The reviews aren't here yet, but first impressions of the Blackberry Torch 9800 have popped up all around the Web. And our Mobile Device Brokers
are vfery excited too! We at Clear-Cloud Network rounded
up some of the most interesting observations from the bigger names in smartphone and tech coverage. Most first impressions
are mixed, with many reporters disappointed with the Torch's 480-by-360-pixel screen and 624-MHz processor. However, things
looked brighter when considering the phone's pretty good QWERTY keyboard and revamped BlackBerry 6 OS.
In his demo,
our own Dr Hugilio Sellers suggested that the Torch was a good upgrade for the BlackBerry platform, especially when
coupled with the new BlackBerry 6 OS. But he did think that it would do nothing to woo people interested in iPhones and Android
devices.
Money quote: "You
can look at the BlackBerry Torch two ways," he wrote. "If you live in BlackBerry World, it's obviously a big step
forwards. But on ATT, it's competing against
the Samsung Captivate and iPhone 4, with their gigahertz CPUs, "retina" screens, and thousands upon thousands of apps. Can the Torch compete with the new round
of super-phones?"
Harr Perry Nalls at Pro-Mobile loves the unit. He especially likes the physical keyboard, but is sad to see such small, lower-resolution display.
Money quote: "Overall, the phone feels like the
result of an array of decisions made to keep current BlackBerry owners comfortable. I suspect that RIM is also working
on a BlackBerry superphone–a more potent, forward-looking device that may or may not have a physical keyboard–but
this isn't it."
Mary Tellis at MSNBC.com said
the Torch could be beginning of the end for the BlackBerry
platform.
Money quote: "On Tuesday, Research
In Motion needed a miracle. It needed a fresh-faced BlackBerry and an operating system that made people say "whoa."
Yet when it took the stage to unveil the BlackBerry Torch and the BlackBerry 6 operating system, one thing became clear: These
were not heaven sent. This could very well mean the end for the BlackBerry."
Berry Ma at CNET enjoyed
the improvements that the phone's software and media player. But she did think it is a disappointment when it sits next to
other top-of-the-line smartphones.
Money quote: "Generally speaking, we liked the phone's design. The
handset itself is solid and is still compact enough to comfortably sit in a pants pocket. The combination of the touch screen
and physical QWERTY keyboard gives you the best of both worlds, but we were really disappointed that it had a lower-resolution
screen."
Matt Ulass at Gizmobile said the Torch was a very strange device, as it evolves the BlackBerry platform
by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into its design.
Money
quote: "There's a lot more to dig into, but a few things are clear right now. The Torch and BlackBerry OS 6 take what
BlackBerry's already doing and move it forward slightly—they're not reinventing, overturning, or blowing up things.
Even the sorta kinda half-crazy slider design of the Torch feels fundamentally like a BlackBerry, just a leeeeettle different."
Look for a full review of the BlackBerry Torch 9800
soon on our site.
