Airtel Launch BlackBerry Flip in India

Airtel Launch BlackBerry Flip in India



Sports a 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, QWERTY keyboard and 1GB microSD card
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Airtel finally brought RIM's first clamshell smartphone -- BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 -- to India.

While most of us associate BlackBerry with wide bodied, brick like handsets, RIM seems desperate to change that notion. That is precisely why we now see gorgeous, compact handsets like the Curve 8900 and the Storm which seem to have become style statements - at least in the US.

If you thought the flip design has lessened the "Blackberry Effect" on the phone, be prepared to be surprised. It can do almost everything your "normal" blackberry can - except for that much needed QWERTY keyboard layout. Instead of that, what we have here is RIMs SureType input technology. The keys are still labelled in the QWERTY layout -- but will use shared keys, instead of dedicated ones.




On the multimedia front, it sports an expected 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom and not to mention, flash, video recording, stereo Bluetooth support wit A2DP, and an easily accessible expandable memory card slot for up to 16GB of additional storage. There is WiFi crammed in as well. Here's a brief spec sheet.

* Enhanced SureType keyboard for easy text entry and phone dialing
* Support for text messaging, picture messaging, popular instant messaging services, personal email (access up to 10 supported email accounts), and corporate email
* 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording
* Advanced media player for music, video and pictures with full-screen video playback
* Stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP/AVRCP) and 3.5mm stereo headset jack
* Media management software including the new BlackBerry Media Sync application making it quick and easy to sync iTunes digital music onto the handset
* Enhanced HTML browser for high-performance browsing with desktop-style depiction
* Internal QVGA 2.4-inch diagonal display, 320 x 240 pixels and supports 65,000 colors
* 1GB microSD card included
* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi network support including support for international roaming
* Dimensions (LxWxD): 101mm x 50 mm x 17.5 mm
* Weight (including removable battery): Approximately 102 grams


The phone is priced at Rs. 21, 990 and is now available at Airtel stores across India.