Today sees the launch of Research In Motion’s first clamshell handset, the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 Flip. The black version of the phone will launch today with the red version hitting stores next Monday, October 20.

Rumors of the flip version of the Pearl surfaced months ago, with images, announcements and pricing trickling in from every direction over September and the first week in October. The phone launch in parts of Europe at the beginning of the month and pricing was around €270, giving way to worries that the newer version of the Pearl would cost users significantly more than the non-flip model.

RIM officially announced today that the 8220 Pearl Flip would be exclusively be available with T-Mobile as of today, with the red model of the phone coming early next week. The Pearl Flip weighs in at 3.6 oz and comes with a 2 megapixel camera, 2.4 inch 320 x 240p screen, 128 MB of flash memory, a 256 MB microSD card included (with support for up to a 16 GB microSD/SDHC card), Bluetooth 2.0, built-in media player, 802.11b/g WiFi and a SureType keypad.

We’re not quite sure why the red model is going to take longer than the black, or if T-Mobile will be launching a rumored black and silver model. Colors will drag in more users who don’t want to buy a phone that looks all business, which is what the new design for the Pearl is supposed to do along with the release of the Storm. It seems like RIM is going hell for leather in its attempt to grab more of the smartphone market share.