The CrackBerry blogs have been fairly quiet these past few days in regards to the Pearl Flip as BlackBerry Storm leaks continue to roll in and thoughts of the AT&T BlackBerry Bold keep many of us occupied. That said, it's time for some Pearl Flip love. Continue reading after the jump for the latest scoop on the BlackBerry Pearl 8220.
Pricing
Gone are the thoughts of the Pearl 8220 being a low-cost entry into the world of BlackBerry. We pretty much knew that notion was out the door the moment we saw Rogers pricing of the 8220 leak and now T-Mobile USA pricing has surfaced which further confirms it. Via the CrackBerry Forums and TmoNews:
T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl 8220 Pricing
- New Activation 2 Year Contract $149.99 (after $50 MIR)
- New Activation 1 Year Contract $199.99 (after $50 MIR)
- Full Upgrade 2 Year Contract $167.99 (after $50 MIR)
- Full Upgrade 1 Year Contract $217.99 (after $50 MIR)
- Partial Upgrade: TBD
- Retail Price: $349.99
Keep in mind Rogers will be selling the 8220 for $149.99 on a 3 year contract. Hopefully some big promos will accompany the sale of this device to help get the price down further. I'm excited for the Pearl 8220 as it's going to attract a whole lot of new users to BlackBerry Nation, but can't help but be a little bit disappointed. I can't help but think back to those early marketing picks of the T-Mobile KickStart which showed the device as being all young and hip, with a multitude of funky colors to choose from (with the option for funky "future graphic prints" on the battery door). And let's not forget those $50 on-contract rumors either. We went from an altogether divergent, edgy move from RIM to the standard BlackBerry play, but in a new form factor. Still exciting, just not quite as exciting as a lot of us hoped.
Availability
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip should be hitting stores sooooon. Word dropped on the PinStack forums that we may see the Pearl Flip on T-Mobile as early as October 15th and the BoyGenius just yesterday posted some leaked photos taken from a Best Buy terminal showing that the Pearl 8220 (in red) should be in stock by October 26th. When it comes to Rogers we're now hearing the Pearl flip has been delayed to the third week of October (after the sloppy code the Bold launched with, they're going to be sure to have it solid on the Pearl 8220 at launch).
While talk about the AT&T Bold's launch delays are rampant, not too much has been said about the delays we have seen in the Pearl Flip go to market. Think back to this Rogers September Back to School Pearl 8220 promo that was supposed to run but never did and a leaked T-Mobile roadmap that put the KickStart as launching by August 1st and it's fairly obvious things are a little bit behind schedule. But a launch is imminent now, so better a little late than never. No harm though... in reality it's only us hardcore BlackBerry Addicts that are likely aware of these delays, unlike with the AT&T Bold where the masses are beginning to wonder where the heck it is (RIM/AT&T should really just do a joint press release and let us officially know what the scoop is there!).
The Pearl 8220 will be rolling out on a lot of carriers around the world, so as saw with the Bold we can likely expect to see a slightly staggered launch as it hits the market. In this case those, it should be available in North America first (or maybe second or third! LOL).
As for the 8210, the 8220's sibling that will feature GPS vs. the 8220's WiFi, we're hearing that's been pushed back on the AT&T pipeline until early 2009. Stay tuned... will update as we learn more.
And More!
In Canada, the Rogers Pearl 8220 launch parties are now almost over (the last one is tonight in Calgary). BlackBerryCool posted some photos taken from an earlier Pearl 8220 launch party that are worth checking out!
That's it for now! Getttting Exccccited????!!
