Product ReviewsBlackBerry Pearl 8220 Flip Black 2G GSM 850 /900 /1800 /1900 Unlocked CellPhone

good blackberry phone but must be charged every day and a half

I bought this blackberry brand new in a sealed box on ebay. It's easy to use. But there are some minuses to it. First I had to manually enter all the phone numbers because there is no feature to copy them from the sim card. There is only the feature to copy them to the sim card. Second minus is that I cannot let it stand for more than a day and a half because the battery needs to be charged every 33-38 hours. My previous samsung phone had not to be charged that often. The big plus to this phone is that I don't need to sign for internet but can still can use the phone and receive text messages. Second plus is that it supports games. I have not tried to play yet but I know that there is a folder with games. The third plus is that I could insert a memory card from sumsung phone and keep my pictures this way. The phone is bigger than my previous sumsung phone. I don't like small phones that vanish in one hand. The big minus that is a little regrettable is that there is no feature to vibrate while I receive the call. Sometimes there is so much noise you don't notice the sound of your own phone until it vibrates and makes a sound at the same time. This feature is absent in this phone. Otherwise the rest is normal like in all other flip phones. So 3 and a half stars out of 5 is very well and that is my grade. I only don't know how long it will last. Maybe I'll have it for long. That means 4 stars. Let's wait and see.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: elva201384

RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220: is it really good?

I intended to buy a RIM phone for my husband but he simply doesn’t like bar phones. Well, BlackBerry Pearl 8220 was (almost) everything I was looking for. An awesome phone very light, smaller than other BB’s. Take good pictures, has a internal memory large enough for most of his preferred ringtones and a very convenient external access for SD microcard. Very simply to configure speed dial, associate pictures and sounds to any contact and an outstanding speakerphone.. It is not as simply as described on the site to synchronize with PC but with a little patience you can manage it. I don’t care if it doesn’t have GPS but I think it would be nice to have 3G. In other words: if you’re looking for a very complete flip phone at a convenient price, that’s your best choice.Read full review...

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.Read full review...

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.Read full review...

Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220

I bought this item because I wanted a flip phone and needed one that supports SMART PHONE options. I like the over all size of the phone and the size of the keys. The mouse button is easy to use. I don't like the small print on the screen and for someone that is not into computers, the menu system for simple functions can get confussing, but I have been told by others that is just the Blackberry operating system.Read full review...

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.Read full review...

Bottom line, it is light and style, but you cannot flip your photos

This mobile is my first Blackberry, I liked its style and being flip because i am always use Nokia Flip devices, and i always wait for a device that being flip and have all the entire features that needed for business, and that mean i had to wait for every three years to change my device, finally i found this blackberry one while i am living in a country that only sell the blackberry bold and curve, so when i met the Pearl flip, it was late, because OS 6 was already in the market and while studying the features and everything, Blackberry release Blackberry style 9670 and i fall in love with it, deep love, and of course that kind of love would break hearts, especially when i discover that it is a CDMA and not a GSM, so i wish that SPIRIT will go bank corrupt, any case, i found that i can start by the pearl flip as a start to the blackberry world, and here i am:

good things:
1. very easy to use, just watched the demo online and everything went smooth on how to use
2. as long as you are not open too many applications, performance is very good
3. although camera is 2 MB but it is really good, same with the video with always light
4. contact management is really good
5. sound is really good for mp3 player
6. it is really light weight

bad things:
1. i cannot flip to the next picture with the track ball or any keypad key, i had to press menu then next, so annoying
2. i cannot browse the memory card content, i had to browse from the media and automatically filter based on the media format i am browsing from
3. battery life is 15 hours of continuous use
4. you see the photo for this device, contacts can be roll in circle, i didn't find that at all
5. when the phone is unlocked, it does not mean you can reinstall the firmware again, if you lost the firmware then the device is died
6. you cannot dial a number without informing all people around you that you are dialling, sooooo annoying
7. you cannot restart the phone, you had to pull the battery out, and if you did so, kindly wait 10 minutes, might be 5 if you are soo lucky, why is that? but when you need to do so, you will hate your self before you hate the phone

i still like the phone, although i had to buy lot of applications to overcome the missing features like browsing the pictures using SwooshPhotos and FileScout to browse the contents of my SD and device, hoping that 9670 has another edition with GSM support instead of the stupid CDMA, otherwise i had to start use a bold or a curve :( because blackberry became running in my blood now,Read full review...

Blackberry Pearl 8220

I previously had the blackberry pearl 8120. I loved most all the features of that phone. I loved its durability. It was practically indestructible. I had to replace it when my 3 year old granddaughter got hold of it and we have not seen it since. Loving the phone, I wanted to get a phone that if not exactly the same, with all or even better features. I stumbled on the 8220. It has a flip top that my previous phone did not have. It has all the features that I used on my previous phone. Some things are set up differently but it was not difficult to figure out. Who reads manuals anyway? The email accounts that were set to my previous phone was very easy to transfer to the new phone. I did have to reinstall some aps but that was easy enough too. Just make sure you have your email set up 1st.

I probably could have bought a phone with fancier features. However, I know so many people with those phones that either have to replace their cracked screen or get new phones because they dropped their old ones. Blackberry has never let me down. I don't need a touch screen. I wanted a phone that helped me stay orgranized, that allowed me to hear my caller, that allowed me to access the internet & facebook and helped me store the never ending user names and passwords that today's world requires of me. The MP3 player is just an added bonus. I got what I wanted. I am happy with my Blackberry.

If you do decide to get a blackberry - you can back your blackberry up on a computer so that you never lose contact again. I am sorry that I never took the time to do this though. Live and Learn!!Read full review...

Don't count out the value of the Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220!

After looking for an all inclusive flip phone that could provide one with almost everything needed in today's market without an add-on data plan, the Blackberry 8220 is a perfect match. It is almost as easy to customize as the Motorola Razr series adn the Wi-Fi option in conjunction with Opera Mini will allow you to check the internet at local Hotspots without incurring data charges.

The only drawback I could find was the included software utility disk with the Desktop Manager. Install and use it if you can, but my advise is to download the most current Desktop Manager from Blackberry and use it---make sure that Windows Service Pack 3 is on your computer or it will not install.

The USB data cable is a must, at first. After you tweak the Desktop Manager Bluetooth options, relying on the USB connection will become a backup choice.

I've used touchscreen phones, but from personal preference I find them a too touchy and very sensitive when placed against one's cheek. I end up opening some application while talking just from the movement of my facial muscles.

All in all, for an older smart phone, the Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 still has a place in today's market amid all the touchscreen Droids.Read full review...

Best Flip Phone on the Planet!

This phone is Awesome! I like the novelty of having a flip phone, not to mention the ease in which it fits in my pocket. Why Blackberry cut this short so soon I have no idea. I can't be the only person in the world who wants smartphone capabilities in a flip phone. The camera is only 2mp but takes much clearer pictures than my 3 mp Kyocera. Plenty of memory too. This will be my 2nd one purchased. The rollerball has been known to go out, mine did in my fist one. If it happens again to this one I will pay to fix it if it's not covered by the warranty I purchased just to keep using the only phone I have ever loved! Mobile phone user for 10 years, gone through dozens of phones, this is the only phone I have purchased twice.Read full review...