Overshadowed by the hullabaloo surrounding the unveiling of BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold, the latest Pearl messenger, the 8220, almost feels like an afterthought. But CrackBerry fans not wanting to hoof around a king-size QWERTY packing smartie will definitely still want to check out RIM’s first ever ‘flip’ BlackBerry phone.
The 8220 is, essentially, the Pearl 8120 but in clamshell form. In fact, apart from a swish BlackBerry Bold-esque menu design, its feature set remains identical to its candybar cousin. This means built-in Wi-Fi takes up the connectivity slack from sluggish EDGE download speeds while multimedia moves are, unfortunately, a bit one-dimensional.
Compared to the Storm and Bold, the 8220’s features do feel a tad lightweight. However, the advantage in owning one is that you won’t look like you’ve got a canoe parked in your pocket. Admittedly, it may lack the stylish slimline torso of the 8120 and the like, but it’s very lightweight, if a little overly plasticky, with a sturdy but snappy flip action and fetching minimalist noir façade.
Naturally, the 8220 is simple to operate whether thumbing the lucid trackball, using the spacious SureType keypad for message drafting or setting up your different email accounts. It is familiar territory for CrackBerry addicts but incredibly easy to pick up for newcomers as well.
The camera set-up is a bit embarrassing in today’s megapixel climate. A two-megapixel snapper bereft of autofocus is feeble while video capture is no different and riddled with judder. The 8220 does redeem itself with an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack but the onboard average music player doesn’t do it justice. Brownie points for the long distance battery life though.
Verdict
It’s a crying shame RIM couldn’t deliver an improved multimedia savvy feature set to match the brand new flip design but the 8220 still remains a capable and compact email messenger.
Best features
User-friendly
Lightweight and pocket-friendly
Thumb-friendly SureType keypad
Easy-to-use and set-up email
Integrated 3.5mm headphone jack
Not so good
Plasticky build
Design not as stylish as Pearl candybar range
Lack of 3G download speeds
Feeble multimedia performance
Closest rivals
Nokia E71
Nokia inject some much needed style into the staid world of QWERTY-packing business phones with this slimline and handsome Symbian smartphone.
Sony Ericsson K660i
Sporting internet shortcut keys, this HSDPA-enabled compact candybar is perfectly geared for web snacking and occasionally checking and sending emails while on the beat.
Nokia 3120 Classic
Like the Pearl 8220 this classic Nokia candybar keeps the multimedia swinging to a minimum but is ultra-easy to use and good for simple clean messaging.
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