With all the tweaks to their full-QWERTY range, it should come as no surprise that RIM have been planning some modifications to their Pearl line-up of compact BlackBerry handsets. CrackBerry have been sitting on some leaked shots of the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 9100, internally code-named Striker, which has a reworked SureType keyboard and optical joystick.
The iPhone 3G’s seemingly unstoppable dominance at the top of the US smartphone sales chart has come to an end, with the BlackBerry Curve 83xx-series snatching the number one position in Q1 2009. Smartphones make up 23-percent of handset sales; Apple and Palm both saw their smartphone share decline by 10-percent each over the course of the quarter, while RIM’s share increased to almost 50-percent.
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 was announced on Alltel Wireless today, making this flip smartphone available to a wider audience. While nothing is really different about this phone on this specific carrier, it’s still worth noting the device’s expanded availability.
In case you’ve forgotten, the Pearl Flip is a smartphone encased in a clamshell design with a small external display and an internal display with a 240 x 320 resolution. Other features include GPS mapping, a SureType keyboard, a 2-megapixel camera that’s capable of video, microSD or microSDHC card support and more.
This phone can play music and offers Bluetooth support. You can get the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 on Alltel for $79.99 with a two-year contract and a $70 rebate. The contract is for the carrier’s unlimited plan which costs $70/month.
T-Mobile UK have announced an unusual pre-pay BlackBerry deal, which sees contract-cautious buyers getting a Pearl handset, 12-months unlimited email and internet access, and the option to easily manage call and SMS/MMS messaging bills. For £180 ($262) the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and year’s email support is included.
Beyond that, owners “top up” their BlackBerry with credit in the usual pay-as-you-go (PAYG) fashion, adding money to their account to cover any calls and SMS or MMS messages. T-Mobile are hoping the deal will appeal to those interested in push email but wary of ongoing contract costs.
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