Skip to main content

New BlackBerry Pearl Flips up on T-Mobile

New BlackBerry Pearl Flips up on T-Mobile

BlackBerry’s much-anticipated Storm may still be weeks away, but a less-groundbreaking but still anticipated new BlackBerry has just cropped up at T-Mobile. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8820, announced last month, officially launched for T-Mobile on Monday, making it the first network to get the slim new folder.

The big news, of course, will be pricing for the device. The Flip version of the Pearl will carry the exact same price tag as its predecessor the Pearl 8120: $150 with a two-year contract. Initially, the phone will only be available in black, but a red version more suited to its consumer-centric marketing push will launch on Oct. 20.

Recommended Videos

In addition to the specs RIM unveiled earlier, the T-Mobile version will pick up support for UnlimitedHotSpot calling, which allows unlimited nationwide calling through Wi-Fi, and myFavesSM, which adds a list of five frequent contacts to the phone’s main menu.

Nick Mokey
As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…
Don’t like the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s cover screen? This app supercharges it
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 with CoverScreen OS and Maps

Samsung’s latest clamshell foldable — the Galaxy Z Flip 4 — has proved its mettle as a great phone for its asking price. The build quality is top-notch, there is plenty of raw firepower, the cameras are reliable, and the software update scenario is also unparalleled.

The Flip 4 has also added some new tricks to the cover display. Fresh clock types, the ability to use video files as a cover screen background, more intuitive notification interactions, new widgets, and some neat utility tools all give the cover screen a welcome boost.

Read more
BlackBerry’s latest revival attempt crashes before launch
BlackBerry Key2. Credits: BlackBerry official.

Just weeks after announcing that it would definitely launch a new BlackBerry-branded phone in 2022, OnwardMobility has announced an immediate shutdown. The company will no longer be making a new Blackberry phone, and the future of the storied brand in mobile technology again appears bleak.

The Texas-based company had acquired rights to use the BlackBerry brand for mobile in 2020, with a phone initially planned for launch in 2021. When that didn't pan out, the company also announced that it was still on track, but it would just take a little bit longer. With supply chain issues affecting companies as large as Samsung, it was understandable that a small startup would be unable to make headway.

Read more
BlackBerry is better off dead
BlackBerry Key2 LE Hands On

I haven't seen anyone use a BlackBerry since my freshman year of high school. In fact, I thought the BlackBerry had already died by the time everyone got their hands on the iPhone and/or an Android smartphone in 2011 and I was shocked to learn that the minuscule PDA-like device was still around last month when the company that shares its name decommissioned calling and messaging services for the classic models and rendered them useless. Its death was confirmed when OnwardMobility lost the rights to the BlackBerry name despite its attempts to resurrect the brand with the BlackBerry 5G, which suffered multiple delays in 2021.

Despite being one of the most popular mobile devices in the 2000s next to the T-Mobile-exclusive Sidekick, BlackBerry didn't survive the smartphone era, even though it triggered the advent of smartphones starting with the iPhone. Given its PDA-esque design, it wasn't suitable enough to be turned into a smartphone — or, at the very least, the culturally accepted definition of a smartphone: All touchscreen, no physical QWERTY keyboard. Because of its failure to adapt to the growing smartphone market dominated solely by touchscreens, not to mention the lack of updates for the newer, surviving models — like the BlackBerry Key2 — the BlackBerry as a device is better off dead for all intents and purposes.

Read more