Research In Motion has for the first time produced a clamshell with the BlackBerry Pearl 8220. The 8220 is compact and sexy!
With the Pearl 8220 BlackBerry is showing us a new device in the popular Pearl series, this time in a totally different format than you would expect of the producer of BlackBerry devices, RIM. BlackBerry is hoping to gain more market share they've previous lost from Apple.
RIM has produced a good product, because the Pearl 8220 looks very stylish, even sexy. The Pearl 8220 has, as we could expect, a full QWERTY keyboard including SureType. It's functional to type an e-mail or to chat through the many Instant Messaging programs that it's supporting.
Sufficient multimedia possibilities
Pictures or videos can be made with the 2.0 megapixel camera and can be directly linked on Flickr or added to your Facebook pictures. This device has also BlackBerry Media Sync to synchronise between your smartphone and your PC. You can even switch to landscape mode automatically when you turn the Pearl 8220 on one side. The Pearl 8220 is equipped with a microSDHC memory card slot that can be extended to 16 GB. You will never be in a need of more memory anymore.
Built-in navigation
The Pearl 8220 has also a GPS receiver and built-in BlackBerry Maps software. This software guides you to that one great restaurant or that hotel in a strange city. So-called POI's (Points Of Interest) are pre-installed, so searching isn't difficult anymore.
No 3G, but WiFi
Unfortunately the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 has no 3G capabilities like UMTS or the even quicker HSDPA. The device has WiFi capabilities (with UMA support) to provide quick internet. It's very easy to check your email at home without using your computer.
The BlackBerry Pearl 8220 is expected to be in stores this fall. Prices are not yet known.