Since the clamshell KickStart from Research In Motion isn't ready for prime time yet, I think it's a bit premature to give it such an extended review, but the addicts at CrackBerry.com disagree. They've given the unreleased phone a thorough look-see. What do the editors over there think?CrackBerry.com almost negates the validity of its entire review right from the start. They write, "keep in mind the device we're working with here is prerelease. While the hardware of our KickStart seems to be pretty close to (or perhaps actual) production caliber, and the OS is "close", it's possible (and in the case of the OS version, guaranteed) things will change-up a bit by the time you can walk into your local carrier store and buy this device."

That doesn't stop them from diving nose first into their own version of Tony Montana's mountain of (insert name of white, powdery illegal substance here).

CrackBerry.com's first impression of the hardware is that it is big, especially when opened. They write, "Flip the KickStart open, which by the way is easy to do with one hand, and the KickStart looks MASSIVE. The internal LCD is big (a good thing), but there is a lot of 'border' surrounding it which makes the top half of the phone appear large. On the base, the KickStart's 'Next Gen' SureType keyboard features oversized keys -- we're talking literally twice the size of the keys on the Pearl." It is a thick phone (11/16ths of an inch), and the size takes some getting used to compared to the Pearl, for example. But the build quality was high, and it will hold its own against other flip phones.

They also took it to some wireless stores, where sales agents said that if it is priced competitively, it will likely outsell flip phones from other manufacturers.

In the end, CrackBerry.com concludes, "The KickStart has a lot going for it -- bigger display, bigger/easier to type on keyboard and most important to some, OS version 4.6."

It has not yet completed its review of the new operating system, but you can read the full report of the hardware here.