Hands on with RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9800

Launching in the US tomorrow, RIM's new BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be lighting up the lives of smartphone fans in the UK any day now. Reg Hardware had a sneak preview of RIM's flagship that features the first outing of the BlackBerry 6 OS. Other firsts for the company are that it's a sliderphone, so the Torch will appeal to …

[JaitcH]

Missing some Apple Lemon 4 features

It appears the Apple Death Grip and External Antenna features have not been copied by RIM. And what of Flash?

The most obvious advantages in this new RIM is that so many of the tried and tested features such as the keyboard remain meaning users of older BlackBerries will feel right at home with this new device.

No news about the battery or the charging connector. The screen appeared to be a little too reflective in the video clip as we could clearly see the users facial features in several frames.

[Campbeltonian]

Charging connector

Is there any reason to think that it won't use MicroUSB? It's what the Bold uses and it's what most manufacturers are standardising on.

[justkyle]

Actually,

All new devices in the U.S. have to have the Micro-USB. Congress passed some law. It should be interesting to see what Apple does with the iPhone's connector.

[crigga84]

Yes

Uses MicroUSB like the Bold 9700 and other Blackberry phones.

[Anonymous Coward]

re

I don't think he is asking what type of connector... probably asking about the tendency for Blackberrys to break the charging port off. They usually aren't particularly rugged or tough with that port.

[Mark Dowling]

Can't understand why RIM persist with Maps

Google Maps is so far ahead it's ridiculous. I guess they are now a competitor with Android but I load GMaps on any BB I get my hands on.

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't believe in those mythical "no coverage" outages, do you?

Personally I'd like the map data on the device exactly because the network isn't always there. But it's easy to see that this is entirely inconceivable for crackberry addicts.

[Daniel B.]

No service

I use both BB Maps and Google Maps. I like BB Maps because it actually tells me at what speed I'm moving, and the aforementioned "NO SIGNAL" situation. It was nice to see where I am, even when I was crossing an area with no coverage. I also like that BB Maps actually does support directions in Mexico City, while Google Maps doesn't (even when they have all the street info!). Of course, there's a small problem with BB Maps ... it doesn't know which of the streets are one-way.

[KidCosmique]

No res upgrade = fail

It could have been a killer device if it the res of the screen was up there with flagship Android and iPhone phones.. Instead they've opted for the same res as the 9700 Bold (480x360) which screen is half as big.

[Andy Watt]

Hardware build quality...?

That silver paint looks like it'll flake off in a few months. Does this thing feel any more solid than recent blackberries? Hardware quality on these devices has always been a real downer for me.

I've heard the slider feels pretty good, but that OS6 doesn't feel like it gets ahead of the competition anywhere. I think BB are on the way down down down... the others are catching up for enterprise security and already have a "shiny shiny ooo look" head start on UI, etc.

The need to use the back key over and over again just goes to show they haven't learned yet.

[OFI]

Motorola called

They want their 2004 slider phone back..

The silver paint looks quite awful.

[crigga84]

Errr

The silver paint has served the Bold 9700 quite well. I don't see a problem with it.