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
Torch is gr8
I was an iphone user for three years. I took the iphone for a two week test drive and brought it back early. Looked seriously at the Win 7 Samsung with it's near perfect 4" screen and new op sys.
As a straight fun device, I would stay with the iphone then the Win 7 BUT I do biz stuff 50% of the time. I DO NOT NEED a higher res screen than Torch provdes. I do not need 98% of the apps available for it. I don't need to video stuff.
What I need is great reception, fast email, good spkr AND some views of sports, news, weather and some company biz web site surfing.
With that in mind - TORCH wins. I rated 4.5 because in my book there is always need for improvement. If you are a 50% plus biz user - go TORCH!
The Torch is AWESOME
PROS
This phone is a HUGE improvement over the Blackberry Bold 9700! No keyboard or trackpad issues whatsoever. Very sensitive screen that is easy to use. NO FREEZING!
CONS
The battery life is positively HORRIBLE! Blackberry really screwed this part up! The battery size is so much smaller than any other Blackberry model! I send 25 to 40 texts a day, use very little talk time, and the battery goes dead in one single day! If you text a LOT, be prepared to charge this baby every single day!
torch
To the point.
Very reliable.
Quality hardware.
Fast recent updated OS.
If you know how to touch it, it is fun.
Cons:
Battery
It is not for beginners.
Resolution is below average.
I had for a week and I will keep it.
SLOW and Sluggish
Im not sure if we are talking about the same phone here with so many good reviews,I recently went to an AT&T store to try the Torch, Ive wanted it since day one but after trying three different units Im sold on not getting it, NUMBER 1 was the sluggish processor, Its TERRIBLE with speed, especially web browsing, I love Blackberrys and i have the 9700 but the Torch can not compete with the 9700 in speed, maybe its memory or maybe its the OLD processor they used that was in the First BOLD..why use an old processor? Anyway I did love the design and was sad it was slow and seemed buggy
Plus
Good form Factor design
Great features
Negatives
SLOW, i mean SLOW sluggish
Web browsing can be very slow
Seems software in 6.0 is buggy
battery life is fare
Web browser in 6.0 is better in rendering pages but still slow and unstable
its OK
I got the Torch about a month ago it's much faster than the bold and have a bigger display thats why I got it, but I am not so happy with it. Evryday I have to take the battery out to reset the phone, and when i put it inside the OEM pouch it doesn't lock the screen or the back-light so the phone dies fast. I am thinking about going back to the bold never freeze.
My first phone review... and it goes to the Torch
I'm using the Torch now, it's great! So much faster than other bbs I had (9000,8100,8900). OS and touch screen is amazing, not as smooth as iphone, but still amazing.
Pros: Best BB out right now, love the design and solid feel. screen, photos, speed, functions is great.
Cons: I wish it had a click (like iphone) when typing on the touch screen, so I know that pressed hard enough. Batt-Pull restart is super fast sometimes, but has froze during restart a couple times for me. Battery last only a day, 1.5 days max :( I still love it
This is the first phone (out of dozens) i ever wrote a review for. I want everyone to know how great it is.
I rate this phone 5/5!
Love the Torch, especially keyboard, but feel like Iphone still gets the attention
My wife has the Iphone, but am I the only one who needs a real keyboard for typing and emailing and frankly, I really like this new Torch (upgraded from Curve) Amazing to me that Iphone users don't miss having a real keyboard to type fast.
It is weird to feel like blackberry is the underdog, but it seems like it. I admit my wife's iphone has some fun apps and wish I had a way of really figuring out which blackberry apps are best for productivity, but love some I have tried,
PROS:
Keyboard, keyboard, keyboard.
Universal Search has saved my life several times when looking for old emails or phone numbers
the edit documents Microsoft program really helps.
still love the red light notification
some phone drops, but nothing like my iphone friends.
like the folders of the new OS
email works great once registered
CONS:
sometimes the keyboard seems a smidgen too small.
wish itunes played on this.
battery life is variable and often only lasts a day in heavy use
wish there was more customer support without going through ATT to get to blackberry. The iphone folks do have apple genius help, but ATT folks don't seem to know much about how this operates
Warning: Uploaded Quickpull app and it ruined Torch to the point I had to get a new one.
I do feel overall that i love this phone and that there should be more excitement about this for business users (and writer types like me)
Look at other options...
I was having some issues with my iPhone 4 and decided to check out other options to see if it was a phone or network issue. The AT&T sales rep recommended the Torch. I was intrigued by the ability to have a touch screen and a physical keyboard.
After about 8 hours with the phone, I wanted my iPhone 4 back as soon as possible (even with dropped calls and a proximity sensor issue).
The sound quality of the Torch was bad (sounds like I am talking through tin foil-I tried two different units so I know this is pretty much the same for all Torch models), build quality is mediocre, and the phone is so, very, very, SLOW...
Pro's
-Good physical keyboard
-Legendary Email
-BBM
-Web Browsing better than other BlackBerry's
Con's
-Display Resolution is Garbage; seriously it's 2010 RIM; this is inexcusable!!
-Slow / Sluggish Interface; OS is garbage in my opinion
-Web Browsing compared to iPhone or Captivate is slow and not a great experience. Very choppy, very slow, and the resolution is bad.
-Cheap Build Quality - Tried out two different units because the earpiece was not functioning on the first unit-only to find the second unit also had the same problem. The second unit I tried the Optical Trackpad was not seated correctly and was loose and didn't function. Just feels cheap...
-Heavy compared to other BlackBerry's and Smartphone's
-App Selection sucks - No 3D Gaming..(lacks OpenGL which is needed for 3D Gaming
- No HD Video
If you are in the market for a new Smartphone, I could not recommend this phone especially for the price. I would say it is on par with the iPhone 3G or the HTC G1; compared to current Smartphone's this device is just way behind and it is quite noticeable.
I took back the Torch today (had the Torch for 24 hours which was far too long in my opinion) and am back using my iPhone 4. Very glad to be back on the iPhone 4!!!
Great Improvement
I got the Torch the day it came out and I must say I am really liking it.
Pros:
-Great browser
-OS 6 is very easy to navigate around.
-Touch screen and slide out keyboard means you aren't limited to a virtual keyboard.
-Great call quality
-seems sturdy
-5MP camera is a nice improvement
-OS 6 runs quicker than the previous OS versions
-great features included in the phone app
-proximity sensor
-universal search function from the home screen.
-social feed integration.
Cons:
-Not all OS 5 apps are compatible with this phone.
-Lots of preloaded links to software.
-AT&T put 2 trial services on my account when I signed up for this phone. I had to call them and cancel these before I got billed for them.
-There is only 1 convenience key while all other blackberries have 2.
-The USB port for this phone is located on the bottom of the side unlike most BBs so most old cases won't fit while you have the phone plugged in.
-My biggest complaint of all is that the battery cover is so damn hard to remove. The cover needs to slid downwards to remove it but whenever you try that, the slider keyboard opens up. While this phone seems sturdy, I am very concerned about accidentally breaking it while trying to remove the battery cover. I still to this day have not been able to get the battery cover off and have had to ask my friend to take it off. For people who have owned sliding phones before, this shouldn't be a big problem, but I have never owned one before so I have trouble with this.
Most of the cons are not big issues at all. The only one that really bothers me is the battery cover. The rest of the cons are really no big deal. I would definitely recommend this phone.
