The BlackBerry Torch is the latest series to be released by RIM, aimed at the touch screen market, whilst at the same time appealing to their exisiting customer base with the inclusion of a slide out keyboard.
The notable feature of the Torch on its release was that it was the first handset to run the new OS6 operating system from RIM, featuring a number of imporovements, arguably the most notable being an all new browser based on WebKit (the platform Apples Safari browser is built on). If you have ever used an older BlackBerry you will know how painful the previos browsers were to use, being very slow, badly rendering a lot of site and having apparently negligable javaScript support. The torch has much better connectivity than some other current models as it has full 3G support. This is nothing special, in fact, quite the opposite, the fact that RIM continue to sell 2G handsets is to their detriment, and though these handsets are being phased out you cannot get away from the fact that the BB range has started to look pretty dated of late. As well as 3G the phone supports HSDPA web browsing and the older EDGE/GPRS networks. It is also Wi-Fi enabled (802.11 b/g/n) and supoprts Bluetooth. If you are the travelling type, then you will be pleased to learn that the Torch is quad-band meaning it will work well internationally. The torch also has GPS capability with BlackBerry maps, though we have not actually tested the maps yet as you need a BlackBerry Internet Services Account to access them.
Naturally SMS and MMS are supported, and of course Email. RIM have kind of lost their edge when it comes to Email as pretty well any smartphone you get these days has some kind of email support, but what makes BlackBerry phones different is the integration with the operating system and the fact that you can access all your messages (from multiple mail accounts, SMS etc) in one place.
As already mentioned, the Torch is a touch screen slider phone, meaining it can operate in two modes, you can use the on screen keypad or the slide out full QWERTY mechanical keypad. The keypad itself is very slim and sleek. It looks the part, but at first glance it does have you wondering how long it will last! Fear not, one (of many things) thing RIM can do is make a quality handset, and the keypad slider is actually pretty solid. The touch screen has a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels (3.2 inche) and is pretty good quality.
This phone is not the best out there when it comes to media, but the Torch does include a multimedia player capable of supporting all popular video and music formats. Memory on the Torch is expandable up to 16GB which is less than a lot of competing phones, but again, this is not really what you could call a “media” phone, media is very much bare bones in my opinion, certainly, they have not pushed the boat out on this side of things, which I suppose is fair enough as most BB customers really use the business apps more than entertainment features. As you would expect it also has a standard 3.5mm audio jack so you can swap out the BB headphones with something a little more capable, should you want to use it for media.
In terms of apps there are a few social network apps included (FB, Twitter, Flickr) with many more downloadable from BlackBerrys app store. There are also document editors for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. That said, this is a bit of a con as although the apps are installed they are not licensed and will not work without a paid upgrade!, so these apps are not really “included” in the price of the phone, merely pre-installed, if you get the difference!
In terms of price, the Torch is not cheap, particularly compared to offerings from manufacturers of Android smart phones like HTC (who seem to be stealing the Android show of late). In the US you are looking at around $649 for the handset off air (price from Amazon.Com at time of writing). If you are in the UK then you can check out berrydeals.net for the latest contract prices on all blackberry handsets, the torch included, though, keep in mind those are contract phones, not off air.
In summary, the Torch is indeed a great phone, but it has some stiff competition within its price bracket. One thing we forgot to mention was the fact that the processor is a lot slower than its competitors at 624 MHz, another minus point.
One thing we really do not like is the fact you have to subscribe to BlackBerry Internet Services to use Maps and Mail, nor do we like the fact that MS apps are installed unlicensed, it just smacks of “trying to make sales commission on apps”, i.e. RIM may (dont know for sure) get some kind of kickback for each one sold. There is no point in pre shipping apps that do not work, and, in our view they should be downloadable from app world like every other paid app.
So, a great phone but somewhat spoilt by high pricing and requirements for subscriptions / licenses.
For the full spec on the Torch 9800 you can check out GSM Arena.