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BlackBerry Curve tops curious list of most popular handsets in US
There's a pretty substantial difference between "sales" and "popularity," as evidenced by the glaring dissimilarities between this here top 10 list and the one churned out earlier this month by NPD. AvianResearch got its data by polling 100 service representatives at retail stores to "gauge consumer interest in handsets available at the four major carriers in the United States." In September, RIM's BlackBerry Curve maintained the "lead," with Apple's iPhone securing a very distant second place. LG's Dare and the BlackBerry Pearl followed suit, while the LG Voyager, Samsung Instinct, LG Rumor, LG Shine, Palm Centro and Nokia 5310 closed out the rear. But seriously, since when has popularity trumped cold hard sales? Ah well, here's your cookie, Curve.
T-Mobile releases BlackBerry Pearl 8120 in three tasty new colors
T-Mobile's been through the whole Pearl color blowout rigmarole before -- but not since the heyday of the 8100 have we seen this kind of selection. Those rumored shades from last month have materialized for the WiFi-equipped 8120, ushering in Black Emerald, Frost, and Indigo for the equally colorful price of $149.99 on contract after rebate. Just like the original colors, the new ones feature HotSpot @Home calling, a 2-megapixel camera, and microSD expansion up to 8GB. We've said it before, but it might bear repeating here, T-Mobile: make these $50, sell them alongside the 8220 for the same price, and we're in.Read - Black EmeraldRead - FrostRead - Indigo
T-Mobile launches BlackBerry Pearl 8220, available today for $149.99
The BlackBerry Pearl 8220 runs neck-and-neck with the Storm for the title of "most leaked RIM device of 2008," but for what it's worth, T-Mobile is just now getting around to announcing a date and price for the most fliptastic phone in Waterloo's ever-expanding lineup. That's good news -- but perhaps the best news is that the launch date just happens to be today (for one of the two available colors, anyhow). The black version of the 8220 will be appearing online and in T-Mobile stores today, while the dark red will be following on a week later on Monday, October 20. Both will run $149.99 on a two-year contract.Be sure to check out our hands-on impressions -- and a dazzling gallery of visuals to go along with them -- over on Engadget Mobile!
RIM's BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 gets photographed, previewed
While many of you may be waiting for some other handset to launch on T-Mobile, BlackBerry addicts may very well be counting down the hours 'til this one lands on the aforesaid carrier. If we just rang your bell, chances are you'll be extremely interested in this here preview, which delivers a whole gaggle of photographs, a decidedly ho hum video (hosted after the break) of the Pearl Flip 8220 in action and a lengthy writeup explaining the ins and outs of RIM's first flip phone. As for highlights, this thing turns into a real monster (read: it's big) when opened, but when closed, it's a real looker. For more on the aesthetics (not to mention some shots beside a few other BlackBerry siblings -- Bold included), head on down to the read link and dig in.
AT&T's BlackBerry Pearl 8110 gets pretty in pink
Pink Pearls are nothing new -- but a pink Pearl with a fancy silkscreen? That's another matter altogether. These 8110s imbued with a newfound sense of fashion are starting to show up in AT&T stores now, so get 'em while they're hot.[Thanks, Kal]
T-Mobile's BlackBerry Pearl 8220 gets unboxed
There's no telling what sort of crazy behind-the-scenes negotiations had to take place in order for our good friend Boy Genius to get his hands on the very first retail T-Mobile-branded BlackBerry 8220 we've seen in the wild -- and let's be honest, the whole unboxing takes on a sexier tone when there's an element of intrigue to it, doesn't it? Mr. Genius flatly pans the thing for having a pair of awful screens and a prototype feel (despite the fact that he's got a final production unit), so odds are the Bold owners out there aren't going to be throwing fits of jealousy any time soon. To top it off, the contents of the box are about as exciting as flannel underwear (we guess it's cool that RIM saw fit to throw in a pair of headphones), so don't expect too much. At least it'll be available in a few colors, right?
BlackBerry Pearl 8220 launches on TIM in Italy
T-Mobile USA's busy with... ahem, another launch at the moment, but Italians on TIM now have access to RIM's first and only clamshell (TIM, RIM? Coincidence?). The Pearl 8220 is ready for shipment to the Mediterranean villa of your choosing for 269 (about $372), though TIM's only offering black at the moment -- so maybe T-Mobile's taking so long because they have to prepare some specially formulated dyes for that red version. Or something.[Via Boy Genius Report]
BlackBerry Pearl 8220 coming in silver, too
We've already known about burgundy and black versions of RIM's first flip, but silver? Sure looks like it from new images posted on Spanish site miblackberry.com, and frankly, we think it's the most flattering color combo we've seen to date. Then again, the phone is so frickin' huge in person that it could end up being a totally excessive amount of shiny, metallic plastic in your face when you crack it open -- but from the press shots, at least, color us impressed (pun intended). T-Mobile, any interest in this one, too?[Via CrackBerry]
BlackBerry Pearl 8220 goes live on T-Mobile's site
Don't go grabbing your plastic -- the darned thing isn't for sale quite yet -- but at least T-Mobile's giving us something to ogle on its site now with an official placeholder page for its Pearl 8220. The red shown on the site does a good job illustrating that it's toned down enough to pass as a business device, but for anyone still worried they're going to blind their coworkers, black should be available, too. It's not as deeply satisfying as an "In Stock" sign, but T-Mob's offering a link to preregister for the phone, which'll presumably give you first dibs when it launches in the next few weeks.[Via Cell Phone Signal]
T-Mobile to get BlackBerry Pearl 8120 in new colors?
We've heard from The Boy Genius Report that new colors may be in the works for T-Mobile's BlackBerry Pearl 8120 on October 15th. Picture yourself toting a Pearl in a color named "Frost", "Black Emerald", or even the mysterious "Indigo". Yeah, we know it's a stretch to get too excited about this, but we're trying to help boost the excitement factor for T-Mobile users as they wait for the curiously large Pearl 8220.
RIM finally comes clean with BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220
We'll be honest -- KickStart just had a nicer ring to it, but we suppose Pearl Flip will do. RIM's long-awaited (and not-at-all veiled) BlackBerry flip phone has finally arrived, weighing just 3.6-ounces and boasting a 320 x 240 internal display, Bluetooth 2.0, built-in multimedia player, 802.11b/g WiFi and a SureType keypad. The battery promises four hours of talk time / over a fortnight of standby life, and while pricing and exact release details are still hush-hush, Americans can count on seeing it "this fall" exclusively on T-Mobile. In related news, RIM also announced support for AIM / ICQ on all BlackBerry smartphones, though it's only available for USers at the moment. Feast your eyes on the links below for more, more, more.Read - BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 releaseRead - AIM / ICQ for BlackBerryRead - BlackBerry Flip dedicated site
BlackBerry KickStart / Pearl 8220's screens: pretty, T-Mobile-y
Along with the all-new form factor will come an all-new -- well, kinda new -- software build for RIM when it releases the BlackBerry Pearl (or KickStart, or whatever the hell they decide to call it) 8200 series later this year. The most fliptastic of the Pearls will join the Bold in sporting BlackBerry OS 4.6, and shots are surfacing of what exactly that'll look like once it gets grafted onto T-Mobile's WiFi-equipped 8220 model. As one might expect, it looks like it's taking a lot of UI cues already seen and enjoyed on the Bold with the usual T-Mobile twists added in like myFaves support; in particular, we're loving the insanely slick stopwatch display. Too bad we'll use it... oh, never. Cell Phone Signal likes October for the 8220's release, which runs the risk of burying it beneath the Dream -- maybe that rumored $50 out-the-door price can move a few, though. That, or overflow once the Dream stock dries up.
Virgin Mobile Canada gets around to adding BlackBerry Pearl 8130
Usually we'd say that late trumps never, but in this case, we're not so sure. Two months shy of a full year after RIM announced the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for CDMA carriers, Virgin Mobile Canada is just now adding the handset to its arsenal. We'll go ahead and assume you already know what this thing is packing, so here's the dirt you aren't familiar with: free on a 3-year contract (as if!), $299 on a 2-year plan, $349 on a 1-year plan (have we reached the absurdity ceiling yet?) and $399 on a 30-day contract (ah, there it is).[Via mobilesyrup]
BlackBerry KickStart just another piece in the Pearl puzzle?
We've been calling the KickStart "KickStart" for so long now, it's going to be awfully difficult to call it anything else -- even if it's just another name already in RIM's toolbox. Cell Phone Signal seems to have stumbled across some sort of internal documentation that suggests that the first BlackBerry flip on the market will go by the "Pearl" name, an admittedly logical choice considering its seemingly consumer-oriented slant. As we've heard before, there'll be both GPS (8210) and WiFi (8220) versions on tap; the document actually indicates that only the 8220 will go by Pearl, we'd be hard pressed to believe that they'd break it up in such a nonsensical way. But seriously, RIM, think twice about ditching the KickStart moniker, yeah?
Pokemon Platinum boxart is super effective at being awesome
Can we just say, Nintendo: loving the boxart for Pokémon Platinum. Whereas the art for Diamond and Pearl relied on darker, more subdued colors, Platinum's box employs a striking combination of red, black, and white, blasting out in beams from the center of the cover. It's almost as though cover star Giratina is leaping right out of the box at the viewer/shopper. He's coming to get you, kids! That will be under your bed tonight! Muahaha.As well as the cover, GAME Watch also has a small pool of character art (featuring Regice, Registeel, Regirock, and Regigigas) and screens (which can be found in our gallery). It looks ... well, pretty much like the same game you bought last year. Will that stop you buying it? Nope, thought not.%Gallery-25539%
Rogers loves BlackBerry: Pink Curve, OS 4.5, and BlackBerry Bold oh my!
Rogers seems on a roll with it's good friends at RIM as we're seeing a bevy of release news and noteworthy stuff from them recently. Up at bat are the potential launch of the BlackBerry Bold on June 17th, the UMA-enabled Pearl 8120 that ships with OS 4.5, and the BlackBerry Curve in a new, pinker flavor. Pricing on the UMA-enabled 8120 is set at $149 on three years and while it does tout WiFi for the Rogers Home Zone, it won't work to get you on the Internet -- can we get a rousing raspberry for Rogers? The BlackBerry Curve 8310 is unchanged except for its new, softer pink aesthetic and is shipping for $199 if you're up to a 3-year stint on Canada's only GSM network. Not much new on the Bold, though we expect if that launch date is solid, we'll hear more real soon.[Thanks, Treatz for the lovely pic]
Rogers snags BlackBerry Pearl 8120 to keep 8110 company
Well, this certainly looks familiar, doesn't it? Yep, this had been rumored to go down for a couple weeks now, which dovetails nicely with the launch of Rogers' Home Calling Zone service, offering up unlimited long-distance Canadian calls via WiFi for $20 CAD a month. The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 comes in sporting the 2 megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, SureType keyboard, and all the other spoils we've become accustomed to from the phone's other launches for $149.99 CAD (about $148) on a three-year agreement.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Darkrai to stalk our dreams at Nintendo World Store
Pokémaniacs, take note: between now and the end of June, the Nintendo World Store in New York will be offering Darkrai as a free download. That means you've got precisely twenty-seven days to save up for and book a flight/ferry/coach ticket to the Big Apple to scoop one of the more elusive thirteen Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Diamond or Pearl (note: there are certain other methods to obtaining Darkrai that lack scruples).If you were looking for a perfect excuse for a break in The City That Never Sleeps, this could be it. Just don't forget to send us a postcard.%Gallery-12161%
The DS: McDonalds is lovin' it
Fast food chain McDonalds is to launch a new download service in Japan tomorrow, through DS download stations located in 21 Tokyo branches of McDonalds and train stations along the Tsukuba Express line.The scheme, dubbed "Nintendo Spot," is currently in a trial period, and will give DS owners access to free downloads featuring the latest "McDonalds news" (this just in: you need to learn to cook for yourself), nutritional information, and menus, as well as actual news, weather reports, horoscopes, a Brain Training demo, and hotel/restaurant guides for Tokyo (though we assume that guides to rival restaurants won't appear in McDonalds). The trial ends on June 30th in McDonalds, and on December 28th at the railway stations.Incidentally, our machine translation is picking up something about a "downloadable gift" related to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Here's hoping the service heads west so we can find out more. While you wait with us, make the jump for a look at Ronald McDonald's offspring as perceived through the eyes of Japanese advertising executives (warning: slightly NSFW).%Gallery-23702%
Rogers getting BlackBerry Pearl 8120 soon?
Rogers loves it some BlackBerry, and seeing how the Canadian behemoth's closest American analog, AT&T, now has both next-gen Pearls in its stable, we see no reason to believe that this won't happen. MobileInCanada is reporting that Rogers is gearing up to add the WiFi-packing 8120 alongside the GPS-equipped 8110, a phone that it already sells for $199.99 CAD (about $201) on contract. Heck, Rogers still proudly sells the original 8100 for a hundie less, so they could very well end up with a Pearl trifecta if they play their cards right. No word on when we might see this pop up exactly, but as for pricing, it'd have to slot in above the 8110 if AT&T's strategy is any indication.
