Photo gallery: BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220BlackBerry's manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), has been like a mad scientist of late. Once content to deliver the same variety of candybar style messaging phones we've seen in the standard, Curve and Pearl series, RIM has branched out with an explosion of form factors, such as the upcoming touchscreen Storm and the company's first clamshell, the Flip.
Design
The form factor may have changed but RIM's excellent design aesthetic is still in place. The Flip lives within the Pearl family of phones and shares much with the last batch of Pearls, such as the 8120. The dual-QWERTY keypad is here, as is trackball navigation and the BlackBerry context menu key.
The Flip features two displays: a bright, colourful 2.6-inch QVGA screen inside, as well as a 1.6-inch 128x160 pixel external display. The screen on the outside shows an attractive analogue clock by default and displays a message preview when you receive email or an SMS — a very handy touch. The internal display is superb, in line with the amazing screen with saw on the BlackBerry Bold.
Unlike many clamshell phones, the top half of the Flip doesn't sit flush with the underside when you open the phone, a design element RIM calls a drop-hinge. This is supposed to improve ergonomics, though we're not exactly sure how. While it's not uncomfortable, this design doesn't conform to the side of your face when taking calls.
Around the edges of the Flip an array of standard inputs can be found: a microSD card slot, a micro-USB port for charging, volume rocker keys and a 3.5mm socket for a pair of headphones. RIM have also found room for two customisable shortcut keys.
Features
Worst things first: unlike many of the latest smartphones the Flip isn't 3G capable. GPRS data speeds are fine for email and some basic web browsing, but you can forget about large file downloads or video streaming. A small consolation for the lack of 3G is the inclusion of Wi-Fi, though this obviously requires you to be within the range of a Wi-Fi network.
The Flip employs the latest version of the BlackBerry OS (4.6) and looks identical to the system we saw on the Bold. While many of the changes may seem superficial, they do make using the phone more enjoyable than previous Pearls.
Looks aside, the Flip offers a very similar range of features and applications to those we saw on the Pearl 8120. Our test unit came from Optus and it took all of 30 seconds to setup our business and personal email on the phone using the BlackBerry services page on the Optus site. BES, or BlackBerry Enterprise Services, is also available and includes support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell Groupwise email servers.
With its sexy new look and business functionality in place, we were keen to see how much fun the Flip would be. The 3.5mm headphone port was a good start and we were pleased to see the Bold's excellent media player appear intact on the Flip. If you're keen on listening to some tunes, the Flip is capable of playing a range of music codecs, including MP3, AAC and WMA, plus it's quite handy with video too supporting WMV, MPEG4 and H.63 file types. There's also a bunch of games pre-installed, including every Crackberry's favourite, Brickbreaker.
The Flip's 2-megapixel camera doesn't look like much, sitting as it does atop the front half of the phone, but it is assisted by a LED photolight, although there's no auto-focus. Taking photos with the phone open is awkward as there isn't much phone to hold on to, but the photos we took were fine — a bit dull and lifeless, but good enough for blogging.
Performance
Basic phone functionality is great with the BlackBerry Flip with strong reception during our testing, and a loud, clear speaker. Some people may rail against the dual-QWERTY keypad, but we love it. The built-in SureType predictive text works like a charm and is extremely accurate. The Flip organises and displays email exactly like previous generations, which is to say that it makes for a fantastic messenger.
The real let-down here is the online experience. GPRS data speeds are akin to dial-up internet speeds, and while RIM promises better data compression with its browser than on other mobile phone browsers, the result is still frustratingly slow. The browser itself needs a few tweaks too; while sites render well, navigating pages with the trackball is tedious and the cursor will not make selections on screen until you have zoomed in, adding an extra input to every page you view.
Running version 4.6 of the BlackBerry OS allows the Flip the ability to multi-task, though we found that you must be careful about having too many applications open at any one time. Using the end call button to return to the Home screen, for instance, won't exit an application and if you do this too many times, you'll soon be struggling to browse the menu and sub-folders.
The upside to the absence of the 3G is a huge trade-off in battery life. RIM rates the battery life at four hours talk-time and 14 days standby, and in our usage we saw about four days between charges.
Overall
The BlackBerry's continued push into the mainstream is successful for the most part, with excellent design and good basic phone functionality. It has the components of a media-playing mobile, though its shape isn't conducive to longer watching video sessions, and the camera is just servicable.
The deciding factor for many will be whether you need access to fast over-the-air data for browsing the web and streaming video. The iPhone put mobile internet use on the radar for many people, and if you fit into this category then the Flip isn't the phone for you.
At the time of writing this review the outright RRP is unavaiable, however the Flip is available through Optus on a AU$79-per-month plan with BlackBerry services included.
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