Pros and Cons after a year and a half

Ownership: 1.5 year
Previous smartphone experience: none

Pros:
-Form factor: Without any additional protection, it feels relatively small, sensual to the touch, the edges are smooth, I play with it in my hand without thinking about it
-ergonomy: With its Suretype keyboard (5x4 layout), the Flip offers some of the largest keys I've seen on a mobile phone and it will prevent hunting between keys. I learned to touch-type very quickly and my typing speed is adequate
-Display: The external one combined with the few side buttons let you check short mails, Facebook notifications and other short info without opening the clam shell
-It's a Blackberry, so tight email integration, Push mail, easy messenging.
-Wifi connection (UMA) provides a much faster connection than EDGE if you are near a hotspot or at home
-Call quality adequate, loud and relatively distortion-free built-in speaker
- Easily customizable from the start - between the different external LED colors, the sound effects, I can tell what is happening or who is leaving a message just by listening to the sound or looking at the front.

Cons:
-Typing accuracy, what you gain by keyboard real estate and comfort you lose by depending either on the Suretype predictive text system, which can be trained but also has its limits at guessing what you intend to type. The alternative is the multitap input system which lets you hit each key once or twice depending on what letter you want to input
-Blackberry OS: Dated, sluggish if not unersponsive, takes 5-10 minutes to reboot depending on how many apps are loaded, hangs up too often, memory leaks everywhere, memory shortage requires to carefully chose the apps you want to keep on
-Battery life: Can be drained quickly by connection usage. I wouldn't be able to use a GPS tracking program more than half a day on it

While it was good enough when I got it, after a year and the surge of Droids OS-phones battling the iPhone for supremacy, it is clear to me that it's only a matter of time until Blackberry as a whole loses its leadership position among phone players. The Flip was a nice attempt to shed its corporate image and try to aim more towards the consumer market but it was too little, too late.

I'm sure it'd be great if I bought it new...

I originally bought this phone for its UMA capabilities, since I live in the mountains and have no cell coverage there. However, I wanted to buy it used since it was so expensive new. Apparently, the person before me put software on that we can't figure out how to uninstall. So, no UMA.

The phone itself handles really well- it has a large memory to begin with, and I increased it with a memory card. The speaker volume is great, and call clarity has been a real plus. The reception is much better than my old phone- for some reason, the antenna picks up a better signal no matter where I go. The camera takes both great pictures and videos. I really like the SureType feature, which is far smarter than the T9 feature on most keypads.

One issue I have with the phone itself (other than the UMA) is that when I charge it and leave it plugged in overnight, it freezes and has to have its battery pulled. This happens every time I plug it in without fail. If anyone else has this problem, they should let me know how to fix it.

The other issue is that the auto-backlight feature, which I cannot disable, makes it so that the screen brightens in daylight. This would be a great feature if it didn't run my battery into the ground. I've tried putting tape over the sensor and using it in the shade, but the sensor is too smart and happily drains my poor phone's battery after about 6 hours of use, 8 or 9 on a good day.

Overall? This would probably be a great phone if I'd bought it new. As it is, I was happy with my old phone. Beware of buying used.

RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 (Unlocked)

I already had this phone but was locked to T-Mobile. It is a great phone with features that are too numerous to mention. My favorites are WiFi,Blackberry AppWorld,E-Mail,Camera,SMS,MMS​,Voicenotes,Music Player,Video Camera,Voice Dialing,GPS Tethering,Password Lockable,Internet Browser,Alarm Clock,Built in office type apps,Qwerty Keyboard,Expandable memory card,all in a flip style phone with Trackball control.If you want a touch screen this phone is NOT for you.But I can't type on those things.This phone is perfect for big fingers. It's surprisingly tough as well. Plenty of accessories available such as "skins" and "armor".I have clear plastic snap on "armor" on mine that makes it droppable with zero damage.That along with a leather sheath makes it as tough as jobsite grade phones.Think Nextell. I highly recommend this phone.

Smart phone with elegant look.

I already used mine for about 2 weeks now and what I can say is I'm satisfied with it. The first thing that come to my mind when I was looking for the phone was, it must be a flip phone to prevent any mistake call or answering that frequently happen with a normal hand phone. Second was, it must look nice, simple but at the same time it fullfilled every function that I need for my daily life. With a good camera for any momentarily point shoot that I like, nice set of qwerty keyboard for a very good feeling during messaging and the most important of all, an ability to surf the internet in WiFi zone, it suited my every need for a phone that I was looking for.

But, there are certain drawbacks that might make someone to think more before buying the handphone. The WiFi use was intended to use with the data plan. Means that, indeed you can use Wifi internet at everyplace that having it, but still it is not free of charge. You will need to pay for every bit data you downloaded. It is like that IF you use the phone browser. A way to avoid this is, install an opera mini. Another thing is, it seems that the battery does not last long. You might flip it open several times to just checking the mail you received and you would notice the battery bar become more and more less. Still not using it extremely like surfing the internet for maybe 1 hour, or listening to music myself, but I guess it could not last.

But as for me, overall, the handphone make me satisfied. If you are looking for a really simple smart phone without those complicated function in it, this might be a right choice for you.

excellent BlackBerry

Por caracteristicas excelentes y la garantia de la marca
Features: Java Enabled, Radio, MMS Enabled, Polyphonic Ringtones, Video Streaming, Global Ready, Video Recording, Color Screen, Bluetooth Enabled, GPS, Calendar, Email Access, Internet Browser, MP3 Player, PDA-PC Sync, Wi-Fi Capable, SMS-Text Messaging, QWERTY Keyboard, Speakerphone, USB Interface Style: Flip, Clamshell