Over the course of the last few days, I’ve had the opportunity to use the BlackBerry Torch smartphone by Research In Motion on AT&T in place of my BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless mobile network.
Features:
The Torch sports a 3.2″ HVGA+ display, GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities, a 5-megapixel camera, a revamped operating system, and a sturdy design.
The device is perhaps most recognizable by the slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which allows BlackBerry addicts like myself to type, type, type away with comfort.
In addition, Research In Motion has done away with the annoying SurePress system that uses the entire screen as a button (my colleague Bertrand here at Erictric lives by SurePress on his BlackBerry Storm), and went with a straight-up touch screen display. No pressing hard, no clicking.
Software:
I’ll be honest. I’ve never really been a big fan of BlackBerry OS. I’ve felt envious when my Android and iPhone neighbors are simply able to remove applications without rebooting, or without waiting several eons for their devices to boot up.
But I’ll have you know that the BlackBerry Torch runs BlackBerry OS 6.0 — an entirely different animal. I’ve been having nothing but a pleasurable time dealing with version 6 of BlackBerry OS. It’s fast, responsive, reliable, and organized (the Torch also doesn’t take long to boot up).
BlackBerry OS feels natural on this phone, and that really improves the experience.
Booting up the Torch for the first time, however, I couldn’t help but to notice an absolute ton of bloatware installed on the unit. From apps like The Weather Channel, to ESPN, to WHERE, to Fandago; I found myself setting aside about twenty minutes on Monday afternoon on my back deck taking in some sunlight and organizing the device’s interface to my preference. That process, sadly, required me to get rid of scores of bloatware.
It’s okay, whoever is responsible. I forgive you.
Size comparison: BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Torch, and my BlackBerry Curve
Hardware:
The BlackBerry Torch feels good in the hand, if I may say so myself. The rubbery backside allows for better gripping, and the slide-up screen is easy to move with a thumb-stroke. As usual, RIM’s been very good about the Torch’s physical keyboard (a virtual keyboard is available, too).
The Torch’s build quality doesn’t feel cheap, and the device actually feels quite durable. And despite the fact the device has a slide-up screen, it doesn’t feel any bigger than a traditional BlackBerry smartphone.
I truly like how RIM has taken two device types and meshed them into one. On one hand, you have the on-screen keyboard and touchscreen functionality. On the other hand, you have everything you need to not interact with the screen itself; a physical keyboard, menu buttons, and yes, an optical trackpad.
As far as the device’s camera goes, it snaps images on a 5-megapixel sensor. That means if you’re in a well-lit area, you’re going to get digital camera-grade snapshots. Shoot in low-light, and you’re going to get a whole lot of grain.
Video recording is not high-definition, but it does what it says it does, with some grain sprinkled on top.
Display:
It seems as if many users were complaining about the Torch’s screen resolution shortly after the announcement. True, the device has a 3.2-inch 480×360 HVGA+ display, but I didn’t find screen resolution to be an issue here.
As you would expect from a device manufactured in 2010, the display is bright, colors are brilliant, and it quite simply does the job.
Sound quality:
As far as media elements go, I found the sound quality on the BlackBerry Torch to be fantastic. The speaker is loud. Go too loud, however, and you’re going to find playing elements are over-modulated, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, given that almost any speaker will exhibit this behavior.
Voice quality, on the other hand, is nothing to write home about. It’s not terrible — not even disappointing. Simple: it’s mediocre. You hear me, and I hear you. But you will not find the “I’m whispering in your ear” voice quality you’re probably not looking for.
Network:
The BlackBerry Torch is only available for AT&T at launch. With that said, we’ve heard of the horror stories associated with the always-overloaded network. Fortunately for me, I’ve yet to drop a call with the Torch.
AT&T’s data speeds were alright in certain areas, and purely horrendous in others. I found myself consistently getting dropped offline this week in some outside areas, never mind inside. See, I’m probably one of the few folks who still uses AOL Instant Messenger to get in touch with friends and family. Let’s just say I’ve stopped using the instant messenger on the Torch. Either everyone hates me, or nobody’s been getting my instant messages. I’m leaning toward the latter, given that I’ve not been receiving replied to messages.
I’m not certain if this has to do with AT&T’s network dropping my packets, or if it’s related to the native AIM application, but it’s worth noting anyhow.
Other than that — no more complaints here.
Battery Life:
You need a damn good battery to keep your smartphone a’runnin’ in top-top shape, agreed? So, it would probably make sense for a mobile phone manufacturer to get a good battery in that compartment. Thank goodness, RIM’s in touch. Battery life on the Torch is fantastic.
You need a damn good battery to keep your smartphone a’runnin’ in top-top shape, agreed? So, it would probably make sense for a mobile phone manufacturer to get a good battery in that compartment. Thank goodness, RIM’s in touch. Battery life on the Torch is fantastic.
With 5.5 hours of talk time, 18 hours of standby time, 30 hours of music playtime, and six hours of video playback — I think you’ll be fine to take this phone with you sans charging cables.
With that said, I wish more phones sported the battery life the Torch does. Impressed, indeed.
camera
The phone is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera and a bright flash at the back of the phone. The camera is not that great. Not crappy, just ok. The phone can shoot video really well. You can use the extra button on the right side of the phone as your camera button. Here’s a comparison of a similar picture taken by the 5 megapixel camera of the iPhone 4:
BlackBerry Torch
iPhone 4
What I really love with the phone is its multimedia capabilities and its browser. The 3.2” screen can play videos really nicely. MP3 playback is without any glitch. The phone may not be the best playing multimedia but it’s very very capable. You can store thousands of songs and hours of videos on its 8GB of internal memory.
The browser is like a heaven sent feature to the BlackBerry Torch. Finally, BlackBerry it’s using a webkit-based browser. It’s the same browser used by Android and the iPhone. You can pinch and zoom on the browser. It’s as good as Android’s mobile chrome browser. It’s really good. Adding and syncing multimedia files to the phone is as easy as drag and drop. The speaker is really loud and clear. I was able to watch an entire tv episode using the speakerphone. You can also connect a 3.5” audio jack to the right side of the phone.
With the Torch, you have 2 options with text input. You can use the oh so great classic BlackBerry keyboard or the onscreen keyboard when the slider is down. Nothing can be more said to the physical keyboard of the Torch except for it’s simply great. The onscreen keyboard is a different story. It’s mediocre at best. You’ll miss a lot of times because the letters are a bit smaller in size. I found some delays when you type fast on it. In spite of the not-so-great on-screen keyboard, this is the reason why this phone works for me. I get the benefits of using a big touchscreen and have an awesome text input with the physical keyboard. You’ll get the best of both worlds. I remember how I used to love my Sony Ericsson P990i. It has a physical keyboard and a big touchscreen.
BlackBerry Torch
iPhone 4
The browser is like a heaven sent feature to the BlackBerry Torch. Finally, BlackBerry it’s using a webkit-based browser. It’s the same browser used by Android and the iPhone. You can pinch and zoom on the browser. It’s as good as Android’s mobile chrome browser. It’s really good. Adding and syncing multimedia files to the phone is as easy as drag and drop. The speaker is really loud and clear. I was able to watch an entire tv episode using the speakerphone. You can also connect a 3.5” audio jack to the right side of the phone.
With the Torch, you have 2 options with text input. You can use the oh so great classic BlackBerry keyboard or the onscreen keyboard when the slider is down. Nothing can be more said to the physical keyboard of the Torch except for it’s simply great. The onscreen keyboard is a different story. It’s mediocre at best. You’ll miss a lot of times because the letters are a bit smaller in size. I found some delays when you type fast on it. In spite of the not-so-great on-screen keyboard, this is the reason why this phone works for me. I get the benefits of using a big touchscreen and have an awesome text input with the physical keyboard. You’ll get the best of both worlds. I remember how I used to love my Sony Ericsson P990i. It has a physical keyboard and a big touchscreen.
BlackBerry and touchscreen haven’t previously been a great match. The first touchscreen phone from the Canadian email masters was the Storm, well-named because it went down like a wet weekend. There was much to like, such as the click-through touchscreen that confirmed each finger press. But it lacked wi-fi, was horrible to type on and the software was unforgivably flaky.
More than that, you had to ask why the company that made the best keyboards on any portable device had delivered a product without any keys at all. This week, BlackBerry’s owner Research in Motion announced the Torch: a touchscreen BlackBerry with, wait for it, a slide-out keyboard. The best of both worlds, perhaps.
The Torch looks like a businesslike Palm Pre Plus – which is no bad thing – but with BlackBerry’s familiar grid of icons. This has had an overhaul to make it look what RIM is calling ‘fresh and familiar’ as part of the new operating system, version 6, which aims to be more user-friendly to newcomers. BlackBerry has a markedly different system from other phones and does take some getting used to. While this new OS is glitzier and more intuitive, it’s an organic development from the earlier one. If you have a BlackBerry Bold or Bold 9700, by the way, the new OS will work on them too and should be available soon.
Universal Search is a handy feature on the phone. Just start typing and the software automatically looks for everything relevant, including contacts, emails and more. If there’s nothing in the device, you’re offered links to Google and other sources. Palm pioneered this but BlackBerry has added extra destinations like YouTube. It’s a highly efficient way to find things.
The new OS also has an internet browser which is massively faster than before. Multitouch is now supported so you can pinch to zoom as on the iPhone.
The battery life of this phone is great. I can last an entire day which is normal for a touchscreen phone. But if you’re a heavy 3G user, this phone won’t last for more than 8 hours. Again, this is pretty normal for any 3G smartphone. I had a great experience making calls. It’s very clear.
One of the awesome new features of the phone is its universal search app/button. It finds stuff really fast. Another feature on this phone is the Social Feeds. It’s an app where you can connect all your social feeds like Facebook, Twitter, IM accounts and your BBM. My experience with the Social Feed is a mixed bag. If you’re the type of person that only consumes information, then this is the greatest thing on earth. You’ll get a single stream of information from different feeds.
But if you’re the kind of person who replies to entries or posts, then you won’t be using this feature. When you open a post and you plan to reply to it, the app will direct you the “real” app. So for example, you need to reply to one tweet, once you click the tweet from the stream, you’ll be directed the Twitter app and do your replies from there. It’s not really intuitive. The setting up of the email, wifi, twitter, Facebook accounts and IMs are a breeze. Never got a single issue. As usual, the BBM on this phone is great.
The handset has been selling for around Php28,000 to Php30,000 in the grey market although officially, you can get them straight from the carriers. Just remember that you also need BIS data connection to take advantage of all the features of the phone.
I really think this is the best BlackBerry phone has ever made. I really love this phone for the reasons that it has one of the best mobile phone keyboard on earth and it’s also a touchscreen phone. The keyboard doesn’t takes up the screen estate. If you’re a BlackBerry user, you’ll definitely love this phone. But if you don’t like bulky and heavy phone, this one is not for you. If you’re looking for a smartphone today, I can recommend getting this one. This can easily compete with the Androids and the iPhones.
BlackBerry Torch 9800 specifications:
3.2″ display @ 360×480 pixels
512MB RAM, 512MB ROM
4GB storage (up to 32GB via microSD, 4GB included)
3G @ 384Kbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1
5MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash + video
BlackBerry OS 6.0
GPS w/ a-GPS support
1300mAh Li-Ion battery
Conclusion:
One of the awesome new features of the phone is its universal search app/button. It finds stuff really fast. Another feature on this phone is the Social Feeds. It’s an app where you can connect all your social feeds like Facebook, Twitter, IM accounts and your BBM. My experience with the Social Feed is a mixed bag. If you’re the type of person that only consumes information, then this is the greatest thing on earth. You’ll get a single stream of information from different feeds.
I really think this is the best BlackBerry phone has ever made. I really love this phone for the reasons that it has one of the best mobile phone keyboard on earth and it’s also a touchscreen phone. The keyboard doesn’t takes up the screen estate. If you’re a BlackBerry user, you’ll definitely love this phone. But if you don’t like bulky and heavy phone, this one is not for you. If you’re looking for a smartphone today, I can recommend getting this one. This can easily compete with the Androids and the iPhones.
BlackBerry Torch 9800 specifications:
3.2″ display @ 360×480 pixels
512MB RAM, 512MB ROM
4GB storage (up to 32GB via microSD, 4GB included)
3G @ 384Kbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1
5MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash + video
BlackBerry OS 6.0
GPS w/ a-GPS support
1300mAh Li-Ion battery
Conclusion:
Wrapping up this review, I’ve got to say that the BlackBerry Torch is the absolute epitome of what a BlackBerry device should be. With it’s feature-rich interface, it should attract just about any age group. It’s sleek design adapts to your personal preferences, and it basically does everything you need it to.
Aside from some network-related quirks, AT&T continues to improve their service daily, so I wouldn’t hesitate one minute about AT&T if that’s your concern.
All-in-all, it’s a great little phone — and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Another hit from Research In Motion. You can pre-order one starting today. The Torch will be available tomorrow, August 12th.
