Research In Motion (RIM) and Airtel have announced the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone on the Indian market. The handset is the first clamshell released by RIM, one that does not feature the same wide, brick-like body that other handsets do. It rather continues the line of compact devices like the Curve 8900 and the Storm, which can be seen as style examples.

The “Blackberry Effect” of the phone is still there, although it sports a flip design. The device comes with all the features found in any other Blackberry, except for the QWERTY keyboard layout. This feature has been replaced with RIMs SureType input technology. While still being labeled in the QWERTY layout, now there are shared keys, and not dedicated ones, like before.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 comes with a 2-megapixel camera with digital zoom and flash, which also has video recording capabilities. Its internal QVGA 2.4-inch diagonal display offers a 320 x 240 pixel resolution and supports 65,000 colors. The phone comes with a 1GB microSD card included, yet it supports memory cards of up to 16GB.

The device includes quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi network support including support for international roaming. More connectivity is available through WiFi and stereo Bluetooth (A2DP/AVRCP), complemented by a 3.5mm stereo headset jack. Multimedia capabilities include an advanced media player for music, video and pictures with full-screen video playback.

Also included in the feature list is support for text messaging, popular instant messaging services, picture messaging, personal and corporate email. The handset also sports a browser enhanced to offer high-performance with desktop-style depiction. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 measures 101mm x 50 mm x 17.5 mm and weighs only 102g including the battery.

The handset is available in India at Airtel authorized channels for a price of approximately $453.