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
Worst Phone Ever!
I had to write a review of this phone hopefully to save the hard working American some money. Hopefully people will read this and purchase ANY other phone. I am cross upgrading to be rid of this phone, and blackberry forever. Never have I disliked a phone more than this one, the reasons are endless.
Pros: None
Cons:
Cumbersome and poorly located lock button on the top of the phone that is more sensitive than a goose bump in a cold breeze.
Angles that are deliberately designed to be hard to hold, handle, or effectively open the slider with one hand, sometimes using two hands still causes you to inadvertently press one of the poorly located call buttons.
Intermittent software freezing seemingly caused by nothing, and everything at the same time.
Poor battery life.
Complicated menu structure meant only to confuse you a little, and frustrate you a lot.
Lack of anything exciting, spark, flair, and passion.
Bad camera. Takes a long time after taking first picture, till being ready to take another picture.
Summary:
Save your money, buy a Motorola, or a Samsung or HTC. Don't waste your hard earned money on this phone.
Torch is a huge disappointment!
I have been a BBRY user for years, but the Torch just put me over the edge!
PROS:
QUERTY keyboard
Manageable size
Loud volume
Good speaker phone
Decent camera
CONS:
I bought the Torch in January and within a couple of months began having two major issues: 1)Constantly dropped calls ("CALL FAILED") and 2)Email freezes and will not send. This is an intermittent problem and has happened with different addresses and while I have been in multiple locatations/states.
BBRRY tells me no one else is having these problems, and that I have to start all over and go through all the hours of troubleshooting (as if I never had the EXACT same problems with the device they just replaced 30 days ago).
I am ditching BBRRY for the Motorola Atrix and hoping it lives up to the good reviews!
Back with Black(berry)
This is a great device.
Battery lasts for DAYS, not HOURS
Cell signal is strong, calls are clear. No dropped calls as of this review.
Wi-Fi & bluetooth connect with no issues
Touch screen and trackpad have no issues
Keyboard is great
Slider has no "oreo effect" like Palm Pre, Pre plus, or Pre 2 (yes, I have tried ALL of them)
Camera takes great pictures
I have not experienced any lag with the BB 6 OS
Only con, is the web browsing is still behind the competition, but the webkit browser is way ahead of what it replaced.
I highly recommend this phone, especially if you have strayed away from Blackberry for other mobile operating systems like Android or WebOS. This device will restore your faith in RIM and Blackberry.
Where has this phone been all my life??
I'm gonna make this short and sweet.
1. the battery life sucks
2. I LOVE EVERYTHING else about the Torch.
It took me just a couple of hours to navigate my way around the necessities and only a couple of days to figure out all the other features. this is my first touch screen phone so it was a bit foreign...for just a second. The torch is very user friendly.
Pure luxury touchscreen BB device
This phone is simply amazing. It is almost a storm with a full keyboard.
Torch proves big screen & fast CPU don't make a phone good
After trying several Android phones including 3.2 inch screen Motorola Backflip and 5 inch screen Dell Streak I really missed the speed and integration that BlackBerry provides. I learned to live without a hardware keyboard. But, not lasting a day on a battery charge and having to copy and past information between different apps was frustrating. I like to do a lot of video streaming using apps like MobiTV. On all the Android devices the video and sound got out of sync when signal strength was less than great. The Torch has much better reception (10 to 20 db higher) when you compare db levels ranter than bars. And when necessary it will pause briefly and let the video re-sync.
PROS
- Great reception
- Choice of touch screen, optical track pad and hardware keyboard
- Nice web browser
- Nice media player
- OS 6 looks nicer, groups your recently used apps for you, responds quickly and seems to manage memory better
- Universal inbox for email, SMS/MMS, and social networking applications
- Blackberry App Store
- Still has all the qualities that make you Love What You Do on your BlackBerry
CONS
- Web browser can be a little slow on graphics intensive pages
- Battery door does not fit tightly
- Phone/Menu/Back buttons could feel more solid
Unless web browsing is one of your primary uses for a phone the Torch holds its own against competitors and wins with app integration.
Outstanding Phone
I must say I have been thoroughly impressed with the Torch. I have used Blackberry's before and must say that the only downfall I had was the browser experience. With the Torch this has changed significantly. I have used both Iphones and Blackberry's (including Iphone 4 and Blackberry Bold 9700) and must admit that both have quite a few positives with minimal negatives from my perspective, however, Blackberry's have seemed more often than not to suite me the most with an Email experience that is second to none. I feel as though each individual must find the phone that suites their taste rather than badger certain phones for what they don't offer. There are numerous options and if one does the proper research he or she will be satisfied with their selection. As for me the Torch is certainly an excellent option in a Smart Phone and a dramatic improvement for RIM. This is truly an Outstanding Phone.
9800 - Best phone on the market
RIM is indeed the premier manufacture in wireless technology. I consider Blackberries a "grown up" phone. Blackberries have all the tools and capabilities to stay on top of your every day activities without losing the quality specification of a great cell phone. I am a representative with AT&T and have much experience with every device we have to offer. The Blackberry Torch is the best quality device on the market. Why?
It offers the best battery life of ANY smartphone. Every feature on the phone has been proven to be the most reliable of ANY other smartphone. And the build of the phone is definitely the most durable. The touch screen is very efficient and it has the optical trackpad for the precision movements, which is extremely handy. The multi-media is up to par with the best. Since the Torch has an excellent flash built into it, I would consider camera capabilities better than any! It even provides different options for different scenarios of pictures. The web browser is a huge leap from previous Blackberries. I find no issue with speed or capability. I would love to see HD video recording, but it does well as it is.
I could go on and on about this device and the benefits to having it, but I think you get the gist.
Blackberry Torch smartphone is the best phone on the market.
more pros:
RSS in the social feeds app and social network integration
voice clarity and recognition is above excellence
options available under the Blackberry button
customization
contact integration
threaded text messaging
universal search - fastest way to find anything
accelerometer flips both sides and forward
slider is solid
ok, done now. ha. Thanks!
MISS MY BOLD!!
Verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Disappointed with this phone!!! Just left tmobile for AT&T where i had the bold which i loveeeed i had not one complaint about that phone!! but i was curious about the iphone so i left tmobile got the iphone HATED that returned it b4 the 30 days was up n got the torch!!!!! dont get me wrong the phone is nice to look at the keyboard is GREAT as well as the camera but thats about it this phone constantly freeezes!!! i have read that the battery is good???? i dk what planet ppl r on cause this BATTERY STINKSSSSS!!! the BOLD 9780 is coming to at&t in dec n i cant waittttt to get rid of thissssssssssssssssssss!!!
Blackberry has a winner in the Torch
I have an iPhone4, Samsung Captivate & a Blackberry Torch. The Torch is the best Blackberry phone available. It is leaps and bounds better than the only other touchscreen Berry, the Storm. It works very well on At&t's network. It has better reception than the iPhone 4 and on par with the Captivate. I highly recommend this phone to anyone.
Pro's
Reception was excellent
New Operating System is a huge improvement
Touchscreen w/slider is convenient & easy to use, very responsive
Blackberry mail, as always, is outstanding
Syncs contacts well with Google Sync
Nice to have a physical keyboard as well as a virtual keyboard
Browser is much faster than other Blackberries
Feels good in the hand even if it is a bit heavy
Con's
This phone is a little bit to heavy
Volume on earpiece was adequate but not as loud as most Blackberry's
Ed. note: edited Oct 4, 2010
