BlackBerry KickStart 8220 gets really early review
The Bold is still stealing the overwhelming majority of RIM's spotlight at the moment for a handful of pretty good reasons: one, it's actually been announced; two, it's 3G; and three, it falls in line with the traditional (and loved) BlackBerry form factor. Lurking in the shadows, though, is the KickStart, RIM's very first flip phone, and a device that could end up making a huge splash if it actually manages to launch at the sub-$50 price point that's been making the rounds on the rumor circuit. CrackBerry got a way-early peek at the 8220 version of the device, which follows RIM's typical naming convention by packing WiFi while an 8210 will hold up the GPS side of things (seriously, RIM, how hard can it be to do both?), and overall it seems that the R&D team did its homework from the quick impressions. The SureType keyboard is huge and apparently quite easy to use without making the phone excessively large, though the trackball rests deeper in the shell making it a bit trickier to operate -- you win some, you lose some. The QVGA display is said to be just shy of Bold quality (which is a compliment, considering the killer screen on the Bold), and it's always hard to argue with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Come on, T-Mobile, let's make this happen.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
setclock @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:56PM
Would anyone know if this thing will have MMS/SMS as any true camera flip-phone should?
JoeyStyles @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:03PM
Unless its on sprint than it will have mms and sms because for some reason with sprint you cant mms on any of the pda/smart phones wtf
striggity @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:08PM
the day RIM releases a blackberry that DOESN'T do MMS/SMS is the day I shoot myself in the eye with a spear gun covered in salt, lemon juice, and bleach. While listening to Paris Hiltons album.
frank @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:05PM
Doesn't T-Mobile's 8820 have both WiFi and GPS?
markoza @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:22PM
Does anyone else think this phone is ugly? I'll happily take the Bold or Javelin over the Kickstart.
Gary @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:39PM
Very ugly and it looks way to big.
Virtuous @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:56PM
I applaud RIM for trying out different form factors. Most companies regurgitate the same form factors over and over.
set @ Jul 24th 2008 1:44PM
I want one! It looks awesome for texting: nice big buttons. Any idea when I can get one through AT&T?
TheGasMan @ Jul 25th 2008 11:22AM
test