Manage updates with the Download AppBlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (Black)
Manufacturer: BlackBerry Part number: 8220FLIPBLKTMB
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- While its flashier siblings may overshadow it, the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 should satiate the appetite of flip phone fanatics by bringing in a clamshell design.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (Black) price range: $235.28
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 10/12/2008
- Released on: 10/13/2008
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 features a brilliant internal display and updated interface. The smartphone continues to offer strong e-mail support and adds Documents to Go. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel camera are also onboard.
The bad: The Pearl Flip 8220 doesn't offer 3G support or GPS. The SureType keyboard also takes some acclimation.
The bottom line: While its flashier siblings may overshadow it, the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 should satiate the appetite of flip phone fanatics by bringing in a clamshell design.
User reviews
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A Mixed Bag
by pcorning on October 13, 2008
Pros: * Clamshell design - finally, no more auto-on or auto-wake in the pocket.
* Larger keyboard - much easier to use for phone and typing, fewer mistakes
* Seems a little faster than the 8120
* Application / OS changes with BB 4.6 (minor improvements)Cons: * Narrower screen than 8220 makes web browsing a little more difficult
* New browser has rendering problems, locks up phone occasionally (bad)Summary: Upgrade from an earlier Pearl only if you really want the clamshell (great for the pocket), or if you want a larger keyboard. These are big improvements, make the Pearl ...
Summary: Upgrade from an earlier Pearl only if you really want the clamshell (great for the pocket), or if you want a larger keyboard. These are big improvements, make the Pearl better for email, much easier to dial.
The Flip's web browsing is worse than the 8120 Pearl's. Graphics look bad, text is tiny (zooming doesn't help the experience) - rendering is bad overall. The narrow screen tweaks page layouts. Why are reviewers telling people the browser has improved? This will really tick off a lot of users.
The case is attractive and easy to hold, making typing easy enough. Side buttons are a little tougher to press, which is a good thing (earlier Pearls let you trigger functions too easily from the pocket, or while just holding the phone). Battery door is very flimsy - I'd guess RIM will see some requests for lost plastic here. It will be interesting to see how long the external screen resists scratches.
It isn't clear why RIM chose a narrower (than 8120) main screen for this phone, since the horizontal compression of web pages seems to screw up their formatting a bit. The browser itself seems to distort and pixellate images a little, making it difficult to take advantage of the otherwise beautiful screen.
New monochrome application icons are disastrous - no longer can you tell at a glance what the icons correspond to. RIM has also re-worked the main screen's directory structure to allow more downloaded apps. You'll notice that it takes longer to find a few favorites (Google Maps goes into a Downloads folder, so requires another click to get to it), but it may be easier in the long run.
Camera and video seem about the same as the 8120. Camera is OK. Video isn't great.
Speakers are substantially improved over Pearl 8120 - music and phone calls sound rich and clear. Nicely done here.
Updated on Oct 14, 2008
The black case shows fingerprints very clearly, and they will stay after a simple wipe on the shirt. Poor choice here for RIM.
Battery life appears improved over the 8120.
Voice quality is great.
Still happy with the upgrade, but I will gnash my teeth when using the web browser.
Updated on Jan 28, 2009After 3 months I am still mixed on the phone. Love the flip, and the larger keyboard. The phone still seems to start more slowly than others (though faster than the first 2 Pearls), and it bogs down occasionally despite once/week battery-out restarts (recommended for Blackberries to improve performance).
The glossy black (external) surface is getting scratched and pitted, despite fairly careful treatment. No big deal for me, but it will tick some folks off that this happens in 3 months.
I bought a higher-capacity battery (Seidio Innocell) that has increased talk/standby time by a lot. Worth the $35.
No rush to upgrade now, but I'm getting the feeling my next phone won't be a Blackberry.13 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone & design for a combo of style and function.
by Kayastha929 on December 7, 2008
Pros: -Size is better than other Blackberrys
-Not a trypical business-looking smart phone
-Great service quality! I have yet to drop a call on this one in areas where I've lost calls with other phones.
-Decent battery lifeCons: -A bit sluggish at times when moving from one application to another. Creates an unnecessary delay
-Only came with two very basic themes.
-Web browser is not what I had hoped for at all!
-Mini USB plug makes it so older accessories won't work.Summary: I have had the Blackberry Curve in the past and I love the features that Blackberry has to offer. When I found out they were coming out with a flip ...
Summary: I have had the Blackberry Curve in the past and I love the features that Blackberry has to offer. When I found out they were coming out with a flip phone that would have the same capabilities but in a more stylish package, I had to get my hands on it! Overall, I have been very happy with the purchase. The phone has a great sleek design. The keyboard, while it does take some getting used to, is spacious and one-handed typing is not a problem at all. The battery life is fine. I charge my phone each night and the charge gets through the day no problem. I have been very pleased with the call quality. In places where I have dropped many calls in the pat, I have not experienced that problem at all with this phone!
However, I do have a few gripes with the phone. For one, I have been disappointed the few times that I have tried to look up simple things on the web browser. I find that it is extremely slow and really doesn't load pages very well at all. Also, the fact that it came with two very basic themes. On other Blackberrys that I've had, it seemed normal to include a today theme and a Zen theme just for some variety. That was not the cae with this one and so of course if you want one of those themes you have to spend additional money on it. And in regards to spending extra money, the fact that the phone has a mini USB plug makes it so that car chargers you've had for other Blackberry devices won't fit, again forcing people to spend more money. The final complaint that I have is probably the most legitimate. There's a considerable delay on the phone. I've noticed this in switching from one application to another and well as with the buttons on the phone. In regards to the buttons, I find that when I try to dial a phone number quickly, the buttons don't all register and I have to delete and try again until all the digits have registered. I find a similar lag when attempting to move form one application to another. Overall, this is something I could get used tom but at the same time I don't feel that I should have to.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good fit for my needs - probably not good for everyone.
by MoJoeRider on January 1, 2009
Pros: Compact, Flip Design that fits well in the pocket, very good voice quality, Wi-Fi Hotspot is very useful, has a good calendar program and I like the overall design of the phone.
Cons: Fingerprints are problematic, T-Mobile needs to expand their coverage area or work on their customer's access to roaming areas - too many dead zones.
Summary: I like this phone. I do not wish to do heavy web surfing or even a lot of email. However, I need a very good organizer and calendar and a ...
Summary: I like this phone. I do not wish to do heavy web surfing or even a lot of email. However, I need a very good organizer and calendar and a phone that is of high quality. Also, for the last four years I have used a Treo 650 and have grown tired of the open face design. This phone fits my needs. I wish that T-Mobile had a broader coverage area. The Wi-Fi hotspot is the only thing that allows me to have service at my house. Overall, I would recommend this phone if your needs do not involve a lot of web surfing.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Blackberry pearl flip is the worst phone I have owned.
by jerholland2 on November 1, 2009
Pros: Texting is easy
Cons: Dropped calls, freezing up, Roller ball gets dirt in it. Difficult to use. Menu makes no sense. Prone to breakage.
Summary: The Blackberry pearl flip is the frankly the worst phone I have every owned. My wife bought it for me for Xmas last year. It took more than a day ...
Summary: The Blackberry pearl flip is the frankly the worst phone I have every owned. My wife bought it for me for Xmas last year. It took more than a day just to learn how to use basic function. The menu and where settings are located make no sense. Very complicated to use. It constantly would freeze up and drop calls. It finally got dropped and broke in 2 pieces. That was the best thing that ever happened to it. If you are looking for an easy phone to use, Try a Samsung. I have one and I LOVE IT. SUCH an easy phone to use and it JUST MAKES SENSE! Love my SAMSUNG. I will NEVER by a blackberry again!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good if it works, but good luck finding a working one.
by crazy_jxx on May 17, 2010
Pros: Good design, I love the flip style phones, great keyboard (faster and more accurate then regular T9 phones), big screen although not big enough for web surfing in my opinion.
Cons: Bluetooth stops working, Front screen freezes, Phone shuts off randomly requiring a battery pull to turn it back on,
Summary: I have gone through 9 of these phones and each has been replaced due to issues with the phone. The bluetooth module in the phone quit working in 2 of ...
Summary: I have gone through 9 of these phones and each has been replaced due to issues with the phone. The bluetooth module in the phone quit working in 2 of them (RIM says that it is a known issue with these phones) The front screen froze very often in 3 of them (even when I pulled the battery it would freeze again when I turned it on. Front screen is very laggy, if it does work, it will briefly display the last contact that you called after you make the next call (For example if you call Bob then hang up and call Sue, when you hang up on Sue the front screen will display Bob's contact picture for a second).
The Phone blacks out quite often as well. Once or twice a week you will take it out of your pocket and notice that the phone is off (when you didn't turn it off) and then it will not turn by just hitting the power button. You will have to pull the battery and do a full reset to get it to turn on. I have experienced this problem with all of the phones I've owned. I have a feeling it has to do with Blackberry putting all of the features on the phone without the hardware being up to par. It is very inconvenient because you don't know how long it has been off for or if anyone called you while it was off. This would be the biggest problem with the phone in my opinion.
The Calendar does not have as many functions as I would like from a smartphone (although this is how all blackberries are) I would like to see an option to allow you to create 2-3 different calendars (in different colors) like Work and Pleasure.
Overall a great phone if it works but with all of the problems I've had with my phones and my family's phones it is very unlikely you will get a 100% working phone. If the front screen doesn't freeze, the bluetooth will die, if the bluetooth works, blackouts will be common... It is frustrating.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Awful phone slow and crashes often
by blckbrry on March 15, 2010
Pros: can read e-mail on it and the keyboard is slightly larger
Cons: Slow bad keyboard design and the phone crashes more then it works. I've gone through 2 of them now and I have a friend who hates his as well for the same reasons.
Summary: Only buy this phone if your a true masochist.
Summary: Only buy this phone if your a true masochist.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Worst cell phone I have ever owned - HANDS DOWN!
by cvierrether12 on December 9, 2009
Pros: - The display is quite brilliant for a clam shell phone.
Cons: - Phone randomly locks up and the battery must be removed to re-boot it.
- Phone randomly shuts down and reboots itself. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes to reboot completely. Sometimes it takes 1+ hours.
- Trackball is not the best.Summary: I have tried all solutions recommended by T-Mobile Blackberry support. Nothing works. This phone is quite simply the worst phone I have EVER owned!!! I recently upgraded to the new ...
Summary: I have tried all solutions recommended by T-Mobile Blackberry support. Nothing works. This phone is quite simply the worst phone I have EVER owned!!! I recently upgraded to the new Blackberry Bold 9700. Hopefully the Bold 9700 can restore my faith in Blackberry.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very Satisfactory Phone
by yoft12 on December 4, 2009
Pros: Large keyboard that is easy to type on (after slight learning curve)
Large screen with good resolution
Text message organization is great - I love the way that Blackberries combine the sent texts and received texts together into a conversationCons: Very slight performance issues
Slow boot timeSummary: I've owned this phone now for more than a year, and I love it. I've never had to exchange it for another one, and I've never had ...
Summary: I've owned this phone now for more than a year, and I love it. I've never had to exchange it for another one, and I've never had an real issues with it. A few times (over the course of an entire year) I've had some major performance issues where the phone's processor seems too slow and it freezes up, forcing me to remove the battery and rebooting it. The reboot times are very slow (~5 minutes), but only for a complete reboot, which involves removing the battery. If you just shut the phone down with the power key, the boot time is about the same as any other phone.
The keyboard is large and easy to type with, although it does take a little getting used to if you've never used a suretype keyboard before, but once you're used to it (easily within a week), it works great and the predictive text function works great. The design is great but does tend to attract a lot of fingerprints. It doesn't really bother me but it might bother some. The battery life does exactly what I need it to do, which is be able to last a full day of fairly heavy usage without running out. I text about 5500 messages a month and do a fair amount of calling and I have never had the battery run out on me (I charge it every night). To last more than one day without charging may be pushing its limits, but I'm sure it could do it with light usage. Call quality is great on St. Louis' T-mobile's network and the volume is nice and loud. YOUR call quality will vary depending on your network and your location.
The phone isn't perfect, but it works very well for me. Before this phone, I have always wanted an iphone but since I was on T-mobile's network, I chose this phone. Now, I'm thinking I might stick with Blackberry because the keyboard is great and I'm not a big fan of virtual keyboards. Especially since the new Blackberries have an optical trackpad (like a Laptop's touchpad) in place of the trackball, which does tend to get dirty and you may have some mechanical issues with it (although I have had none so far).
Bottom Line:
Great phone for messaging
Slight performance issues
Does everything I need it to do
Battery has no problems whatsoever lasting through a full day1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Worst phone ever.
by minikin84 on November 5, 2009
Pros: Nice view screen, styling of the phone was done well, the scroll ball is convenient.
Cons: Terrible reception, dropped calls, slow loading for everything, keypad takes a lot of practice, feels cheaply made, software is glitchy.
Summary: I got this phone for my husband. It takes about 10 minutes for the phone to start up when you turn it on, and typing is slow to register. The ...
Summary: I got this phone for my husband. It takes about 10 minutes for the phone to start up when you turn it on, and typing is slow to register. The qwerty keypad takes a lot of getting used to, even for someone who can type 100+ gwam on a regular computer's keyboard. It has a very plasticy feel.. this makes it light-weight but it also feels really cheap.. like if you put it in your pocket, it may not live to see another day. It gets TERRIBLE reception just about everywhere you try to use it, and sometimes text messages take upwards of an hour to come through. Recently, the phone was dropped in our livingroom. It did not fall very far at all, but we came ro realize that somehow, the drop caused the SMS folder to just disappear. I figured out how to get the phone to place regular SMS texts into the "messages" folder, and this solved the problem for about two days... now, he is unable to recieve texts at all. I fail to see how dropping a phone no more than a few inches could cause an entire folder to vanish, but that is exactly what happened.
TL;DR = This phone is a waste of your money. 6 months, and it's already useless. I would not buy this again for anything.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Smart device and great value for money.
by bas60061 on July 6, 2009
Pros: Compact and flippable. Great key pad, english auto correct helps in composing faster and accurate emails/SMS/IM . Very much suited for telephone & text based information.Google maps works magic on this device like real GPS, Wifi feature is Great!
Cons: Web experience is limited to news paper reading and picture download is limited by TMobile network speed. Not my device for real web experience.
Summary: I love it because: Strong, Compact, Key size, spell check/auto correct, email, news reading, google applications, fantastic stero sound..............
Summary: I love it because: Strong, Compact, Key size, spell check/auto correct, email, news reading, google applications, fantastic stero sound..............
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: BlackBerry
- Part number: 8220FLIPBLKTMB
- Description: Stylish and compact, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8200 series smartphones puts you in control of how and when you communicate while you're on the go. Whether you're browsing the web or connecting with family and friends, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8200 series smartphones combine fun and functionality in a whole way.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Smartphone
- Form Factor Folder (flip)
- Integrated Components Voice recorder,
Digital camera,
Digital player - Width 2 in
- Depth 0.7 in
- Height 4 in
- Weight 3.6 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology GSM
- Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)
- Service Provider Not specified
- Operating System BlackBerry Handheld Software
- Input Device(s) SureType QWERTY keyboard,
Keyboard - Phone Navigation Buttons Trackball
Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services SMS,
MMS - Supported Email Protocols POP3,
IMAP4 Communications
- Data Transmission GPRS,
EDGE - Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11b/g,
Bluetooth 2.0 - Communication Features Internet browser,
Mobile Email client Phone Features
- Phone Functions Voice dialing,
Vibrating alert Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3,
WMA,
MIDI,
AAC,
AAC +,
AMR,
WAV Memory
- ROM 128 MB - Flash
- Supported Flash Memory Cards microSDHC,
microSD
Security Features
- SIM Card Lock no
- Restrict Access to Phone Book no
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 2 megapixels
- Still Image Formats JPEG
- Camera Light Source Flash
- Features Video recording
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT Transmissive
- Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
Display (2nd)
- Type LCD display
- Display Resolution 128 x 160 pixels
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
Connections
- Connector Type Headset jack,
USB Battery
- Capacity 900 mAh
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 240 min,
Standby - up to 336 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter , Power adapter
- Also Included Integrated
Product series
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BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (Black)
Manufacturer: BlackBerry
Specs: Not specified,
GSM,
3.6 oz,
2 megapixels -
BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (Red)
Manufacturer: BlackBerry
Specs: Not specified,
GSM,
3.6 oz,
2 megapixels
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse BlackBerry products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:BlackBerry
- Address:
295 Phillip Street, Waterloo, ON N2L 3W8 - Phone: 1-519-888-7465
- Email: webinfo@rim.net
- Fax: 1-519-888-7884
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