BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220

BlackBerry shows up with another potential hit on their hands, and it’s clear what they’ve learned in the last couple of years. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 is a much cooler phone than we expected, after months of rumors and spy photos were proven almost entirely correct. In person, the phone feels much more solid, with a soft finish and some gentle, comfortable curves.

The exterior is kind of bland, though the external screen was sharp under the translucent shell. But once you open up this phone, it becomes instantly compelling. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 has the second-best screen we’ve seen on a BlackBerry. It’s very similar in quality and contrast to the BlackBerry Bold, a phone named for it’s bright, clear screen. The phone also benefits from the sleek, sharp BlackBerry OS 4.6 menus.

We found the Pearl Flip 8220 to be pretty comfortable to use. We’ve never had a problem with the SureType keyboard layout, and neither has RIM, since they did invent the design. We also liked the trackball on this phone. It wasn’t larger, which would have been nice, but RIM did recess the ball into the phone a bit, which made it easier to flick about.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing this one on T-Mobile soon. The carrier hasn’t released specific launch dates or pricing, but we’d expect this phone in the next quarter, probably in time for the holidays, and we can’t imagine it would be priced far from the original Pearl. Also, be sure to check out our hands-on video impressions of the new BlackBerry Flip phone. Release: October 2008.