HeadStart on the BlackBerry KickStart

July 26, 2008 in BlackBerry, Handsets, T-Mobile

Up to now, there has been somewhat of a perception that BlackBerry owners belong to some mystical fellowship, making them part of an elite club/community. Little do they know their imaginary organization is about to be overrun by fans of a much different form factor.

The BlackBerry KickStart, BlackBerry’s first ever flip phone, is aimed at introducing the average, mass market consumer to the world of BlackBerry. And based on BlackBerry’s brand appeal on the status image it reflects, we’re guessing everyone from the tween wannabe-hots to the low-tech soccer moms are going to hop on this sucker.

The Kickstart is targeted for a September release, but the very first reviews and hands on videos are already starting to trickle in. The outlook looks good and we’ve got all the goodies for you. While Crackberry did a pretty darn in depth review, and a few golden nuggets have come from other sources as well, we’re going to summarize the most important points:

BlackBerry KickStart 8220 has WiFi while the BlackBerry Seawolf 82210 appears to be identical to the KickStart except it has GPS onboard and no WiFi. Ummm how about the BlackBerry Logic 8230 that has both? Nope… it doesn’t exist.
Kickstart and Seawolf are still codenames (as is the Thunder) and RIM could roll with these names or go to market with completely different names. Does anyone think half the point of these leaks is to hear what people think about the names before they decide on one?
8220 will be on T-Mobile while the 8210 will hit AT&T
Priced as low as $49.95
Release Date: September
Clamshell with GSM/GPRS/EDGE (No 3G), internal and external display (RAZR-esque), 2MP camera, 3.5MM headphones jack, MicroSD slot…
Looks SMALL closed but HUGE open and the keyboard (SureType) buttons are VERY LARGE so nobody will have trouble texting and emailing pretty quickly
Trackball use is a bit different than most BlackBerry’s because of placement

Most people will be quick to compare the BlackBerry KickStart to other BlackBerry devices. That’s a stretch… its not meant to be just “another BlackBerry”. Imagine putting any consumer… teenager, parent, whatever… in front of several different flip phones and asking them to pick one.

Lets see… you have this one, this one, this one… and the BlackBerry. Oh yeah… and its only $50 bucks. Game over folks - BlackBerry is about to walk away a BIG winner.

[Via CrackBerry]

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