Review: BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Review of Reviews

BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Rated 4 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews

Reviewers of the BlackBerry Torch liked many of the improvements made by RIM such as the new operating systems, the dual-hybrid and touchscreen, messaging, social networking and new media features.  Most reviewers found the BlackBerry Torch to be on the slow side and not as flashy or sexy as the iPhone 4 or other high resolution smartphones, while BlackBerry users are in heaven with enough touchscreen and media features to keep them happy.

Where the BlackBerry Torch shines is with messaging social networking with updates in an unified inbox. Data is compacted making it possible for users to only need the 200 mb $15 a month data plan from AT&T. 

The BlackBerry Torch as all the expected smartphone features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, media player, with added new feature of Wi-Fi media syncing. 

Call quality was good but lacked noise cancellation and the camera worked well for the most part. 

CrackBerry called the BlackBerry Torch the best-BlackBeery yet.  The question readers have to answer is do you want a BlackBerry,  iPhone or Andrroid experience?

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 Slide will be available on August 12, 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.

Online retailers have already greatly reduced the price of the BlackBerry Torch. Both Amazon Wireless Beta and Wirefly
are selling the BlackBerry Torch at a special introductory price (too
low to show close to the big "C" discount)  for a new contracts or
renews and upgrades.

Bonnie Cha at CNET rated the BlackBerry Torch 4 out of 5, she liked the combo of the touchscreen and keyboard and the improvements of BlackBerry OS. She didn't like the sluggish speed, lower-resolution screen, apps only savable in the core memory (not microSD) and that the camera only shoots VGA video. CNET considered the hybrid of touchscreen and slide out keyboard successful and secure. The keyboard is solid and decent.  The WebKit browser that was developed by the purchase of Torch improves speed and performance.  The media playing is more snazzy and now has a Wi-Fi music sync feature. Camera features are improved but photo quality was soft. Call quality was good.  Battery life was also good.

Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the BlackBerry Torch 9800 4 out of 5 for its new good look/feel, features and social networking. It's still slower than the iPhone, has fewer apps and poor MS consumer support. Messaging is the core of the BlackBerry Torch, and could save money, a best bet for those who message all the day. The slide is very strong and the keyboard is good.  The 3.2 inch 360 x480 touchscreen is responsive. You only get data via HSPA 3.6 for Internet
as opposed to HSPA 7.2; that means Internet connections are limited to
about 1.5 megabits/sec down which be slower when used as a modem. Voice quality was good but lacks noise cancellation. Because the Torch compresses all data except video, users could save on data and be able to not pay over the $15 month for 200 mb. The browser is much better but not as fast as iPhone 4. He was impressed with the Twitter app, MySpace and Facebook universal inbox. The GPS worked fine and mapping is cheaper if you use BlackBerry maps as opposed to AT&T Navigator that costs $10 a month. The camera was quick and responsive and added geotags. Compared to other super flashy large screen smartphones, it doesn't hold a torch but lights the way for messagers and social updaters on a budget.

Kevin Michaluck at CrackBerry referred to the BlackBerry Torch as having awesome keyboard and killer email while featuring a plethora of new features including a proper touchscreen, upgraded camera and new BlackBerry OS 6, delivering a modern feeling taking messaging and social media to a new level. As a BlackBerry addict, he loved the overall one-handed-use design and the best BlackBerry-to-date.

The specs of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 are:

• 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