BlackBerry 9800 Torch - When our review of the BlackBerry Torch (also known as the Bold 9800) began, our hearts were aflutter. The leaked pictures we had seen some sort of Palm-like RIM Pre slider were different and, frankly, weird enough to kind of gadget lust cause low hum.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Moreover, although no one on the Engadget team was blown away by what the company had shown us in recent BlackBerry OS 6 demo videos, the promise of a significantly revamped user interface and new, WebKit-powered browser certainly has us interested.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Even when Research in Motion was slipping on the once unassailable smartphone game, there was a sentiment among the team that the possibility for a return to innovative, industry-wide open driving design was the Canadian company. So if our own flashlight got to play with, we were understandably excited. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - A new OS, a new form-factor (completely new for RIM), and from what we could tell, a new view of the company where the product was goal: namely, the average consumer.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - A big story in the making, right? But it's a very competitive market out there, with devices like the EVO 4G, iPhone 4, Galaxy and S line all compete for the hearts, minds and pocket books of the buyer.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Can the BlackBerry Torch pick up where the hugely successful models like the Curve and Bold have stopped? Or is the new phone too little and too late in a sector where technological progress is not by small step, but leaps and bounds? Get the answer to that question - and much, much more - in the full Engadget review below!
BlackBerry 9800 Torch
The first thing you'll notice about the Torch, of course, is very similar to the current crop of BlackBerry devices. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Besides the fact that yes, it is slid open, you're actually dealing with the same industrial design that we know from RIM in the last two years or so. Sure, there are variations on a theme, but side-by-side with the Bold 9700, it is easy to see where his appearance gave Torch.
The size and shape of the device is almost identical to the 9700, and in fact, its dimensions (4.4-inch up and down from 2.4-inches when closed) are within spitting distance of the simpler, portrait QWERTY model. The thickness varies by a small margin (0.57 inch thick was the Torch, while the Bold is 0.56-inches), but for some reason it feels much more important in retaining the two in your hand.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Compared with the more streamlined devices like the iPhone or Captivate 4 ... well, it has a full keyboard, okay? The Torch is the familiar, metallic-like (it is plastic) border around the edges of the phone, looping around back just like the Bold, but this time it's split into two parts due to the separate screen and keyboard parts the phone. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - The front of the device is largely taken up with 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen of the Torch (480 x 360, like the Storm and Storm2), but you will know the BlackBerry name, menu, back and end buttons and optical trackpad found just below the screen. Along the right side of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker, and user-assignable convenience key (it defaults to the camera), while the left side houses only the Micro-USB connector. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Refilling are mute and lock buttons, while the phone 5 megapixel camera and LED flash are in a familiar spot along the back of the phone.
As you should now know, the screen slides on a virtually invisible metal track to a rather traditional BlackBerry QWERTY reveal below. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - The sliding action feels very solid, though it is still some resistance, and we were soon problems arise using the thumb once in a while. The width of the keyboard is similar to the Bold 9700, but slightly narrower, and the keys are depressed more than the previous devices in the arsenal of RIM. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Still, using the QWERTY was completely natural and trust us when typing was almost as high as it is when using the 9700. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - There's nothing like the spacious keyboard really the original Bold, but a device for packing a larger touchscreen, there is little risk. It blows the Pre keyboard out of the water, sure.
CLIK HERE FOR BUY BlackBerry 9800 TorchIn all, we were impressed by the technical design aspects of RIM's here - the company certainly a solid, capable of the device from a hardware perspective. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - One can not help but feel that the appearance of the Torch is woefully outdated compared to some of the newer phones earlier in this review. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Besides the current crop of touch-only devices (and even compared to the company 9700), it looks old and bloated, strongly reminiscent of something like the iPAQ 110 - and that's not a good thing. There's nothing daring or lust-worthy on the draft. When we first saw pictures of the Torch, the rumor was that the model we saw was an older prototype that was discarded, and we want that kind of had been true. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - From a design standpoint, it's not enough to just run in the smartphone market - you have a buyer desire to own something on a visceral level, ignite, and the Torch misses the mark by a long shot. The GSM device is launching on AT&T's 3G network (UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 850 / 800 MHz), though we would expect to see the handset eventually roll out to other carriers in one form or another.
BlackBerry 9800 Torch - As we said, the Torch sports a 480 x 360 capacitive display, which is adequate for the device but already a generation behind the competition in terms of resolution and pixel density. In fact, almost every smartphone we've reviewed this year -- save for a few low-end models -- sport a higher res display than the Torch. We're unclear as to why RIM didn't bring the screen up to at least 480 x 800, but we suspect it has something to do with backwards compatibility with apps. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Compared to other displays, text looked blocky, and images didn't have the clarity we would have expected from a smartphone in 2010. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Touch sensitivity wasn't outstanding on our review unit, making for a real lack of confidence when it came to finger tracking. BlackBerry 9800 Torch - We feel like there's polishing to be done on the software side that would greatly improve the experience, particularly when attempting more precise pinch-to-zoom and swipe gestures (more on that in a moment). BlackBerry 9800 Torch - Oh, and SurePress? Nowhere to be found on the Torch.
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