Blackberry Torch Review

The relatively new mobile phone from RIM (Research In Motion)- A Canadian based company founded in 1984, which released its first blackberry in 1999. the Blackberry Torch 9800 smartphone was released in 2010.

It is the first ,  (and as of yet, the only) Blackberry Slider (you have to slide the screen up to access the keyboard/number pad- thus giving it its name). Furthermore it actually has a pressure sensitive screen, meaning that it responds at the slightest touch (unlike the Blackberry Storm which senses temperature and will most likely mean that you have to hold down for a longer time...). In addition to this it is the first Blackberry to get a 5.0 megapixel camera, not very good compared to some smartphone, but the highest quality camera on a Blackberry so far. Moreover it is the first Blackberry to receive a software makeover- it was the first Blackberry to get O.S. 6, this brings in a great bunch of features, including the new WebKit rendering engine.


Specifications:
BlackBerry Torch 9800 Key Features and Tech Specs
Size (LxWxD)Closed: 4.4" x 2.4" x 0.57" / 111mm x 62mm x 14.6mm
Open: 5.8" x 2.4" x 0.57" / 148mm x 62mm x 14.6mm
Weight161.59 g / 5.7 oz (includes battery)
Operating SystemBlackBerry 6
CPU Speed624 MHz
Memory
- 512 MB internal flash memory
- 4GB built-in storage memory
Expandable Memory
- 4GB microSD card included
- Supports up to 32GB microSD card
Battery
1270 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Display
High resolution touch screen
Half-VGA+ display (360 x 480 at 188ppi)
3.2" (diagonally measured)
Camera
5.0 MP camera, flash, auto focus, face detection, image stabilization, scene modes, 2X zoom, video recording
Video Camera
Normal Mode: 640 x 480 pixels
MMS Mode: 176 x 144 pixels
GPS
Integrated GPS with A-GPS (assisted GPS) ready
WiFiWi-Fi Band: 802.11b/g/n, support for UMA (carrier-dependent)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth v2.1; Mono/Stereo Headset, Hands-free, Serial Port Profile, Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP) and Bluetooth SIM Access Profile supported
Headset
3.5mm stereo headset capable
Network
SKU1 UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6)
SKU2 UMTS: 2100/1900/900 MHz (Bands 1,2,8)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS networks

My own personal review:
Its a great phone for socialising with as it has Blackberry Messenger- for those who don't know, its like a free chat (as long as you pay for the Blackberry Enterprise Server) of Blackberry to Blackberry, facebook, Google Talk etc. An interesting feature is the social feeds app that came pre-installed with my phone, it shows activity on all of your social connections, including BBM (Blackberry Messenger, Facebook, Twitter feeds etc.)

The web browser is a great improvement to the old Blackberry web browser, the most appealing function is  that when you zoom in on some webpages, it automatically arranges text so that you can read all the text in a line without having to keep moving accross the page as well as down.

The phone itself looks extremely beautiful, while at the same time retaining its classic Blackberry look. The phone fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. It takes very little effort to slide the screen up and down. An extremely useful feature is the lock button, which allows you to quickly lock the screen, not the old way of holding down the silent button- a definite improvement in my opinion. For those who are wary about touch screens, I also disliked touch screens due to bad experiences with other older phones of mine, but very rarely do I tap the screen incorrectly, surprisingly it is easy to use the touchscreen. With that said I will say that I prefer using the keyboard, which is very easy to use, comfortable to type with, to using the on-screen keyboard.

Hope this helps :)
How about leaving a comment below telling me on your experinces with this and other smarphones.
UK

P.S. The Blackberry Torch 2 is out now.