How's the flip?

[blue_and_bold]

I was interested in some feedback from some BB users that went from a normal bb 8703,8130(any nonflip) to the flip. How do you like it? Is it just as functional?

[xtrmcheeze]

I've had mine a few days so far and I can at least give you the following feedback.

Had a curve (8330) for over a year and my thumbs started hurting real bad the last couple of months because I bent them too far back to type with the tip of my thumb or my thumb nail so I needed something else with bigger keys. Realizing there weren't really any other BBs with bigger buttons (atleast not big enough for me), I reluctantly looked at the flip because VZW had released it recently, after messing with it in the store for a few minutes I quickly realized how much I actually liked it.

After some research and a conversation with my doctor (yes I asked my doctor about my thumbs because I type for a living), it was clear I needed something I could type on quickly without hurting my thumbs, the flip was definitely the right choice. It is still very compact but the keys are plenty big and easy to type on.

To make this shorter, here are a list of pros and cons...

pros:
- Easy to type on for fat thumb people, no more blackberry thumb!
- Faster than the Curve (8330), I've tried most of the OS releases for the 8330 and none of them see to be as fast as the current 8230 with the 4.6.1.234 OS, it might just be that 4.6 is more efficient than 4.5
- OS 4.6 is a delight and seems flawless so far, gets a little bogged down when you're running a lot of stuff, but seems better than my old curve
- External door for micro sdhc card, SO much better than pulling that damn battery out for the curve
- 2nd mini screen on the outside lets you do many things, preview messages, see currently playing music, I'm sure developers could find all kinds of fun stuff for this thing
- clamshell design, love it
- SureType - clever way to use 20 keys instead of 40 or whatever the curve had (no quick reference), it guesses what I want 90% of the time correctly, there are cons with this though

Cons:
- SureType - No easy way to use short-type... 'U' and 'I' being on the same key is a headache because 'U' requires the key press and then a scroll down, typing "lol" constantly results in "loll"... there are a number of issues with this, you can swap to multi-tap but that takes longer to type... quite possibly I just need to adjust suretype, maybe I should RTFM
- You can preview messages on the outside screen but you can't "Mark as Read", however when you open the phone when you're previewing, it goes right to the message
- Vibrate is weak and unnoticeable unless you're completely still and nothing is bothering you
- Lack of software, themes, etc. It's simply just not as popular as the curve or the other newer phones
- Wish they called it simply the flip and left "pearl" off of it, I think it might get a better reception
- I'm gonna say it, battery life is horrid, only minor use throughout the day (from 7 AM to 11 PM) results in around 1/2 - 3/4 battery by the end of day, I hope seidio comes out with an extended battery (one that doesn't stick out)
- Lack of special characters on the keyboard using simply 'Alt' key, characters like (- / & " $, etc) have all been moved into the "sym" key menu which is now 3 pages deep on a normal text message.

Some items you might or might not care about (I dont):
- Portrait vs landscape screen - I dont really care
- 2.0 megapixel camera - it's a phone, not a camera
- Recessed trackball - seems fine for my fat thumb

I welcome all comments in reply to my post, like I said maybe I need to RTFM about some things, but these are my observations of the past few days.

[sig220]

This is my first smartphone, and i will say, that I am sold on it by far, I never wanted a brick to carry around like all the other blackberrys look like, and i live in the dust so I was worried about that, the flip fits perfectly. The one thing that gets annoying is using the browser i spend a lot of time zooming in and out dont know if that an issue on the other bbs but I love it and wont go back to a dumbphone and i dont want an iphone or brick either.

[jaydizzle2.0]

yo it looks pretty dope but its gotta have many probs!

[david9962000]

I tried one and it was comfortable to talk on, it has a wide open angle but I noticed a loose battery door on the one that I used. Also the keys are wide enough to use 2 thumbs.

[jamieownsu]

I wouldn't recommend it at all, to be honest. I like mine, but I wish the 8900 was out when I got mine, as I would have gone with that instead.

The 8220 is too slow, it uses the same processor as the original Pearl, and it's not enough.

Don't bother with it.

[Jsolts]

You gotta take into account what you need it for. If you are a power user who needs to be able to remote connect to a pc, and run multiple programs at once then it is not the phone for you.

I work in radio, I get over 100 emails a day and I love the flip. Its so nice to be able to get all the functionality of a bb in a small compact unit that I can just slip into my pocket.

As for the screen, yes it is in portrait vs landscape, but its same size as the screen on a curve, just vertical.

The browser sucks. No gonna deny that. Download opera mini and you are good to go.

SureType takes some getting used to, and it can be annoying when you ask someone if you want to go holding, when you really meant to say golfing. But it does work quite well. Plus it makes for easy 1 handed typing.

Bottom line is this phone is not for everyone.

But if it fits your style, then its fantastic.

If it dosent, then there's a whole line of blackberries that might.

Hope this helps.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[clitrenta]

Seems we're always having this conversation. There is no perfect or crappy phone. It's all a matter of what you like and your needs. Some people hate touch screens and will say bad things about the storm for that reason while others hate "bricks" and will diss those types of phones. I think the only productive comments are those which simply state the pro's and cons of a particular phone (your own observance). That way, each person can decide if it has what they like and need.

[gvdw]

I really like my Flip after using it for a month and a half but had to go back to my Curve. My preference is flip phones and the typing and dialing is much easier on the Flip than the Curve. I had to quit using it because I often work in a noisy environment and the vibration feature on the Flip is very very weak. If someone could find a way to improve that I would definately go back to it.

[huskerp0wer]

Honestly you just need to decide if the pearl flip is the right one for your specific needs, as there is almost certainly a bb for everyone. I don't especially care for the flip but a friend of mine absolutely loves his. Go into the store, play around with all of them and it should make things easier.

[Dave12308]

Originally Posted by clitrenta

Seems we're always having this conversation. There is no perfect or crappy phone. It's all a matter of what you like and your needs. Some people hate touch screens and will say bad things about the storm for that reason while others hate "bricks" and will diss those types of phones. I think the only productive comments are those which simply state the pro's and cons of a particular phone (your own observance). That way, each person can decide if it has what they like and need.

Best post on Crackberry.........

[LooHoo1]

Originally Posted by Dave12308

Best post on Crackberry.........

Absolutely! Some of these comments would lead one to believe that one car, computer, bicycle, running shoe, style of underwear, etc. is best for everyone. BB choices are highly individual. That's half the fun!

[phoneking13]

Originally Posted by jamieownsu

I wouldn't recommend it at all, to be honest. I like mine, but I wish the 8900 was out when I got mine, as I would have gone with that instead.

The 8220 is too slow, it uses the same processor as the original Pearl, and it's not enough.

Don't bother with it.

Why does everyone say the 8220 is slow? Mine was fine.

[phoneking13]

Originally Posted by clitrenta

Seems we're always having this conversation. There is no perfect or crappy phone. It's all a matter of what you like and your needs. Some people hate touch screens and will say bad things about the storm for that reason while others hate "bricks" and will diss those types of phones. I think the only productive comments are those which simply state the pro's and cons of a particular phone (your own observance). That way, each person can decide if it has what they like and need.

Hey Connie why don't you try telling Apple that?

[clitrenta]

Originally Posted by phoneking13

Hey Connie why don't you try telling Apple that?

Well, Apple is paid to sell their product but again, I won't even say negative things about the iPhone. My co-worker has one of these and he loves it. I don't consider him a dumb guy by any means (we're all IT Pro's) so I'm sure it simply meets his needs just as mine meets mine. The only time you will hear me make negative comments is if a phone simply has a BAD record of reliability. I will never comment negatively on a phone because of it's form factor or features. To each his own. There are a number of phones (non-BB) I wouldn't mind trying out (iPhone, Storm, Samsung Behold, MyTouch, etc.). That doesn't mean I'd ditch my BB, just that there are some very interesting choices out there and I'm sure there are a number of them that will meet the needs of someone perfectly. We BB users hang out here to exchange info and maybe learn some more about our devices. It shouldn't be about proclaiming which is the best or worst, just determining which one is the right one for you. Right now, the Flip suits me just fine but things change all the time.