clamshell

General
March 14, 2009
by

Review: TELUS BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230

By on March 14, 2009 at 4:07 PM.

Review: TELUS BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230

While this might come as a bit of a shock to some, there is a little known country just north of the good ‘ole US of A that just so happens to be home to the World’s second largest smartphone manufacturer. That country is of course Canada and the manufacturer is RIM. It used to be the case that BlackBerry fans in the US got the latest BlackBerry devices before Canada, but in recent times it seems that Canada has launched RIM’s latest devices long before its neighbors to the South — the exception to this being the Storm. Canadian carriers stuck it to the Americans once again however, when Bell was the first carrier to release the CDMA Pearl Flip 8230. Sure, a few hiccups six days after launch due to buggy software killed off a lot of the excitement, but thankfully for RIM, TELUS launched the Pearl Flip 11 days after Bell, a launch that went off without a hitch.

Now back in October we reviewed the GSM version of the Pearl Flip (the 8220) and found it to be a pretty decent device considering its affordability. However, we couldn’t help but feel let down by the build quality which made the device feel extremely cheap, and the ridiculously pixelated display. So does the CDMA Pearl Flip offer any notable improvements over its GSM cousin? Hit the jump to find out. More →

28 Comments
General
March 10, 2009
by

TELUS launches the BlackBerry 8230

By on March 10, 2009 at 7:18 PM.

TELUS launches the BlackBerry 8230

Late this afternoon, Canada’s TELUS Mobility formally announced that it too has launched the BlackBerry 8230 Pearl Flip. Starting at $49.99 on a three-year contract and going all the way up to $449.99 contract-free, TELUS is hoping the youth market in Canada will receive the clam shell smartphone with open arms — especially younger females considering TELUS’ nation-wide media campaign featuring the all pink Pearl Flip. While other carriers have pink variants of the Pearl Flip, TELUS is the only carrier whose device has pink on the external housing rather than surrounding the SureType keypad. Whether or not its efforts are going to be rewarded in full, TELUS can at least be pleased people are already excited by the low price tag and rumors of an ultra-cheap voice and data plan thought to be in the mid-$30 range.

We don’t yet know what OS the TELUS version is running, but we assume it’s one build better than what Bell released its Pearl Flip with.

Read

4 Comments
Rumor
February 22, 2009
by

Is the RAZR3 aka Ruby VE1 back from the dead?

By on February 22, 2009 at 9:42 AM.

Is the RAZR3 aka Ruby VE1 back from the dead?

The last and only time we talked about the RAZR3 aka Ruby was when we reported that Motorola had pulled the plug on it in order to allocate more resources towards developing Android-based handsets. But now thanks to Mobile-Review, press images of the RAZR3, apparently to be named the Ruby VE1, have surfaced which leads us to believe one of two things — either these are old photos or there is indeed a possibility that the clam shell with 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 5 megapixel shooter might actually find a way to market. Now, there is also the possibility that Motorola did not kill off the RAZR3 but simply delayed it while trying to find a new OS — something that would be necessary as this phone was rumored to be running on Symbian’s now defunct UIQ OS. At this point we’re not even sure anyone cares enough to figure this out.

Read

23 Comments
General
January 4, 2009
by

Samsung R470 spied, headed to US Cellular

By on January 4, 2009 at 12:07 PM.

Samsung R470 spied, headed to US Cellular

Ahhh, the good old FCC. Once again, our pals in Washington have treated us to a preview of an upcoming handset that had previously been under wraps. This time around we get a peak at the Samsung R470, a saucy CDMA clamshell destined for US Cellular. No, it’s not quite the Delve, but the R470 does have a bit of allure. Seemingly somewhat focused on multimedia, it looks like the handset has a nice big external display with a sizable control pad and (stereo?) speakers beneath it. When flipped open, the R470 becomes far less interesting and looks like any old clamshell of 10 years ago. Actually, this phone is kind of like a cellular mullet — business on the inside, party on the outside. While there is a big piece of the puzzle missing from the FCC documents, namely EV-DO, we’ll just hope those tests are covered in separate filings that will appear on the site down the line.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Read

4 Comments
General
October 20, 2008
by

Future Shops sells BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip for $49.99

By on October 20, 2008 at 7:40 AM.

Future Shops sells BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip for $49.99

Looks like the rumor of a dirt cheap Rogers BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip from a few months ago was true after all. Despite no official announcement of pricing or release, Canada’s Future Shop has listed the device as for sale “in-store only” for $49 on a 3-year contract. While stores across Canada are reporting that no 8220s are in stock, it is expected that the official go head from Rogers will come soon, possibly as early as Tuesday. At the same time, the recently rumored pink Pearl Flip was also confirmed making the device available in both pink and black. The only question left is whether or not some people at Future Shop are going to lose their job for the continuous stream of pre-announcement sales and leaks they’ve been having over the past year.

Read

15 Comments