Although this is not commonly known, BlackBerry was
initially launched in 1997 as a two-way pager system. It was not until 2002
that the BlackBerry Smartphone was launched, the version so many know and love.
Its nickname of CrackBerry speaks for itself. The device, one of the earliest
convergent telecommunications devices, supported push e-mail, mobile telephony,
text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information
services. The secure e-mail feature was especially popular among lawyers,
businessmen, politicians and other professionals.
The Waterloo,
Ontario based Research In Motion
Ltd., the makers of the BlackBerry Pearl phones, have recently launched a flip
phone, ("clamshell") version of their smartphones, which was dubbed the BlackBerry
Pearl Flip 8220.
The 3.6 ounce, chrome-finish phone grew out of RIM’s desire
to open up new market opportunities and appeal to new users. They have found through
a study that North American users prefer flip phones, and 70% of them use this type
of cellular and have produced the Pearl Flip model in consequence. The first,
candy-bar shaped version of the BlackBerry Pearl phone, released in 2006, was
greeted with massive sales and extremely positive reviews. This has encouraged
the company to expand. RIM say that “non-enterprise” customers – consumers and
small-to-medium businesses – now comprise 40% of their 16 million subscribers. RIM
has effectively doubled their market share over the previous year and it would
seem that they are on a continuing expanse.
"The popularity of BlackBerry smartphones has grown
tremendously around the world and the introduction of this exciting new flip
phone will help extend the reach of the BlackBerry platform even further,"
said Mike Lazaridis, President and co-CEO of Research In Motion in a statement.
The new BlackBerry Flip model not only has a standard QWERTY
keyboard, unlike most flip-phones. While undoubtedly smaller than previous
BlackBerry models, it will be much easier to use than number pads usually found
on this format of phone. Not only that, but the outer side of the phone will
feature a high-resolution display which will allow users to preview incoming text
messages and email without opening the phone itself.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip, like its predecessors, includes an
impressive array of functions: it is a phone, email reader, organizer, web
browser. It has multimedia applications and support for thousands more. It has
a 2 megapixel flash camera with digital zoom, video recording, and support for
BlackBerry Maps effectively turns it into a portable GPS. The enhanced HTML
browser supports either Column View or Page view, and emulation settings allow
it to view pages in desktop mode, or mobile mode. RTSP support allows it to
stream videos online. It also has built-in Wi-Fi support, Unlicensed Mobile
Access (UMA) which enables wireless email, data, and carrier voice calls to be
sent over home Wi-Fi networks, enterprise wireless deployments and Wi-Fi hotspots.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip comes with a variety of
accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger and USB cable.
Additional accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including holsters and
totes, charging pods, premium earphones, Bluetooth headsets and the
BlackBerry(R) Remote Stereo Gateway are available through retail outlets or
online at www.shopblackberry.com.
RIM have announced, in accordance with its plan to expand
the BlackBerry to American markets, that they’ve done a deal with AOL to include
AOL mail, ICQ and an AOL instant messenger to the BlackBerry Pearl Flip.
Unfortunately, as with the previous BlackBerry models, the
BlackBerry Flip 8220 will not feature support for the high-speed 3G networks.
The new smartphone will be available this fall exclusively
through the T-Mobile carrier, at least for the first year. However, no information
about pricing or availability has been currently released by RIM.
