BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230
Average Ratings
Tour to Flip
I am probably one of the few people that went from the Blackberry Tour (which is the darling Blackberry right now, on ANY network), to the Flip 8230. This seems kind of backwards, doesn't it?
Well on the face of it, the Tour IS a really nice phone ... well-constructed, strong features, rev. A data, and world phone abilities. However, I just did not fall in love with it, and even had callers at times unable to hear me clearly.
On to the Flip. Well, despite what a lot of people are opining, this phone IS a formidable upgrade from the Pearl 8130. The screen is far better, the memory allocation is better (hopefully no auto-deleted phone logs), and in general *I* find the phone downright zippy. Not sure where the lag is as I have not found much of any.
Call quality is excellent on both ends.
PROS:
Stylish phone
I think the keyboard surpasses the 8130, and
I really like it better than the Tour ... happy thumbs!
SureType ... yeah, this gets a bad rap but once you get used to it, it is really great. Any words it seems to confuse (i.e. "hold" and "gold"), you can create auto-text entries for
Recessed trackball works great
Nice screen ... far better than the Pearl, not as crisp as the Tour
Flip factor ... enough said
CONS:
Cheap quality. I am kind of surprised that BB let such a plasticky-feeling phone out of the warehouse. It does allow the phone to be light, but so was the Pearl 8130, and IT felt a lot more bullet-proof.
Bluetooth issues ... I had to exchange my first Flip due to connection problems. Also, the volume through my Plantronics is nowhere near as loud as the Tour.
Rev. 0 instead of Rev. A data - why?
A little expensive for the quality offered.
Well, I really recommend this phone. It's a little powerhouse in a small package. Also, I AM a power-user so don't let this "entry-level" moniker fool you. You'll get more done with this than a Curve or even a Tour and look stealthy at the same time!
VZW Pearl is a real Gem!
Wow, just wow!
I used the Tour for about a week and really liked it as well.
However, this was my other choice. I am not sure how many of you (like me) that have been waiting for RIM to finally make the flip design.. but I sure am glad it is here.
The design on this is fantastic. The only downside is that it does look a little plain. But in the scheme of things, does that really matter when your productivity increases? The screen is brilliant, email is seemless (like on all BB's). Enhance this with VZW's network and you have a winner.
The speaker quality is excellent, the calls are loud and also the caller agrees that the voice quality is stellar.
VZ Navigator a must.
VZ visual voice mail is fantastic!
Good team work VZW and RIM!
Blackberry Pearl Flip Verizon
Got this the day it came out. I have used just about every Blackberry, I enjoy a nice flip phone and this new
Blackberry flip for Verizon puts everything into one complete package. Flip phone meets Blackberry power!
What is the most amazing thing about this phone is, the weight. You pick this bad boy up and you just can't get over how lite it is. Great sound, Great screen, buttons are spaced out well and it feels good in the hand.
The 1 con that I have about this phone is the battery. I would think by now they could have come up with a better battery, but I have my home charge and car charger, so I am all set.
Too many Glitches!
This phone had great potential. Had they done more consumer testing before putting this phone on the market, it might have been a good phone!
Pros:
-sleek design
-nice camera
-bedside mode on flip (so screen isn't too bright to sleep)
-loud ringer
Cons:
-slow, slow, slow!
-only 2 themes that are basically the same thing
-too many glitches! I've now had TWO phones, just in case the first one was just a bad phone. They have both had external sound problems. Meaning, my ringer didn't ring when someone called, texted, or emailed, and my alarm clock didn't make noise - which makes an alarm kind of pointless, right? Two phones have had that same glitch!
-vibration is too light
-browser is fairly slow, and using it sucks the battery out quickly
-USB 2 port? No one has those! Pointless!
-very plasticky feeling
-scratches easily
-front screen display is boring. All you can put on there is the clock.
-beware if you get black - fingerprints and smudges are magnets to this phone. There's truly no way to keep your front screen clean!
I feel like I could go on forever with the cons. This phone could've been so much better! I'm personally not a fan of the operating system, but since that's opinion, I won't list it in the cons. I like the OS on the BB Pearl (non flip) phone. Overall, I've had entirely too many problems with this phone and cannot wait to return it and get a new one. This phone doesn't do Blackberry justice at all!
GREAT PHONE!!!!
I received this phone through a multi fru exchange from verizon. I had a curve and loved it but being in the construction business my curve would always need a track ball from all the dust. So after 4 exchanges verizon gave me the choice of any blackberry, I tried the storm in the store but it still has lag issues so I went for the pearl and wont look back! This phone has the feel of a regular flip phone but the power of a berry. This is the best phone I have ever had hands down!!
Surprising upgrade to the Pearl
I've been using a Blackberry Pearl 8130 for over a year. I like the size, but not real happy about the keyboard size and display.
The new Flip model has really resolved those issues for me.
It has all the features you expect from a Blackberry, without looking like a Blackberry. It's great for anyone who wants a nice looking phone with the advanced features of a smartphone.
The keyboard is much larger than the Pearl 8130's, and the display is bigger. The keys are not so scrunched together. And, the internet browser works much better, displaying web pages better than other blackberries I've seen.
Pros:
Nice roomy keyboard, nice size display, works great as a phone, good internet browser, sleek look, great for non-business users who want all the features of a smartphone, good bluetooth connection quality, good media phone. Even gets MobiTV, which I use a lot.
Cons:
No RevA (though web pages load fast)
No Wifi with Verizon
All in all, a surprisingly good upgrade from the Pearl 8130, worth a look from both consumers and business users.
Not ypur typical berry
Maybe your stuck thinking a blackberry has gotta be a slab with a qwerty I don't know.
Don't be scared off by the size & form the flips got everything a blackberry's known for in a smaller package.
Ive owned the flip for 2 days now (not long and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised.
People are calling this an entry level phone & I personally don't understand this? Maybe its cause it doesn't have gigs of memory or the fastest dual processor well you don't need these things when your not pushing a big screen storm with gsm & cdma.
I have to say that I think they made a mistake not putting rev.A in this phone but I'm watching a utube video right now & its streaming just fine with 3 bars on verizon in the Cleveland Ohio area.
The screen is is the best Ive seen in a phone this size with almost no washout in direct sun.
Suretype and the 20 key board work well. There will be some getting used to it but even going from one qwerty to another takes adjustment.
Sound out of this thing will surprise you
Call clarity is good
Speaker phone is good
Reception is just as good if not better than my storm again verizon/Cleveland
Doesn't do weather maps ive tried real well
Third party apps & theme support needed
If your not a so called power user that tries to use a cell for a lap top and your tired of or dont like the slabs give this a serious look
Alltel Pearl Flip Rocks
This is my first smart phone (got it four days ago), and I am *crazy* about it. I'm in Wyoming, where Alltel will eventually become AT&T, and have been an Alltel customer for three years. Given my wife's sister's iPhone frustrations in Denver, I am more than ambivalent about the transition to AT&T. But given that Alltel is practically giving away phones with a one- (not two-) year contract, I took a chance. Will update if the carrier transition goes horribly wrong. Onto the phone itself:
PROs:
* Flip style lets me just throw it in a pocket;
* Battery life is better than expected;
* Blackberry makes available legacy versions of their desktop manager, so with a "downgraded" version, I'm actually able to sync with Lotus Organizer, which I never thought would sync without expensive software;
* Intuitive interface (subjective);
* Keys reasonably sized and have good tactile feedback;
* The 20-key keyboard beats both a full QWERTY and T9 once you get used to it (the typing game helps) (subjective);
* An all-around workhorse: Fun games, good productivity software, browser, communications (IM clients, e-mail, Facebook & texting).
CONs:
* Default speaker & ring volume quiet;
* Likewise, default vibration is weak;
* I may never unplug from the Internet again.
Phonescoop indicates that the Pearl Flip doesn't do instant messaging, but it does. I'm also pretty sure it does BREW.
I only got a smart phone because my wife wanted one with a touch screen. As usual, she was right. It takes a force of will for me to put my Pearl Flip down.
less than stellar device
This was a really disappointing device. I've had several Blackberries over the years, and when I recently switched to Verizon, I decided to give this a try. In the end, the only thing that satisfied me with the device was the price.
Pros:
1. It's a great looking phone. The design doesn't lend itself attractive to pick-pocketers at first glance.
2. Half-qwerty keyboard is easy to use, with large keys. I had no trouble using it at all.
3. Web-browser did a good job of displaying full html sites, and Verizon's 3G network was pretty snappy.
4. Reception and call quality were both very good.
Cons:
1. The phone freezes up frequently, and is prone to freezing at any time with any application. Clearing the event log as often as once per hour did not even resolve the issue.
2. Battery life is absolutely atrocious. I know it's a Blackberry, but half a day of moderate use drained the battery.
3. Does not come with manual NAM or Channel settings, and as a consequence, the phone was incapable of roaming---even in areas where Verizon provides extended network coverage.
Despite the good reception, call quality, and more than functional web browser, I cannot recommend this phone to anyone. Perhaps my particular model was a lemon, but if so, it was a large lemon at that. It's an attractive device at an attractive price, but Verizon has much better smartphone offerings than this one. The phone freezes too much, and the battery life does not render it practical for any array of users.
