by Robb Dunewood on September 10, 2008 · 2 comments
It’s official… The BlackBerry KickStart BlackBerry Pearl 8220 BlackBerry Pearl Flip has been announced by Research in Motion, and, said announcement came a day earlier than we thought.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is actually a BlackBerry 8220, so, maybe we shouldn’t have struck that name out, but, I think you get the point.
The new BlackBerry Pearl Flip provides flip phone fans with all the power of a BlackBerry smartphone in a fun and familiar design. One quick flip of the handset opens up a world of possibilities with the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution and a wide range of impressive Internet and multimedia capabilities, all in one powerful yet approachable smartphone. You can send a message to your friends or family, make a call, browse the web, snap a picture, watch a video or listen to your favorite song. It’s all in your control with a simple flip.
You can read the full press release here, but, if you want to go to the official BlackBerry Pearl Flip homepage with the really annoying background music, you need to go here…
by Robb Dunewood on September 9, 2008 · 2 comments
Douglas Soltys from BBCool, who just happens to be out in San Francisco for CTIA, bumped into a few of his old industry buddies who, after a bit chit chat, were able to confirm that Research in Motion will officially announce the their first flip phone form factor device, the BlackBerry Pearl 8220.
Even though the design never really hit home with me, the code name, BlackBerry KickStart actually did, as it did with many many others. We learned that the BlackBerry KickStart would be officially named the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 a little over a month ago, however, I wonder if RIM will use the name Kickstart in some way when marketing the device because of the popularity of the code name?
I guess that we will find out Wednesday.
by Robb Dunewood on September 8, 2008 · 0 comments
Normally, a wireless company advertising a BlackBerry that they are going to carry isn’t a big deal. Rogers, on the other hand, advertising the BlackBerry Pearl 8220, formerly known as the BlackBerry KickStart, isn’t exactly par for course as I can’t recall a time when a wireless carrier started to advertise a BlackBerry before RIM officially announces it.
Rumor has it that even though you are seeing Rogers BlackBerry Pearl 8220 advertising now, the device won’t be available until October 4th. I think it is probably safe to assume that RIM will announce it between now and then.
So, you know that BlackBerry flip-phone that we’ve been talking about for the passed several months? We’ve been referring to it as the BlackBerry KickStart. Well, it would appear that the BlackBerry KickStart will actually be named the BlackBerry Pearl 8220.
BlackBerry Cool has the details…
Kevin from CrackBerry.com got his hands on the upcoming BlackBerry Kickstart.
A Rogers BlackBerry Roadmap has made its way onto the web and we now have approximations as to when the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry KickStart, and BlackBerry Javelin will hit the street.
We can only assume that these devices will hit American carriers around the same time. Time, however, will definitely tell…
Word on the street is that the BlackBerry KickStart, the first clam shell / flip phone from RIM, will cost just $49.99 on T-Mobile. It would appear that Apple is not the only smartphone maker that Research in Motion is paying attention to
With all the problems that Palm has had of late, the Centro has been a nice little surprise to the smartphone industry and a big hit for Palm. The $100 price tag on the Centro undoubtedly played a big part in it’s success and it looks like RIM is saying “Whatever Palm can do we can do better!”
I am guessing that if on day one the BlackBerry KickStart hits T-Mobile with a $49.99 price tag it will be a matter of months, or less, before the price is completely subsidized. When you can get a BlackBerry for free, or, darn near free, I don’t think it matters how ugly those little buggers are, the BlackBerry KickStart will fly off the shelves.
[Source]
We’ve seen quite a few pictures of the BlackBerry KickStart and we’ve come to the conclusion that the first flip-phone BlackBerry is simply not that attractive. Here are some new pictures from a new site.
Look at the KickStart next to the BlackBerry Bold. Here you can really see just how good the KickStart doesn’t look.
CrackBerry.com has a plethora of live BlackBerry KickStart pictures in case you are wondering what the first BlackBerry flip phone will look like. We don’t imagine that it will be too much longer before this device is officially announced.
