BlackBerry Torch 9800
Phone Scoop Review
Aug 11, 2010 by Eric M. Zeman
Research In Motion's new BlackBerry Torch is sure to stoke the fires of envy in the crackberry crowd, but how does it compare to Android and iPhone? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
A stunning improvement...
It is truly incredible how such a fine device can evolve into something that can accomplish miracles as it brings life back to a world of low battery life, dropped calls, and crashed touch screens. It is time that we can find a place were social networking, apps, and bussiness users can live in peace and prosperity. This is the world of Blackberry 6 OS and what better device than the Torch to enlighten us with such an amazing masterpiece.
A real hybrid is here to satisfy the taste of those who proclaim the lack of instruments included inside the apparatus. With a capacitive tactile screen and a full swifting keyboard that will make your numbers pop, your eyes will get the glaze of true beauty compounded with social feeds and an intricate build that will allow your mind to reach new frontiers, as the battery life engage in more than just a superfluos energy, but it goes into the depths of nights and the never ending sun of day to give you the long-lasting use you diserve.The improvements truly follow the legacy of RIM.
Ok fo real tho, I just went to an at&t store yesterday and I got to play with it, I really really liked it. Very very nice phone.
Torch bringing light back to RIM!!!
This phone is just simply absolutely everything I asked for, expected, and way more!!!
I moved away from RIM to Iphone4, by upgrading my Bold 9000 about 3 weeks ago. But after having alot of dropped calls and issues with the signal (I got bored with it pretty quickly) I exchanged it out with Torch 3 days ago.
I can't believe this phone is in my hands right now. I'm actually writing this review using it. I have an all-in-one device as you can use the physical keyboard and the virtual keyboard that also works in landscape mode!
PROs:
-Amazing touch screen. Very responsive and it doesn't freeze!
-great 5 megapixel camera with bright flash(that actually does make a difference in dark)
-very bright display.
-battery life is better than any smart phone that i have ever used.(I got two and a half days on heavy usage)
-Oh! Blackberry 6 OS my love.
CONs: Still looking for some. I will update as soon as I find one.
Welcomed Improvement for RIM
i am giving this phone a 5 because it accomplishes its goal. It is a fresh improvement on the time test BlackBerries of the past. It offers plenty of new options for corporate users to blend personal and business on a nice device. It also gives the consumer another viable option in the ever evolving consumer market. It's not the coolest, but it gets the job done....That's what is important. It still has the best calendar and email for corporate users, and it adds a nice web browser as well. I really like the social feeds better than any other device, and I own an Aria, iPhone, Captivate, and a Palm Pre Plus. Oh...., and the battery is AWESOME..I get about two days of usage. No other phone delivers content the way it does in an efficient (both battery and data) as a BlackBerry.
The 9800
I've been using the torch now for about 3weeks now,updated to os .284,and its working great so i don't know why people are bashing this phone so badly i mean its a work horse not a little pony like the apple 4g and android phones which are strickly toys who cares about apps its just overwhelming....anyways the bb torch is a very good phone i am very happy with it no issues try .284 os take care.
Pass the Torch...I'm ready!
I disappeared from the blackberry scene in late January to jump on the Android bandwagon. The ride was fun and eventful but now I am back to what started it all. After playing with and having owned the Droid(original), Droid Incredible, Hero and EVO, it was a bit foreign to say the least handling a blackberry again. But I can say the transition was a rather easy one. While the display is not as bright as three of the previous four phones I named it is tolerable. The processor seems to be not as slow as the Storm2 which was my last blackberry and I am surprised being that blackberries are not known as speedy devices. The handling of the phone was more sturdy than I had thought it would be and not quite as heavy as I thought. The camera is respectable at best and somewhat surpasses the 8mp that the EVO had. The battery life is what I was hanging on and to my surprise the battery life was and is very reliable. I was amazed that it only came with a 4gig memory card excepting the fact that most phones now a days come with 8 but hey it is what it is. I encountered a few lags when booting up the device but nothing to make me turn my nose up at this phone. The call quality is again nothing to write home about but its not poor either. The reception on the device is gorgeous and I am basing that on living out of Cleveland Ohio. I went in my basement, garage and into Home Depot and reception was solid. Three things that worried me about this phone all came to pass and were solid in my eyes and those were call quality, reception and battery life. I would have given this phone a 4.5 but I am still getting accustomed to the sliding on it. Once that is mastered I think it deserves a solid 4.5. I would highly recommend this device to anyone that is bb user and if you are thinking of climbing from under the Android rock then this is the right phone to do so. Good job RIM.
not bad
I have had this phone for a while now and overall i am impressed. I do like the new bb 6 os. What i dont like is the constantly haveing to resart the phone because of it freezing and being slow. Its not all the time but it seems to do it right at the most inoppertune moments.
meh...
What can I say? The battery life's fair but slow, sluggish, and the recessed qwerty keypad the phone just plain sucks!!!
Thank God I took it back for a different BlackBerry before my 14 days were up!
OS is great! Hardware, not so much
This is my very first BlackBerry. Coming from an Android (Samsung Galaxy S) I was very excited to try something new. The BlackBerry OS 6 is great. When looking for a phone, I tend to go with something that is good with texts, emails and Internet - and it doesn't get much better than BlackBerry when it comes to that. I really enjoy using this phone, but like anything else in life, it isn't quite perfect. I find the speaker/earpiece volume to be very low. I find myself constantly having to ask people to repeat themselves. It can be somewhat embarassing when you're doing this several times during a business call. Another complaint would be the actual hardware. I chose the Torch over the Bold and Curve because it featured the latest BlackBerry OS, I liked the idea that I could use a tourchscreen if I wanted to and, well, it looks good! But, now I'm beginning to think that I probably should have went with another model, simply because my slide-out QWERTY keyboard is now very loose and I'm having a hard time with the touch screen aspect. Other than those hardware issues, I'm more than happy that I went with a BlackBerry. I'm almost positive that I'm going to stay with BlackBerry for future phones.
Excellent Device - Fewer Apps than Android
Pros:
Solid hardware
Good sound quality - I'm on AT&T and have
been all over Florida and PA with lots of
good reception
Touch works well - alternatively use
trackpad
Decent free & inexpensive apps available
Choice of touch K/B or slide out
Great screen quality
Decent camera with video
Easy to categorize apps into groups
Battery life OK, I charge every night and
rarely go below 50%
Cons:
I'm worried that it will rapidly fall
behind Android & iPhone in app
availability. Already seeing MANY apps
for those devices with no BlackBerry
equivalent. Would have rated 4.5 or 5.0
if more apps were avail.
Although fast enough, it's only 3G.
Maybe this is the same on all smartphones,
but when you upgrade the phone's OS,
it badly disrupts nearly all installed
apps (resets many to fresh install).
Lemon
Right now I'm rating this phone a 3. Just received a replacement after having my Torch for only a month. With that said ,my original purchase was obviously a lemon so keep looking for my next review after I get this replacement activated.
But I will say this, so far this phone has been a virtual pain to me on a daily basis. Today when I got to my office and put the phone on my desk the backlight went out. After going into my options to make sure the settings on that was correct which they were (100%) I literally had to take the battery out to reboot it. What is up with that?! Not to mention other problems that I spent 3 1/2 hrs. on the phone with a rep to correct. If this doesn't work with the refurb I'm kicking the Torch & AT&T to the curb.
