that work better for me. I also like the flip feature, which is what I am used to.
If you just want a toy, go with the G1. If you want a serious adult world phone, this BB is fantastic.
Awesome BB Pearl Flip! Love It To Death!
Thought I loved my moto zine zn5... but wow the concept of a flip blackberry pearl... wow. just wow. this phone is awesome! fast, speedy and efficient. does everything you would need. i recommend getting this over regular pearl or curve... i do like the 8800 series of phones though but no camera on those. pearl flip is wonderful! get it asap you wont be disappointed!
Overall a great phone
So I decided to try this phone out, being a big fan of the blackberry's, and see if it passes all of my tests. There are flaws, as with any phone, which I will point out below:
First the PROS:
1. Flip design. I love it.
2. User Interface. Its a wonderful upgrade to past OS's.
3. Battery Life. Not too bad.
4. WiFi, Camera, IM, Web, TXT, SMS, Games, all very well done.
Now the CONS:
1. Outer faceplate should be made of glass or something a little less resistant to scratching.
2. Processor speed is not the greatest but good enough.
3. Profiles are strange. Sometimes things like emails and facebook alerts make a noise and vibrate, sometimes just vibrate, other times nothing. I cant seem to figure it out but when I have the normal profile activated, it doesn't always work.
4. Notifications are also a little weird. If I answer a call and then hang up, the phone will be at the call history screen. If I simply close the phone, I get no alerts. Closing the phone should initiate the home screen so you get your alerts but if you are in the middle of something and close the phone, the phone stays on that specific app and you get no further alerts of any kind until you go to the home screen again. This is quite annoying because if I am driving and I check an email, then close the phone, I will not know if I have anything else after that unless I remember to go back to home. Pretty annoying...
5. Photo viewer does something that I cant stand. This is a serious oversight of Blackberry and should be corrected right away. There is no NEXT feature while viewing photos. Instead you have to select MENU, then SCROLL to next, then press the "pearl" to advance. Or you can hit the back key, scroll to the next photo and hit the pearl to select. NO NEXT KEY!!!! ARRRGGG!!!
Overall, I am happy I bought this phone but it needs a few improvements to get a full 5 of 5 from me. Thanks!
Chris
Love it!
I hadn't had a Blackberry in over a year (I was using a Windows Mobile phone), and wanted to get one again. I was considering between the Bold, Storm, and the 8220, after a lot of consideration of the phones themselves, the carriers that offer them, and the plans of said carriers, I decided on the 8220.
Pros:
* Keyboard is easier to type on than the one on the 8100 I had before. I can actually type faster on the SureType keyboards than on the full keyboards because of the great auto-completion.
* OS version 4.6 is nice, and the browser is WAY better than the older Blackberry browser.
* UMA is awesome!
* All the other things which Blackberry is typically known for (reception, battery life, messaging)
* The screen is nice and crisp
Cons:
* The camera seems not amazing, but I don't ever use it anyway.
* The UI can be a bit slow at times, but not like painfully slow or anything
* The charging jack is this new micro USB or something, so I had to buy a new car charger since my other (recent) Blackberries used the normal mini USB one.
* You can't customize the outside screen other than style of the clock
I LOOOOVE MY PHONE
I got my phone on 12/9/2008 as a Christmas gift to myself and I love the phone I had to get used to the QWERTY keyboard because I am not used to those but its great!!!! The wifi is a big plus on my list I love teh external display and I just love everything about the phone, I would suggest this phone to anyone as a metter of fact im buying my fiance one for XMAS
as far as bb's go it's the best yet
Let me start off by saying I have had to use BB's for many years now and none of them are great. This phone is no different. It is buggy, the programs are sluggish to load, the track balls are inconsistent on the vertical and horizontal movement no matter how yo set the sensitivity. That's what Blackberry is. That being said, this is by far the BEST BB I've owned. I love the flip design since I no longer feel like I am holding a piece of bread to my ear. The resolution of the screen is great, the angle of the flip is perfect for talking and holding. If you are used to the full qwerty key pad of other BB's the sure type is a little hard to get used to but within a day or so it feels very natural and with little training it learns your words. I would have given this phone a 4.5 if it didn't have the normal BB bugs. Oh yeah, the battery life is fantastic if you don't use the wifi for long periods and it pairs very well with the Blue Ant ear piece.
Despite what others Think
I like this phone
its the blackberry in a smaller package..
connects to wifi for awesome speed
decent battery life
awesome display
only think i dont like is that they forgot the 3g network =P
A Complete Upgrade
THIS IS NOT AN Iphone or a G1 lets get that out of the way! No 3G,
No GPS(I downloaded google maps and gets it done for me)
I got this phone just two days ago and have checked all its features out and the end result is that it is an awesome phone from Blackberry. I owned the last Pearl and this is a complete upgrade. Screen is beautiful! and larger. Keys are larger for typing. Sound is great contrary to some reviews I had read before I purchased. WiFi is great for browsing and watching YouTube and making calls when in areas that Mobile network is weak. Takes great 2.1 meg photos, Video camera is fun and gets job done but can be choppy. New interface and Icons are really great. You can customize/personalize where all your icons and apps go. Battery seems good so far. External screen is great because you don't have to open phone to know who is calling, it displays incoming number and ID photo and if you received emails or text it will show quick summary externally. Stereo bluetooth. I loaded facebook which integrates perfect and google maps (even w/street view) and it PLAYS MUSIC!!! organizes nicely Artist, Album etc and even loaded Album art (I put a 1Gig micro SD in the expanded memory slot)
Comes with two ear headphone wired (3.5 jack), data cable and wall charger. Connection to phone is now a micro USB port which is smaller so you cannot use old blackberry connections.
Bottom line is that this is a great phone that is a lot of fun and a complete upgrade from old pearl. If you are looking fora small, flip and blackberry that packs a punch then this is the phone for you, they nailed this one.
If you are a mac user and sync you must get a program called The Missing Sync from Mark/Space. it syncs your blackberry with a Mac seamlessly!!!!
Contact me for questions
BlackBerry Flip 8220
I've had the 8220 for about 11 days now; mind you have 14 days to return. First, let me start out by saying that I've had problems with the first two phones, which were exchanged for new ones and now I'm having problems with the 3rd phone. The load times of the menu's is slow and sometimes gets stuck. The speaker(which has been a problem on all three flips), still "crackles", and I still here "clicking" sounds in the ear piece. This is annoying! The screen is bigger and definitely brighter. The sure type keys are bigger and more comfortable to type with. The "clam-shell" design is new for me, since I haven't had one since the star tac series, but manageable. I like the way the messages pull up on the outside screen and you could scroll through them and open them. Very convenient! The OS system is very nice and crisp; could be a little better. The casing of the phone feels a little cheap, compared to other BB's I've had, curve, pearl, etc.. Sometimes I feel, when I'm talking on the phone, if I push to hard on the ear piece part, I get scared it might split or crack. I do not feel the flip was made durable enough, but it is light! All the goodies BB puts on their devices, the 8220 is a step up, if you like a flip phone, compared to a "candy bar". To summarize, I feel the 8220 is a good phone, considering its RIMS first flip...but they have a ways to go. More improvement is needed, as well as bug fixes and software updates. I go back and fourth, between my pearl 8120 and the 8220, trying to see which I like better. I still have three days to play with it. The question you have to ask yourself is this....Do I love flip's or the candy bar style, because thats what it comes down to; or do you PORT your number to verizon, get your umbrella out, and get ready for the "STORM"?
