Blackberry Unveils Its First Flip Phone For Consumers And Business

[lavi4u 0]

MONTREAL — The BlackBerry is getting a new look as a flip phone, a design that its maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) hopes will appeal to the North American consumer market which seems to prefer the shape.

Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said the new BlackBerry Pearl Flip is the company's first smartphone to deviate from the familiar rectangle shape. "I am not aware of another flip phone in the smartphone category," Balsillie told The Canadian Press in an interview.

"I would expect, and that's just a personal expectation, that it would go more to the consumer market."

Balsillie said about 70 per cent of cellphone users in the United States use flip phones, a market he said is underserved by RIM in the smartphone category.

"The flip is traditionally more of a consumer-preferred form factor. We will see soon enough. We have no doubt that it's an underserved market."

While he didn't have any figures available for flip phone use in Canada, Balsillie expects its use would parallel the U.S. situation.

In Canada, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip will run exclusively on the Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI. GSM network.

Photos and details of the BlackBerry flip phone were revealed on the Internet at the beginning of May with the Boy Genius Report website reporting at the time the design and functions of the new flip phone and that it would be out in the fall.

Balsillie said the phone could also appeal to business users, but it will be a choice because "form factor is a personal thing."

The new clamshell smartphone has the familiar BlackBerry function of secure push email. It can be used to make calls, browse the Internet, take a picture, watch a video or listen to music. It's also Wi-Fi enabled and has all functions of a smartphone.

It has a hinge that separates the keyboard from the screen to maximize space for the Suretype keyboard and trackball.

The new phone is the successor to the BlackBerry Pearl, which launched two years ago. Both models have 20 keys and double up some letters on each key, in contrast to the wider, more professionally oriented models that have more keys and assign only one letter to each key.

But Balsillie, who was speaking on his BlackBerry Bold, said the "guts are the same. It's still a BlackBerry."

BlackBerry and competitor Apple, maker of the iPhone, are often compared and it's generally noted they are each trying to compete in the consumer and business markets.

But, Balsillie said RIM has more than 50 per cent of the smartphone market in the United States.

"The one consistency is that they always get defined vis a vis BlackBerry," Balsillie said of his competitors.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky wrote a research note on the flip phone last May when it was only a rumour.

"It shows RIM is unafraid of reinventing itself to target competitive opportunities," Abramsky wrote at the time.

"In our view, RIM is positioning itself for significantly larger market opportunities beyond its traditional base," he wrote.

Abramsky had said the flip phone would be aimed at North American consumers and go head-to-head with mass market phone vendors such as Motorola or Samsung.

"The clamshell BlackBerry is likely aimed at expanding Blackberry's addressable consumer market opportunity."

[Honest 836]

My dear friends, here is the pic of above Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220.

Courtesy : Tech2

Regards.

[vmsanghrajka 0]

My view, Looks Yuck

[Sadikk 301]

Blackberry SUX Big time. DUH...

[HetalDP 947]

They take too much raolyalties for outdated Pushmail Technology, the OS is very Crude and Basic Multimedia and other Performance is mediocre, Now All Feature is well available in Nokia, HTC etc.

[@ksh@T 20]

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire - Sept. 10, 2008) -

A photo for this release will be available via Marketwire on the picture wire of The Associated Press

Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today unveiled the BlackBerry® PearlTM Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry® phone to come in the popular flip form factor.

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.

The quad-band EDGE based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9″ x 1.9″ x 0.7″. Featuring two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, the external LCD makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset, while the large, 240 x 320 internal LCD displays messages, videos and web pages with impressive detail and contrast.

“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, Research In Motion. “The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is a full-featured smartphone with a unique and friendly design and it is a natural choice for flip phone users who want to start doing more with their phone than just talk.”

FIRST CLASS PHONE

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone is a top of the line mobile phone that flips open and cradles the face naturally and comfortably during phone calls. It delivers exceptional voice quality and includes many premium phone features, including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), support for mp3 ring tones, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing, call forwarding, voicemail attachment playback and enhanced background noise cancellation. It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth® 2.0 for use with hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver. The removable/rechargeable 900 mAhr battery provides four hours of talk time and over 14 days of standby time.

MESSAGING POWERHOUSE

Featuring a large SureType® QWERTY(i) keyboard that makes typing messages and dialing numbers fast and easy, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, like all BlackBerry smartphones, provides integrated access to the industry leading BlackBerry wireless services. Users are able to easily access up to 10 supported personal and work email accounts, send and receive text and instant messages, and connect on popular social networking sites with friends, family and co-workers. The DataViz® Documents to Go® software suite is also preloaded, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is supported on BlackBerry® Internet Service, BlackBerry® Unite!, BlackBerry® Professional Software and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which provides tight integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require to confidently allow smartphones in their organization.

MULTIMEDIA TO GO

With an advanced media player for displaying pictures, listening to music and watching videos, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is the perfect on-the-go entertainment center. Videos play smoothly on the large internal display, playlists can be managed directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters - including “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” - for customizing audio ranges when using headphones or external speakers. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip works with the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application that makes it easy to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone(iii) and it also features a conveniently accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16GB(ii) for plenty of storage. High Speed USB 2.0 support allows files to be quickly transferred between a desktop computer and the smartphone and the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® to help users easily manage their music and video files. Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE is also included for creating photo albums and editing pictures.

FULL FEATURED FLIP

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip packs an impressive range of features into its compact design, including phone, email, messaging, organizer, browser and multimedia applications, and it can also support thousands of other mobile lifestyle and business applications. It features a 2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording(iv) to capture memories while on the move, and includes BlackBerry Maps to deliver maps and step-by-step driving directions quickly and easily. An enhanced HTML browser displays web pages beautifully in either “Column View” or “Page View” and different emulation settings allow users to choose between desktop-style HTML content and the mobile version of web pages. The browser also supports RTSP for watching online streaming video from sites like m.youtube.com. In addition, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone features built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g) with support for UMA (unlicensed mobile access), extending wireless email and data coverage and supporting carrier enabled voice calls over home Wi-Fi networks, enterprise wireless deployments and Wi-Fi hotspots.

ACCESSORIES

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® Remote Stereo Gateway are available through retail outlets or online at www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone will be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this fall. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in the United States exclusively from T-Mobile beginning this fall. Specific availability and pricing details will be announced at a later date.

For more information please visit www.BlackBerryPearl.com

T-Mobile USA customers can check out more details about this new flip phone and register to be notified when the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is available at www.BlackBerry.com/T-MobileBlackBerryPearlFlip

via: blackberry.com

Edited September 11, 2008 by @ksh@T

[ashoksoft 83]

Seriously ...YUCK++

[Honest 836]

RIM unveils spate of consumer application deals

12 Sep, 2008, 0420 hrs IST, ET

TORONTO: A day after announcing a flip-phone version of its popular BlackBerry Pearl, Research In Motion unveiled a spate of consumer-related partnerships, continuing its push to capture mainstream customers.

RIM said it would partner with Ticketmaster to let BlackBerry users search, browse and buy tickets to entertainment and sporting events.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it was also getting together with TiVo to let BlackBerry users schedule television recordings from their smartphones.

Another deal, with Microsoft Corp, will see the software giant's Live Search capabilities integrated into the BlackBerry's browser and maps. And RIM announced a deal with social-networking Web site MySpace to develop a mobile application customized for the BlackBerry.

The pact was similar to a deal between RIM and social networking site Facebook announced last year. RIM also unveiled an agreement with Slacker Inc to provide a free radio application for the BlackBerry. The application will let users listen to Slacker's radio stations even when not connected to a wireless network.

All the announcements made on Thursday were targeted at developing a market much broader than RIM's mainstay of business executives and other professionals. The company has been seeking to expand its reach among retail consumers in a bid to diversify and spread the appeal of the BlackBerry.

The deals also came as CNBC television reported that RIM would launch its high-end BlackBerry Bold handset in the United States in October. The device, aimed at the company's main base of business users, is already available from a number of carriers around the world.