Product Listing

BlackBerry Torch 9800 - Getting it Right

By Seow Tein Hee - 18 Dec 2010
Launch SRP: S$999

Conclusion

Getting it Right

The road to touch screen perfection has been a long one for RIM. With two lackluster products such as the Storm and Storm2 in its lineup, it was a grim moment for its touch screen offerings. Learning some lessons from its earlier mishaps, the BlackBerry Torch is definitely a turning point. The addition of a physical QWERTY keyboard, the one aspect that made BlackBerrry devices famous, gives the best of both worlds to the consumers.

However, what did make us a believer in the Torch is the one thing that wasn't done right with its predecessors - its touch screen. Working in tandem with the new BlackBerry 6 OS, the user experience on the Torch is much more intuitive, involving a less steep learning curve for both the faithful and first-time BlackBerry user. The various improvements, ranging from a well-categorized menu for your apps, to quick drop down menus for notifications and settings, are just some of the icing on the cake with the Torch. The introduction of a webkit browser with pinch-to-zoom and tabbed pages, and nifty preloaded apps such as Social Feeds, have also given the Torch more reasons to stay on top of the game.

Yet, it's undeniable that there is still much work cut out for RIM if they wish to keep up with the competition in the apps scene, trailing far behind the bigger players such as Apple iOS and Google Android platforms. Similarly, we aren't saying the Torch is perfect in every aspect. On the physical form factor, there are days when we had trouble with the QWERTY keyboard, especially with the top row being restricted by the display just above it. Moreover, the optical trackpad becomes a likely target for your thumb (without intending to) when you attempt to slide the display to reveal the keyboard.

Its multimedia performance proved to be an apt all-rounder, with the right amount of attention given to its video, audio and imaging quality. Compared to devices within its hardware class, the Torch is seemingly above average in stamina with our intensive multimedia test which managed nearly 6 hours. Given its humble specifications, ranging from a smaller screen to a modest processor speed, we think this is the norm, which doesn't exactly give the Torch much of a breakthrough. However when we put the Torch through our more real-world usage scenario, it actually has a much more reasonable up-time of nearly one and a half days.

With two (unsuccessful) attempts behind it, the BlackBerry Torch finally gets touch screen usage right, and prepares to take on the world with its latest BlackBerry 6 OS and improved hardware.

Unlike the earlier Storm and Storm2, we can now safely say RIM got the formula right with the new Torch. As a mobile device for both work and personal pursuits, the Torch's S$999 price tag is reasonably acceptable for a BlackBerry device, considering its mileage, smooth performance and a much more intuitive user interface.

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8.5
  • Design 8
  • Features 8
  • User-Friendliness 8.5
  • Performance 8.5
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Vast improvement over earlier BlackBerry Storm and Storm2
Best of both worlds with touch screen and QWERTY keyboard
Intuitive BlackBerry 6 OS
The Bad
Lagging behind in hardware specifications
Average battery life despite more manageable processor
Imaging quality appears overly warm
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