And it's finally official... crossing the wire this is morning is word from RIM and Rogers that the BlackBerry Pearl Flip will officially become available tomorrow at the affordable price of $49.99! The only catch is that you'll have to commit to spending a minimum of $35 per month on your plan (easily done!) and commit to a 3 year contract (Canadians are used to 3 year terms). According to the press release (full release after the jump), the Pearl flip will only be available in black tomorrow with the pink flip coming in the weeks ahead.
OH, and if you haven't heard...the BlackBerry Bold from Rogers is taking a price cut... only $199.99 with a 3 year contract and minimum $45/mo. voice and data plan. Now that's what I'm taking about!!
Rogers and RIM Announce Availability of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 Smartphone in Canada
Rogers to offer first BlackBerry flip smartphone from $49.99 on Canada's most reliable wireless network
TORONTO, ONTARIO and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 3, 2008) - Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI)(NYSE:RCI) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) are launching the BlackBerry(R) Pearl(TM) Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry(R) phone to come in the popular flip form factor. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in a stylish black finish from Rogers Wireless starting November 4, with the stunning pink BlackBerry Pearl Flip coming soon.
The new BlackBerry Pearl Flip provides flip phone fans with all the power of a BlackBerry smartphone in a fun and familiar design. You can send a message to your friends or family, make a call, browse the web, snap a picture, watch a video or listen to your favorite song. It's all in your control with a simple flip. The quad-band EDGE based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. It features two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, including an external LCD that makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset.
"Rogers Wireless continues to bring best-in-class handsets, such as the exclusive BlackBerry Pearl Flip, to the Canadian market, representing a cross-section of the best in smartphone technology, messaging solution as well as design and style," said John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "The BlackBerry Pearl Flip offers discerning customers the ultimate full-featured flip paired with the leading mobile messaging solution on the market."
"The BlackBerry Pearl Flip packs an impressive range of features into an exciting new design and we are very pleased to be working with Rogers Wireless to bring this powerful new smartphone to customers in Canada," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. "The BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone is a natural choice for customers who are looking to replace their existing flip phone with something more powerful."
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone from Rogers Wireless has numerous advanced features including:
- Spacious SureType(R) QWERTY keyboard that makes typing messages and dialing numbers fast and easy
- Large 240 x 320 internal LCD that displays messages, videos and web pages with impressive detail and contrast
- Built-in Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g) with support for Rogers TalkSpot service
- 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording(i)
- Advanced media player for viewing pictures, listening to music and watching videos
- Externally-accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16GB for plenty of storage
- Enhanced HTML browser with RTSP support for online streaming video from sites like m.youtube.com and www.zoovision.com
- BlackBerry(R) Maps, delivering maps, local searches and step-by-step directions quickly and easily
- DataViz(R) Documents To Go(R) preinstalled, enabling customers to edit Microsoft(R) Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the smartphone
- BlackBerry(R) Desktop Manager software, which includes Roxio(R) Media Manager for BlackBerry(R), a powerful media manager application that allows users to easily manage media files on their computer and transfer them to the smartphone; the BlackBerry Pearl Flip also comes with the new BlackBerry(R) Media Sync application for customers that want a simple way to sync their iTunes(R) digital music collections with the smartphone(ii)
- Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth(R) (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
- BlackBerry(R) Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
- BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments with advanced security and IT controls
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone will be available in black from Rogers starting November 4, from $49.99 with activation on any combination of 3 year voice and data plan with minimum combined monthly service fee of $35 per month from Rogers. Some conditions apply. The pink BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in the coming weeks.
For more information please visit: www.BlackBerryPearlFlip.com or www.rogers.com/pearlflip starting November 4.
