RIM Blackberry Torch 9800 review
In the second part of our BlackBerry Torch 9800 coverage, Clare Hopping reviews the eagerly-anticipated phone to see if RIM has finally perfected a touchscreen smartphone.
The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is probably the best BlackBerry yet and the new OS 6 is one of the major reasons why. Couple this with a hugely responsive touchscreen, comfortable hardware keyboard and all the BlackBerry services you’ve come to expect and you’ve got a stunning smartphone.
If you press and hold a link it's easy to open the link in another tab, add it as a bookmark, send the link to a friend, copy the link to the clipboard, go forwards, refresh the page, or see even more options. However, there's no Flash support, which means the desktop browsing experience is not totally complete.
The 624 MHz processor has a lower clock speed than the 1GHz processors found in other smartphones. However, we didn't experience any sluggishness at all when using the device, apart from the aforementioned browser rendering issue.
The Torch connects easily and simply to standard internet email accounts. It's simple to set up or link your existing BlackBerry email accounts with the Torch. As with all BlackBerrys, your business must have a BlackBerry server running if you want to receive your email from an Exchange server. If you have more than one email account, the ability to choose which account to send an email from straight from the new message window is very useful. Otherwise, not much as changed with the email app, if only because it's already very good.
Other user interface improvments include a universal search tool on the homescreen and an updated BlackBerry Maps app. Combined with the built-in GPS, it's good enough to rival the Google Maps apps found on other smartphones.
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Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.
Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.
As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.
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