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.
There are five homescreens on the BlackBerry Torch: All, favourites, media, downloads and frequent. It helps you find your stuff quickly. You can change which icons appear on each homescreen. We found the downloads screen especially useful, since files can sometimes easily get lost in the depths of your smartphone. Having them all in one place makes it simple to open, view and edit any freshly downloaded file, straight from your homescreen.
Below the screen is an optical touchpad, just like on the BlackBerry 9700. Like its predecessors, it's very responsive. Nothing more than a light swipe is required to activate it. Although slightly redundant on the Torch with its responsive touchscreen, it's still handy both for one-handed use and for veteran BlackBerry users familiar with older models.
Alongside the usual call answer and end keys is the BlackBerry menu key that acts as the contextual menu button across applications. These are all physical buttons rather than touch-sensitive controls.
The true highlight of the Torch is the new BlackBerry OS 6. The entire user interface has been redesigned. From the homescreen, simply tap the top toolbar to instantly view your connections including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and network status. From here, you can turn them all on or off as well as add new connections too.
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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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