I just purchased the Torch to replace my heavily abused Bold 9000 (still one of the best blackberry devices ever created). I also have a Curve 2 (Verizon) for work. I have been using Blackberry devices for over 4 years now and upgrade regularly when new devices become available. First the good:
The web browser has been improved by leaps and bounds. It was without a doubt Blackberry's weakest feature and although it isn't as good as say the iphone's or andoid's browser...it is still darn good. My friends with Blackberry Bolds and Curves can't help but drool with envy every time I pinch to zoom and scroll my web pages...all with a nice refresh rate.
The multitouch screen is a great addition. Again..not as pretty or nearly intuitive as the iphone's or the droid's...but a great feature to add to a blackberry. It's fairly responsive and not like that garbage that RIM/Verizon released in the Storm. Actually sometimes it's too responsive. Regardless, it's nice having the extra screen real estate to work with.
Media management - it's great to not have to wait 2 weeks for a half dozen of your photo thumbnails to pop up. Enough said!
Solid Design - it feels like a tank (unfortunately weighs as much too). I dropped the phone from about 4 feet (it was actually flung out of my hand by my very inebriated friend) and it survived without a scratch or a hiccup. This fall was incurred with no case or protection on the phone mind you. The screen was still in sms mode where it was right before it was ejected from my hands. The slider feels very solid as well. I hope it stays that way.
SMS Messaging now uses the same bubble format as BB messenger. This is a very welcome change. It's nice not having to scroll three pages to make sense of what somebody was responding to. In addition you can actually preview attachments such as photos in SMS mode. The same applies for emails. No having to download an attachment to see a preview.
The camera is a great improvement as well. It takes some nice pictures and the flash is actually semi-usable. To be honest I think this LED is the brightest flash I've seen on a phone. Now I just need to find a flashlight app.
A keyboard! I know it's small and a slider but it's so nice to be able to type with one hand and not have to rely on a touch screen QWERTY all the time. The phone feels very natural in your hand even with the slider open. The on screen keyboard is acceptable in horizontal mode and no more difficult to use than the iphone's or android's but it's very tough to type in vertical mode since it's ridiculously narrow. You are still able to easily get out simple sentences without having to slide the phone open though. The darn auto correct is handy but sure makes a mess of sentences at times.
There are a slew of other improvements but these were the ones I thought made the most of an impression.
The Bad:
The Torch is snappy but it's disappointing Blackberry didn't bump up its processor. If I'm not mistaken it still uses the same proc that's in my Bold 9000. Don't get me wrong...the phone feels quicker than most Blackberry devices but why not join the 1ghz party like the rest of the big boys?
Apps - if you're looking for apps this is the wrong phone. The app store is mediocre at best. Plus why do I have to pay 2-5 times as much for an app on my blackberry than what I paid to get it on my iphone? Hopefully the apps will improve with time.
Learning curve - the phone has a little bit of a learning curve and OS Six feels...well not complete. I wonder some time how engineers and testers miss the easy stuff. For example...to move an icon you can actually press and hold it to select options (a la iphone)...but you need to use the trackball to move it instead of just moving it on the screen with your finger. That to me feels half-@ssed. I actually ran into that issue with another item on the phone but it escapes me. Maybe I'm just being picky. Also selecting missed calls bring up a menu when you use the command button. Up pops up delete - email - text - view contact - forward - add notes - switch application - help and full menu. Unfortunately 'call back' was not one of the options. It confused me for a little while but all you have to do is to press the green call button to call back. (Thank you for all the input from my fellow Amazon reviewers!)
The menu options are vast and sometimes require several strokes to get to what you want to do. I like having a million options believe me...just not at the "touch screen" level. Also the application icon menu is nice but very busy and difficult to navigate at times. I will probably get used to it...but they could have made it a bit more intuitive.
In addition, I've noticed that some program options don't work. For example, when I try and change my contacts to sort by last name it reverts back to first name. I've noticed the same with the option to view my calendar by month instead of day. I change it but it reverts back to default. I don't know whether or not it's just my phone or all the 9800's but hopefully the issue will be corrected with the next OS update.
I have also discovered a slight glitch which may be isolated to my phone. Highlighting and selecting a text message sometimes brings you to the wrong text conversation. It takes a try or two to get it right. Be very careful or you may suffer from sent-the-wrong-message-to-the-wrong-person-insert-foot-in-mouth syndrome! (Update: Corrects with soft reset ALT-Right SHIFT-DEL)
Overall...it's a really good phone - i just don't LOVE it. Yet. Good call quality. You tube videos don't stutter like they used to. I have a web browser I can actually USE. Touch screen. So I'm a little disappointed the menu is not more like my iphone. Then again I'm a Blackbery kind of guy. And that's why my iphone is next to my night stand for a late night bejeweled session and not in my pocket.
Anyway...sorry for the long winded review but I just wanted to give everybody an honest idea of what the phone is like. I rely on Amazon a great deal for reviews and I hope this helps you.
UPDATE: The latest software update/build has corrected most if not all the quirks and glitches mentioned above. If your phone doesn't have the latest software you should update it immediately. The new build not only corrects many issues but it also makes the phone somewhat smoother/faster. The slider spring eventually gave out. Even though it's tougher to open and close now I can't believe the phone has actually survived some of the drops it has endured. Still wish it had a faster processor. I have discovered that the mute button is poorly placed on the touch screen since it activates almost every time I answer the phone and bring it to my face. Regardless, the phone has spoiled me...I can barely stand using my Curve at work. BlackBerry 9800 Torch Phone (AT&T) - Att - Smartphone - Blackberry - Torch'
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