BlackBerry Torch Reviewed [Competition] 68
by Dieter Bohn Wed, 04 Aug 2010 9:42 pm EDT
Read the full BlackBerry Torch Review and BlackBerry 6 Review
There are epic reviews and then there's what CrackBerry Kevin has put together for the launch of this, the first serious contenter to take on the Palm Pre in the vertical slider space. Check out the massive BlackBerry Torch 9800 Review and if that doesn't give you enough information for how this might affect the Pre's chances on AT&T, hit up the equally massive BlackBerry 6 Review to see how it stacks up against webOS.
We're in agreement with Kevin that this is the best BlackBerry to date - but is that enough draw would-be Pre owners away from the fold?
68 Comments
Wow, I'm first! My membership to this great community is one year and a day old TODAY! What a coincidence that I get to be first on this day.
Back to the story, no chance that a BB will ever replace my Pre or any other webOS device. No chance!!!
This is as close as a phone will be catching up to webos. Its okay, the hardware and universal search is something that palm should pay attention to. The expandable memory up to 32GB and one of the only platforms to be able to link up to iTunes is nothing to sneeze at. Our competitor is trying to emulate us but we know there is only on Palm Pre, and this is not enough for me to go a stray. The small screen and the low specs doesn't send me. I will stick to the original, but good try.
Like the above commenter, BlackBerry is the second to last place I would ever consider going from WebOS, not that I'm considering leaving at all. But I saw an article for this earlier on MSN, and the look of the device is what caught my eye. It looked strikingly similar.
From just looking at the photo of it, I can't decide if I think the keyboard looks better or worse. Of our devices, I think the Pixi's is the best keyboard, but I like the Pre's as well, despite it being a tad small. The keys on the Torch look too indistinguishable (mind you I've never touched it, so for all I know they have a great texture to make up for no spaces between them). If it really is the best BlackBerry to date, then sweet deal for them. I work in a company that uses mostly BlackBerries and I can't say I'm that impressed with them. I love my Pre, the form factor, the slide out keyboard, the OS, the Touchstone (my new favorite thing on the planet), and the lack of external navigation buttons. I don't know why that last point is so important to me, but I absolutely love that I have gestures instead of 3 or 4 buttons at the button. I have the Sprint Pre, so I do have the center button, which I don't mind. I love that it blinks.
So, for me personally, I won't be ditching WebOS for it. But for someone looking for a new BlackBerry, sweet deal.
If those keys are anything like the bold 9700 or 9000 (which they do resemble) those are my favorite keys ive ever experienced on a phone. But thats just MY opinion.
I will actually be leaving the webOS world for this phone. At least for a little while. RIM and Palm are the two companies that i seem to stray back and forth from. I may return to my Pre+ seeing as how the RIM OS doesnt seem to have changed that drastically which is the original reason i left, due to its blandness. My pre+ just doesnt have the hardware that it needs to that i would like. By hardware i mean the slider mechanism, the screen shifting (ever so slightly) every time i touch it, the horrible small keys. There are among many other reasons why i switch.
But mark my words, I will be back :D
Wow Rei, I actually did not expect that any of the precentral reader base would leave Palm for the Torch. BB and Palm are in completely different classes IMHO. I guess maybe those on the business end of the user-base would be more likely to want to switch.
BlackBerry's target market is definitely business users, but it blows my mind how many teenagers I see with them. Really, a BlackBerry? Of all the "hip new smartphones" you went with that one to text all your friends? I don't say that as a dis to BlackBerry, but rather it seems the totally wrong context for a BlackBerry.
I see this too (in Canada), they way I explain this the cost for a BlackBerry dataplan has often been a cheaper than a regular dataplan required for another smartphone. Also BBs are more carrier agnostic, just about every carrier has at least 1 BB device.
I see the BlackBerry as more of a in-between between proper smartphones and dumbphones. BlackBerries have great messaging experiences but their app and web experiences lag behind Android, iOS and WebOS but are ahead of dumbphones.
I actually waited and waited for the palm pre+ and contemplated switched to verizon and sprint for months. But i have a problem with phones, i constantly need switching. Ive only had a phone plan for 4 years and i've had probably 10 different phones. So yeah whether it be a jump "backwards" or forwards doesnt really matter to me. Ill probably switch again in a 6 months or so.
Its not like i stay with one phone, i switch between them quite constantly. I still rotate my 3G and bold 9700 in there every so often.
Good God, you've got Phone ADD! I'll prescribe Ritalin and a higher ETF charge and hope for the best.
I like this for one reason. It shows what a larger form factor of the Pre might look like and I'm comfortable with the execution of the harware.
I dont need a 4+" screen, I do want bigger keys, I do need a bigger battery, I dont mind the vertical slider, so this is refreshing to see.
Maybe it was just the unit they had on the show, but they showed the Torch on the Engadget Show tonight. While they have similar specs to the Pre Plus, the performance was dismal compared to my ordinary Sprint Pre. That especially went for web browsing.
Just something to look at if you're serious...
Dude, are you sure this is what you want? Watch the video. It looks like 1998 and 2010 in a fight! The Engadget reviewer specifically says it's not a great device or OS. They tried to steal ideas from Palm, Android and iOS and did a poor job. Wow, I think they really missed the mark with this OS and device. See below.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/blackberry-torch-review/
I dont see whats the big deal. Your talking about a few seconds here. Its not like its going to kill me.
Secondly they praise the BB for being new, snappier, etc. Just still a step behind others.
You act like other companies dont steal ideas. Every smartphone bases things off of others. Where do you think the WANT for apps came from....
nah.
what a boring day at pre|central.net
I know nuts about blackberries but damn this thing looks nice!
Sounds like OS6 is both a major upgrade for current users, and a pathetic joke to anyone who has used iOS, Android, or webOS. OS5.x is so far behind these platforms, and BlackBerry is still behind even with the release of OS6.
Why o why didn't RIM purchase Palm. How disgustingly awesome would WebOS be on this gorgeous hardware?
the processor speed on this phone is 624mhz... I wouldnt go near calling that gorgeous in today's market
It takes less for them to use data than with other phones (if im not mistaken). Which is one of the reasons they agree with data packages put to a limit.
They dont need the 1ghz processor. Granted it could help so much more, but eh. Its also one of the reasons they have such great battery life.
Beggars can't be choosers right?
That would have been a good pairing. If HP executes Gen II correctly, that may make RIM a managerial failure case study for college students in a decade. I was suggesting this when the VZ launch was so soft. RIM needed Palms creativity, Palm needed BB's leverage and both were proud business user's Brands.
Different game now and HP needs to aim at Blackberry users and pick the low hanging fruit.
I left the BB world and came into the WebOS one and I can't be happier. I LOVE my Pre+. The Torch does look appealing I will admit that, but the OS6 that it runs is JUST NOW catching up to what it's competitors have been doing and I think when people realize that it really hasn't changed much, they will come back. RIM is very far behind the pack...
Their slider and Keyboard (no missed or double letter frustration) is better than ours :((
Plus they got WiFi capabilities that we only dream of.
Plus they got VOIP. Bhoo Bhoo
I think the question really was "would be" Pre owners. those who don't have one but like the form factor. If that is the case the name (BB) alone will do that. For those of us who use webOS, I would have said no way until I read the statement above by Rei. And on that point I hope you check out the specs before the jump (backwards)...
As stated up above, its not like it really matters to me. I constantly switch between phones and have a main one for work that i really done care if it breaks, a one for when i have a couple days off, and one for when i just need a little variety :D.
Whether it be a jump backwards or forwards i still love the BB OS, its what i started my smartphone obsession with, its the one i know how to tinker with the most, its just the easiest phone for me to use.
Dont get me wrong, i really love the webOS OS. Its just i have a hard time staying with one.
They also have a MUCH better keyboard. Glass screen. Good build...
So you have extensively used the phone and know this???? Ohhhh wait that's right...
I still know people fighting with their Storms.....
Good on RIM for giving them a nice hardware keyboard AND a nice onscreen keyboard too! Hp/Palm, you should learn from that :)
not leaving my palm pre any more until i get another better device with web os on it already try evo 4g
black berry bold and toch pro 2 but nothing comes even close to the pre on multitasking and blackberry torch i dont think its worth it
So I'm going to be odd man out and say the hardware's a butter face. From the back, she looks great. And just looking at the keyboard, alright. But something about the overall look of the face totally puts me off.
Still love the form factor, and it looks sturdy. But something about the chrome bezel warped (no typo) around the sides is blech.
From every review I've seen, it beats the Pre in just about every category I can think of, besides personal preference stuff like 3D games and "real multi-tasking", whatever that means. That said, the difference is not significant enough to make a switch. If this was released last year in June/July and was a direct competitor to the Pre, I'd choose this phone, easy. Too little, too late for RIMM. Share your shares if you haven't already.
What reviews are you reading? Gizmodo's been slamming it all day, among others.
I wouldn't say it's as terrible as what Giz says, but its certainly nothing special, and definitely underwhelming as a flagship phone.
I don't know where it beats the Pre anywhere??? Maybe BEFORE you download homebrew apps and patches... but definitely not after.
I was comparing it to the Pre. And I do agree with you, it's definitely underwhelming as a flagship phone. Let me give you some categories and some quotes to make myself clear. And to be fair, some of these quotes are from the same article you read. As good as the Pre is, it does get beat out my the Torch in a fair number of categories that matter, but like I said, not significant of a difference for switchers, I think. This is all excluding homebrew apps and patches, of course.
Build quality: Torch > Pre... Can't really find any reviews slamming it.
Keyboard: "Nothing really compares to the spacious keyboard of the original Bold, but for a device packing a larger touchscreen, there's little compromise. It blows the Pre's keyboard out of the water, for sure." - Engadget
CPU: 624>500.
Screen size: 3.2>3.1
Screen res: draw
Battery life: "The Torch's battery life is up to BlackBerry par, which is to say, thoroughly excellent. I'm talking a day and half of moderate usage, and a day of heavy plowing, without a recharge (granted, I didn't use GPS very often because I didn't like AT&T's map application). " - Gizmodo
"There were actually a few days we tested without charging overnight, and when we awoke we were surprised to find that the battery indicator had barely moved -- even with lots of emails and messages coming down while we were sleeping. "- Engadget
Apps: Not even going to get into that
Universal Search: "Universal search is awesome, and very much what it should be. If there's one thing done truly well, interface-wise it's universal search. Start typing for a contact, an app, a song, an email, whatever
IMHO, if Gizmodo is slamming it, it must be an ok phone that will keep BB users from defecting to Apple.
Even Engadget tore it apart.
What review have you read? The blackberry review by blackberry?
The phone is a failure... get with the times man.
Like the Pre is a success...then they both really have something in common because the Pre is definitely a failed phone!
I like how they allow you to adjust the sensitivity of gestures. Correct me if I'm wrong but no other phone out there does this. If this is the case then I'm gonna bet RIM will patent that.
I think this phone took a lot of the core Palm Pre features and incorporated them into the Torch. I have never owned a BB, but I know a copy cat when I see one. RIM did provide features that I wish existed on the Pre but I think that HP/Palm will add a whole bunch of new features and better hardware once webOS 2.0 comes out. RIM had to do something not to get left behind in market share especially in the business world. I think this phone is a major improvement.
Now I will just continue to wait on HP/Palm to deliver a new experience that I think may catapult webOS.
If I had to buy a BlackBerry, I'd buy this.
It actually looks like a very nice, well-built phone. It doesn't have WebOS, though, and then I love my Pre, anyways.
Did anyone else check out the Torch tv commercial that runs on the new in-store AT&T kiosk thing? Watch it and you'll notice a very familiar way > they demonstrate running through pages on the browser and multitasking. Nice try RIM, but it's not nearly as elegant as WebOS...and the browser speed isn't up to par either. (also kinda rips off how WP7 hubs are explained)
I bet the build quality does feel nice in hand though. It would be kinda funny to see a Pre2 come out with an upgraded keyboard, a 1GHz or more processor, a high-res screen and much improved battery life that would quite easily stomp on the Torch. Actually, I'd be happier if that kind of Pre2 came out and RIM upgraded the processor and screen in the Torch so there'd be more great devices to choose from with keyboards.
blackberry keeps falling and falling mid range phone at best. if you read what blackberry users are saying its not looking good only 3 of there older phones are getting updated to the new os talk about pissing off you loyals oh well i don't care i use web os and android
The phone is a failure.
Engadget gave it bad review.
Blackberry is done with. Good riddance.
WebOS is the most innovative mobile OS to-date. Blackberry tried to copy us but they they have no idea of harmony. They do not understand the concept of harmony and balance.
FAIL!
Wow what a good review that was for a phone you havent even touched. I'm glad you base your opinion on a website. As i remember the Pre gets crap all the time. Glad i didnt listen to everyone else and NOT get it.
Still winning tech awards after its first birthday. For all it's bad, it sure has packed in a lot of good.
And the Pre is a success...I don't think so!
I like the overall design of the phone but the operating system still looks dated to me. Its nice to have all those customization options and multiple menu systems and trees buts its all a bit overwhelming. The nice part of WebOs is its not complicated, it just works. You're not sacrificing alot of functionality for ease of use on the Pre.
The BlackBerry OS isn't even close to webOS. Wtih the chrome edges and the squared off top the design is what I would expect from a BlackBerry. That said if the hardware is as solid and well built as it looks I am jealous. The one gripe I have with the pre is the feel of the hardware. I am really hoping the next webOS phone has a big step up in hardware quality. If HP does just that then I will be a happy user of the second generation of webOS based devices.
I actually hate the way they are making all of the Blackberry's have somewhat of the same look.
I could not agree with you more about the hardware on the blackberry and problems with the Pre.
There's zero chance i'd buy this over an EVO or an Iphone 4 as of today and i have nothing against blackberries. Honestly i'm not a big fan of the vertical slider either. prefer a slab or horizontal but my next phone won't be a blackberry for several reasons. but this phone just has no wow factor for me.
Wow! Read the article and does that guy LOOOOVVVVEEE the BB Torch. LOL
Seriously, good for him and good for BB users alike. IMO, it makes for good "friendly" competition. I'm sure we will all be very very pleased when HP "one-ups" everyone, including RIM with the next piece of hardware running WebOS..
I'm not gonna bore anyone with too many details but I'm using an ATT Palm Pre Plus (alongside some Homebrew patches) and I absolutely love this phone. Truth be told when I first ordered online and I "opened up the hood" I was a little disappointed. No camera/video zoom was probably one of the biggest gripes as well as the "out of the box" battery life (extended battery is a must have). I got past it, found the Homebrew community and now I've customized my Pre Plus to my liking. It's a great OS and yes the Hardware may be a little less desireable, but seriously if I see someone pull another "square" brick out of their fanny pack, I'm gonna hurl...
The Pre Plus IMO is still unique in form factor. I've owned most smartphones from HTC, iPhone, BB, Nokia and Sony. None of them has integrated into my business and personal life as well as the Pre Plus. I'm patiently waiting for the next gen Pre. Viva La Pre!
Love the hardware, not too enthused about BB6. I hope the new HP/Palm hardware is like the Torch, it's very classy and sturdy looking and has expandable storage but doesn't sacrifice the Pre's paradigm.
I think this thing is going to be huge amongst the BB community.
It's pretty nice looking.
I am going to go and play with the device at an AT&T store and see what I think. I can't judge it until I try it.
I admit I am a BlackBerry person but the OS was getting stale. I actually like OS6 from what I have seen.
They also offer a Web centric SDK now which means I should be able to make apps for BlackBerry. Who knows maybe I will port my two apps over there.
I do really like WebOS and I am trying my best to hold out for WebOS 2.0 and for a new Palm device. Palm really needs to give it's current users and update if they want to keep them.
WOW someone copied the PALM PRE that all the trolls talk crap ABOUT AAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG you know the greatest form of faltery is IMATATION
For a Canadian company, you would have imagined they'd speak a bit of French.
Torch, or the verb "torcher" means "to wipe". The French commonly say "c'est pas assez bien pour torcher mon cul" about low quality products which means - free translation - "it's not even good enough to wipe my ass"
Torch may be enough for die-hard BB users to stay which is what RIM wanted. I am impressed they could get a functional webkit browser relatively quickly. I don't think their acquisition of the company that wrote the browser was that long ago. But overall, it was a inadequate catch-up effort. Just a few caveats as a former BB owner. RIM doesn't really want to upgrade its current owners' os. It's very much carrier specific and they have no problems leaving big chunks of their base left in the dark. I remember having an 8830 and their touted App world launching and being unable to use it because my BB device was "legacy." Thanks. Certainly there is no painless OTA updates like webos.
im with some of the people in this post that has seen the video. This OS is horriable, not only simplistic, but very choppy and cluttered looking. Its a cross between how apples interface is with just icons on the screen, and android where you can drag a drawer like slide to reveil applications, or notifications. The browser is very choppy, and outdated still. the design is nice, as is the rest of the physical attributes of the phone. But to say this is competition to anyone (Webos, android, or iphone) your kidding yourself. People just because somethings new dosent make it better wake up. This is a good alternative to blackberry users who want a touch screen, but want to stay with how blackberry works. Nothing exciting at all, and to say its even close to the first pre that came out on sprint last year would be a insult.
NO 3D GAMING. TOO RUSHY FOR ME. THEY TOOK NO TIME WITH THIS OS. THERE'S NOT ENOUGH INNOVATION. EVEN FOR BUSINESS USING ALTHOUGH IT'S TARGET TO BASIC CONSUMERS, STILL NOT ENOUGH EFFORT TO COMPARE IT TO THE COMPETITION OUT THERE.
It is interesting to note that the Torch phone is named after the WebKit browser dev company they acquired last year, Torch Mobile.
It appears that the most notable features of the new phone are the form factor and the webkit browser, which still seems to suffers from the original issues with the Iris Browser on WinMo.
The other most reviews seem to miss is that RIM might have also managed to create a mobile OS that can work with Touch screen only and with the Keypad/navigation buttons only.
I don't think that is an easy fear and I am not so sure they completely succeeded, but at least they haven't disappointed their current users.
It is interesting to note that the Torch phone is named after the WebKit browser dev company they acquired last year, Torch Mobile.
It appears that the most notable features of the new phone are the form factor and the webkit browser, which still seems to suffer from the original issues with the Iris Browser on WinMo (laggy rendering and navigation).
The thing most reviews seem to omit is that RIM might have also managed to create a mobile OS that can work with Touch screen only and with the Keypad/navigation buttons only.
I don't think that is an easy feat and I am not so sure they completely succeeded, but at least they haven't disappointed their current users.
I have to vent a little.... Yes if this BB Torch comes to sprint soon I'll be leaving the pre behind in lighting speed! Reality check it has been more than a yr now and all plam has come out with is a pixi which is very similar to the pre. When the pre came out I was very disappoint with he hardware. It was like a Chinese dollar store cell phone. Very plastic and never felt like a real solid phone. And after three phones all of them suffer from the battery cover door to come off. I hate that! Now to see so many more great, nice, and solid phones come out you can't help to see f' the WebOS software, heck it's like having mac os x operating system on a pc! I need nice hardware! But I was settling for the pre since WebOS is such a nice op system. But now no more! BB Touch pls come to sprint ASAP so i can spend some $$$$ to get a solid phone!!!!!!!!
Specs alone are fail. 624MHz processor? Fail. Video camera recording caps out at only 640 x 480 resolution? More fail.
This is the probably the last phone I'd choose if I were leaving the Pre. Buying a brand new phone and already being behind the curve is not my idea of new.
double post for some reason sorry
So I just passed by an AT&T store and decided to play with a Torch for a few minutes to compare to my Pre. I was intrigued to compare given the similar form factors. I did not go ape-wild and put it through it's paces - so this is a very quick impression. Of note - I have never been a Blackberry user so have no prior link to this hardware/software.
My impressions were overall actually positive despite the reviews, mostly from a hardware perspective. It was very solid feeling, and was of much better build quality than my Pre. The keyboard is larger and easier to type on overall, although the period ('.') requires an alt-key tap and I found this annoying given the Pre's doesn't which I've always found logical for a website-centric device.
The Torch screen is obviously larger, although I didn't find it any better view-wise. The on-screen keyboard was decent and usable. The browser was good but didn't impress me enough to think it better than WebOS's.
So overall - a decent copycat in terms of what Palm had tried to accomplish - I think the hardware is clearly superior, but the OS is obviously not even with their improvements, but for Blackberry faithful I think it will be enough to keep them away from a Pre2 slider given the browser and apparent multimedia improvements of BBOS6.
I always thought Palm should have advertised the Pre as the best of both blackberry (keyboard/function) and the rich multimedia/web experience of an iPhone. Since then they've been lapped by all the other makers in terms of superior hardware and copying all innovations (synergy, etc) and have their work cut out for the next device and WebOS 2.0.
But I remain hopeful and loyal for now.
^^^Just a quick tip using BlackBerry keyboards... double press the space bar and should give you a "."(period) without having to press the alt button AND long press any letter and should capitalize it automatically.
Virtual keyboard "IS" useful folks. I had a Treo, and 2 Palm PRE's. I initially thought that I could never go to a virtual keyboard. Then I made the decision to switch to EVO. I'd never do a keyboard again.... Too much Real Estate required. This blackberry is like 1.5 yrs behind.
+1
Just saw the commercial for the BB Torch and they stole it from Palm! Had the "card view" of apps behind the device and then coming on screen and showed the sliding keyboard. Not cool to steal from Palm.