At a news conference in New York, we were finally given all the details of the new BlackBerrry 9800 named the BlackBerry Torch(formerly known as the BlackBerry Bold 9800 Slide), even with all the leaks only a few sources got the name right. The BlackBerry 9800 Torch is supposed to ignite customers with with its new touchscreen, super webKit browser, OS 6, a new AT&T messaging "experience and BlackBerry App World carrier billing.
Update 08/08/20 - Reviewers of the BlackBerry Torch liked most of the new features but would like to have seen more screen and power.
RIM highlighted the keyboard, those of who have not tried a BlackBerrry keyboard will be amazed how accurate it is and how it fits in hand. The BlackBerry Torch also have a touchscreen keyboard for whichever works best for the user.
The specs of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 are as almost as expected:
- 3.2" 360×480 capacitive touchscreen.
- 35 key full QWERTY backlit slide-out keyboard,optimally balanced
- Optical trackpad
- 624 Mhz processor with 512 MB Flash memory
- 4 GB built-in memory storage plus a microSD/SDHDsupports up to 32 GB cards; a 4 GB card is included giving users 8 GB of storage out-of-the-box
- 5 MP camera with flash,auto focus, image stabilization, scene modes, geo-tagging and zoom, as well as video recording at up to 640×480 resolution.
- Built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging.
- Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n); with free AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots.
- 3.5mm stereo headset jack
RIM has beefed up the operating system to include a social networkign feed feature for BBM, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and IM. It also has YouTube and Podcast apps. WebKit browser is full HTML with mulitple tabs, and pinch to zoom. Universal search searches email, contacts, music, videos, web and apps.
The Text Messages system supports AT&T's next-generation messaging experience, which includes group messaging with "reply all" functionality for up to 10 contacts and anew Locations feature. The Visual Voicemail, which lets customers select the voicemails they want to hear first.
The BlackBerry Torch 9800 Slide will be available on August 12, the same day as the Droid 2 for $199 with a contract. It does require a data plan, but because BlackBerry uses less data, users may be able to have plenty of data on the lower plans. Don't forget to use the AT&T Coupon-Link $50 Off AT&T Wireless with Plan for New Customers with a Contract.
Consumer Reports reported BlackBerry consumers use
about 54 MB of (compressed/optimized) data per month on average
(compared to data usage averages that are 3-5 times higher for other
brands), which suggests that the large majority of BlackBerry consumers
will now qualify to use the $15/month data plan.