However, this trackball was designed to work on more than just the Wii. Acidmods guarantees it for the PSP 300, PSP Slim, DS, Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers.

Unlike most mod demonstrations, Acidmods wants to sell you this actual product. They're not taking orders yet, but they will traditionally sell you the necessary hardware or mod your controller for you at an additional cost. The first link at the end of this post isn't up yet, but it should have purchasing information soon. [Shop via Acidmods and MaxConsole]

Design
I was a pretty, um, harsh critic of the Pearl Flip's design as photos of it leaked out. Turns out, it is the most design-challenged phone in RIM's new lineup, but for a different reason than I suspected. It's like each half of the phone comes from a wildly different gene pool. The top half is glossy black outside, and (fake) brushed metal—wonderfully modern and beautiful, if thick. The bottom half feels like it came from white trash branch of the family—cheaper-feeling, toy-like plastic (in black or red) that seems more appropriate on a carrier freebie. Totally incongruous, a bottom more like the top would've made it truly lustworthy. That said, it feels surprisingly nice in your hand, despite being something of a fatass.

Compared to the old Pearl, it differs in two big ways on the navigation front: the trackball is recessed (so it can close) and the keys are almost completely flush (there's a barely noticeable, but palpable curve to them). The trackball groove actually works, cradling your thumb while you zoom around. The flush keys make it harder to cocksuredly touch type than if they were more pronounced, though the keyboard isn't unusable by any means. That really depends on how you feel about RIM's SureType keyboard generally.

OS and UI
Besides being a flip phone, the most significant update from a user standpoint over the original Pearl is that it's loaded with the latest, shiniest BlackBerry OS, with its incredibly polished Tron UI, as seen earlier on the BlackBerry Bold.

Our past props (and jeers) for the re-designed OS and UI mostly stand. Graphically, it's a big step up from the previous OS, though we wish the text-based elements, like in email and the calendar, were bit more punched up as well. It translates fairly well to the Pearl Flip's smaller screen, visually speaking, but it's clear that the Pearl Flip lacks the horsepower of its more respectable brothers—it's appreciably more sluggish at times, and we ran into some retardiculous slowdown more than once. On the other hand, it has one of the best startup times we've seen on a BlackBerry (though the first 30-45 seconds of wakey wakey aren't quite usable). Still, on the whole, the new BlackBerry OS is imminently easy-to-use and almost as easy to look at.

Screen and Multimedia
The Pearl Flip's multimedia capabilities are nothing we haven't seen on the other new BlackBerrys. It uses the standard BlackBerry media player and organization (though dressed up in the new skin like on the Bold) that's definitely capable, but fairly generic, and not as enjoyable as using say, a Zune. Video is definitely watchable on the fairly sharp 320x240 screen—it's good for this kind of phone, but not mind-blowing like the ones on RIM's two flagships. Annoyingly for some reason, though, YouTube videos don't expand to fill the entire screen like a side-loaded one does, they stay in portrait. The Roxio-powered Media Manager still tests the nerves. And the 2MP camera and video recording are just okay—not abysmal, but not great.

Browser and Other Software
Yep, the browser does indeed work way better than pieces of crap RIM called browsers on the last gen of BlackBerrys. It actually renders HTML correctly! (Most of the time.) However, even on pages where the browser gets it right, you get a sad taste of its less-than-manly hardware as it struggles to keep up with you trying to navigate around the page once it's loaded. Even over Wi-Fi—there's no 3G to speak of—it can be godawful slow, especially on sites with a lot of scripts running around (Slate, for instance). The lag makes zooming in and out awkward more often than not. So, while a huge, huge improvement over the past browsing experience, it's held back by a lack of processing juice.

Emaiil is what you've come to expect on a BlackBerry—excellent—and like the Bold, it's now in full HTML. It comes loaded with MyFaves like any other T-Mobile phone, and all of the usual BlackBerry software—BrickBreaker, Maps (though no GPS, WTF), Office to Go, Voice Notes, etc.—as well as a healthy dose of IM clients, from AIM to Gtalk.

Conclusion
I'm torn on this phone. The most consumer-oriented phone of RIM's lineup, straightforwardly speaking it's also the weakest. So, while we don't know the pricing of the upcoming Curve replacement (likely $199 or $249), users looking to step up to their first real smartphone might want to wait to check it out before stampeding to the store for the Pearl Flip, since it's not cheap at $150 with a two-year contract. Also, QWERTY > SureType, even as good as RIM's predictive text is.

But it's not a bad phone, at all—compared to the wealth of dumb feature phones out there, it's exceptional. It's a full-fledged BlackBerry that delivers great email, solid multimedia, usable web browsing and all of the other trappings of a smartphone, like apps. And it definitely has a quirky kind of personality to it. So, if you're looking for a smartphone in a tight form factor—or maybe for your teen—this might be what you're looking for, since the BlackBerry experience remains one of the best.

T-Mobile USA Launches First BlackBerry Flip Phone

New BlackBerry Pearl Flip Features Most Popular Mobile Phone Design in U.S.

Bellevue, Wash., and Waterloo, Ontario—Oct. 13, 2008—T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM: TSX: RIM) today announced the BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8220 smartphone—the first BlackBerry flip phone—is now available in the U.S., exclusively from T-Mobile.

The new BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone maintains the popular features and benefits of the BlackBerry Pearl; plus it packs numerous enhancements into the sleek and popular flip design. The spacious keyboard allows easy typing and dialing while the flip design helps protect the large, vibrant internal screen and provides the satisfying finality of ending a call by closing the phone. Customers will also appreciate the external display for previewing calendar reminders, e-mail, text messages and phone calls at a glance.

“The flip phone remains the vastly dominant and preferred design for mobile phones in the United States,” said Leslie Grandy, vice president of product development, T-Mobile USA. “Being the first company in the U.S. to offer the unique BlackBerry experience on a flip phone is a huge benefit for T-Mobile customers.”

The combination of rich multimedia capabilities and RIM’s powerful mobile e-mail solution together with support for text messaging, picture messaging, enhanced Web browsing and built in Wi-Fi® makes the BlackBerry Pearl Flip ideal for balancing a busy lifestyle by enabling customers to share pictures, check the latest sports scores or access social networking sites, including Facebook® and Flickr®.

“The BlackBerry Pearl Flip takes all the advanced features and refined usability that customers have come to expect from BlackBerry smartphones and makes them available in a friendly and innovative design,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing, Research In Motion. “Whether they are sending text messages or e-mail, listening to music or simply making phone calls, customers are going to love using this phone.”

In addition to the new flip design, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip also provides an advanced multimedia experience through video recording and playback, a 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom, stereo Bluetooth® support, and an easily accessible external memory card slot.

The Wi-Fi-enabled phone provides connectivity for both voice and data, as well as support for T-Mobile’s Unlimited HotSpot Calling service offering unlimited, nationwide calling over any accessible Wi-Fi connection including T-Mobile® HotSpot locations nationwide and great in-home coverage.* Whether through a Wi-Fi connection or the T-Mobile network, customers can quickly surf the Web, view pictures, send and receive messages, download documents, and access attachments.**

Key features of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip from T-Mobile include the following**:

· First BlackBerry smartphone to offer popular flip design

· Wi-Fi-enabled (802.11 b/g) supporting Wi-Fi calling and fast Web browsing

· Support for Unlimited HotSpot Calling, offering unlimited nationwide calling over accessible Wi-Fi networks

· T-Mobile’s myFavesSM support to stay in touch with those who matter most, with quick, one-click access for instant messaging, e-mailing, texting or calling to your Fave 5 SM from the Home Screen

· Enhanced SureType® keyboard to support text messaging, picture messaging, instant messaging (six popular clients), personal e-mail (access up to 10 supported e-mail accounts), and corporate e-mail

· 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording (requires microSD card)

· Advanced media player for pictures, music and video with full-screen video playback

· Stereo Bluetooth® support (A2DP/AVRCP) and 3.5mm stereo headset jack

· Media management software included on the BlackBerry Tools CD, which allows transfer of music files including sync of desktop iTunes music files***

· Enhanced HTML browser for high-performance browsing with a more desktop-style depiction

· Internal QVGA 2.4-inch diagonal screen, 320 x 240 pixels and supporting 65K colors

· 128 MB of flash memory, 256MB microSD card included, and support for up to a 16 GB microSD/SDHC card

· Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi network including support for international roaming

· Dimensions: 3.9” x 1.96” x 0.68”

· Weight: 3.6 oz

[T-Mobile]

RIM Introduces the First BlackBerry Flip Phone

New BlackBerry Pearl Flip Brings The Industry’s Leading Mobile Messaging Solution To Consumers Who Prefer Flip Phones

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM, TSX: RIM) today unveiled the BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry® phone to come in the popular flip form factor.

The new BlackBerry Pearl Flip provides flip phone fans with all the power of a BlackBerry smartphone in a fun and familiar design. One quick flip of the handset opens up a world of possibilities with the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution and a wide range of impressive Internet and multimedia capabilities, all in one powerful yet approachable smartphone. 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. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9” x 1.9” x 0.7”. Featuring two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, the external LCD makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset, while the large, 240 x 320 internal LCD displays messages, videos and web pages with impressive detail and contrast.

“The popularity of BlackBerry smartphones has grown tremendously around the world and the introduction of this exciting new flip phone will help extend the reach of the BlackBerry platform even further,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is a full-featured smartphone with a unique and friendly design and it is a natural choice for flip phone users who want to start doing more with their phone than just talk.”

FIRST CLASS PHONE

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone is a top of the line mobile phone that flips open and cradles the face naturally and comfortably during phone calls. It delivers exceptional voice quality and includes many premium phone features, including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), support for mp3 ring tones, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing, call forwarding, voicemail attachment playback and enhanced background noise cancellation. It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth® 2.0 for use with hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver. The removable/rechargeable 900 mAhr battery provides four hours of talk time and over 14 days of standby time.

MESSAGING POWERHOUSE

Featuring a large SureType® QWERTY* keyboard that makes typing messages and dialing numbers fast and easy, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, like all BlackBerry smartphones, provides integrated access to the industry leading BlackBerry wireless services. Users are able to easily access up to 10 supported personal and work email accounts, send and receive text and instant messages, and connect on popular social networking sites with friends, family and co-workers. The DataViz® Documents to Go® software suite is also preloaded, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is supported on BlackBerry® Internet Service, BlackBerry® Unite!, BlackBerry® Professional Software and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which provides tight integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require to confidently allow smartphones in their organization.

MULTIMEDIA TO GO

With an advanced media player for displaying pictures, listening to music and watching videos, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is the perfect on-the-go entertainment center. Videos play smoothly on the large internal display, playlists can be managed directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" – for customizing audio ranges when using headphones or external speakers. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip works with the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application that makes it easy to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone*** and it also features a conveniently accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16GB** for plenty of storage. High Speed USB 2.0 support allows files to be quickly transferred between a desktop computer and the smartphone and the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® to help users easily manage their music and video files. Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE is also included for creating photo albums and editing pictures.

FULL FEATURED FLIP

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip packs an impressive range of features into its compact design, including phone, email, messaging, organizer, browser and multimedia applications, and it can also support thousands of other mobile lifestyle and business applications. It features a 2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording**** to capture memories while on the move, and includes BlackBerry Maps to deliver maps and step-by-step driving directions quickly and easily. An enhanced HTML browser displays web pages beautifully in either “Column View” or “Page View” and different emulation settings allow users to choose between desktop-style HTML content and the mobile version of web pages. The browser also supports RTSP for watching online streaming video from sites like m.youtube.com. In addition, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone features built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g) with support for UMA (unlicensed mobile access), extending wireless email and data coverage and supporting carrier enabled voice calls over home Wi-Fi networks, enterprise wireless deployments and Wi-Fi hotspots.

ACCESSORIES

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip comes with a variety of accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger and USB cable. Additional accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including holsters and totes, charging pods, premium earphones, Bluetooth headsets and the BlackBerry® Remote Stereo Gateway are available through retail outlets or online at www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone will be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this fall. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in the United States exclusively from T-Mobile beginning this fall. Specific availability and pricing details will be announced at a later date.

For more information please visit www.BlackBerryPearl.com

T-Mobile USA customers can check out more details about this new flip phone and register to be notified when the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is available at www.BlackBerry.com/T-MobileBlackBerryPearlFlip

Media can access images and video of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone at http://rim.mediaseed.tv/

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

* Keyboard also available in AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups.

** MicroSD/SDHC memory cards are available today in configurations of up to 8GB and the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 smartphone will support upcoming 16GB microSD/SDHC cards.

*** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

**** Video recording requires microSD card, which may be sold separately.

[BlackBerry]

SlingPlayer for BB is only available and certified for one particular European BlackBerry Pearl version with Wi-Fi that's not even available in the US right now, but you can try loading it onto other phones and see if it clicks. Sling is adding more models soon, as they've been known to do, so it won't be long until you're hopping onto the can to sneak 5 minutes with Judge Judy in the afternoon.

Still not much information on pricing or a release date, aside from the Thanksgiving rumor, but we're definitely liking the slimmer body — it's something we could really see ourselves settling down and starting a family with. [Pinstack]

First off, BGR is saying the Pearl 2 will have a 3.2-megapixel camera instead of a 2-megapixel camera like we said. Very interesting. Also interesting is the 3.5mm headset jack, as well as an improved Voice Notes app and media apps.

Here are the preliminary, unconfirmed specs:

* 3.2 megapixel camera * Flash improvement and 6x digital zoom * 3.5 mm Headset Jack * External MicroSD slot * SureType device * New keypad technology * 240×260 LCD display * Wi-Fi capable * 64MB of memory * Streaming media support * 4.5 hours of talk time/15 days of standby * Stereo Bluetooth * Windows Media DRM & MTP * New metallic colors * "Top and rear loudspeaker port" * Voice Notes enhancements * A new battery door latch * "Improved Front Receiver Porting" * Improved Lanyard design * Improved Mic with wind protection * Motion Lock * Improved SIM card holder * High speed USB * Improved mechanical design, and build quality

– Jason Chen

Boy Genius Report

Not much has changed—the phone still has a 1.3-megapixel camera, BlackBerry push email, all sorts of IM support, HTML browser, the SureType not-quite-a-qwerty keyboard, MP3, 240x260 display, and Quad-Band GSM/EDGE. Which means there's no real reason to upgrade to the white Pearl if you already have the black one. But if you're in the market for a small smartphone—or if your office is forcing BlackBerry fever on you—check out the condensed review to see if it's the right fit. Plus, Valentine Day's is coming up, and what better present would your girlfriend like than to wear one of these on a chain around her neck? – Jason Chen

Product Page [T-Mobile]

BlackBerry Gets Streaming Podcasts [PinStack via Slashgear]

Blackberry Coverage [Gizmodo]
Blackberry Pearl is a tight fit! [Pinstack Forums]