A US wireless communications carrier Cellular South announced on Friday (22 May) the availability of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM) , a designer, manufacturer and marketer of wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market.

According to the company, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, available in black and pink, features a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its luminescent face. It weighs 3.6oz and measures approximately 3.9" x 1.9" x 0.7". The handset offers two high-resolution, light-sensing colour displays. The external LCD makes it easy to preview incoming e-mails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset, while the large, 240 x 320 pixel internal LCD displays messages, videos and web pages with detail and contrast.

The handset also features: support for BlackBerry App World; a large SureType QWERTY keyboard; support for Cellular South's high-speed wireless broadband data network; intuitive user interface with trackball navigation; built-in GPS with BlackBerry Maps preloaded; a 2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording; an HTML web browser; a media player for pictures, videos and music and support for BlackBerry Media Sync; an expandable microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports cards up to 16GB in size; as well as stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP/AVRCP) and a 3.5mm stereo headset jack.

The phone is available for USD99.99 after a USD100 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year customer agreement and two-year data contract. Cellular South's smartphone plan is available for a USD49.99 monthly access fee. Other charges may apply when downloading or using applications.