BlackBerry Torch 9850

Well, let's get down to business, shall we?

RIM and now Blackberry have always been iconic for the love of the fans, users, and corporate leaders alike. Some how they know and find what the people want and deliver. The 9850/9860 Torch (or Storm 3 to others) was RIM's attempt to compete with Apple for a spot in the major mobile market.

Looking at the device, you'll see a glimmer of hope with a screen. The device rocks some pretty decent specs to be honest. 1.2Ghz Single core Qualcomm snapdragon S3 Processor, 770MB of RAM and Micro SD card support up to 128GB. RIM throws in a 16GB card, thus giving 20GB user storage onboard.

Let's start with the camera. Its a 5 Megapixal shooter with flash, Autofocus, Geotagging, face detection, and multiple photo modes. But no HDR to be expected, and you expected right. I think the camera reset after a picture is a little slow, and the photos come with a little noise, and over saturation.

Next, screen. Its a 3.7in display with a PPi around 250. I personally found the display a little cheap feeling. I mean, it is VERY easy to scratch. So I reccomend purchasing a screen protector. Other than that, it gets a full fledged pass.

Now, and finally the device. Is it still worth it? Well, that up to you. BlackBerry 7.1 has some nice apps, but no where near iOS and Android. Seriously, Windows Phone has more, and that's saying something. The good news is they are all over Amazon.com and eBay for cheap. I bought mine brand new for $101.99. However, here's what I don't like. It is horrendously laggy on some apps, I.E Bing. It will hourglass all day long on that. Also, the BBOS 7.0 and the first 7.1 will make the browser crash and be basically unusable so make sure you update the device when you activate it. It will take around 1:45 to 2 hours to update OTA so I would just download the bundle from Verizon, Sprint or AT&T assuming your in the US. Now, the battery life is good by mobile standards, but by BlackBerry, not really. Kind of mediocre to be honest. I usually get 16.5 hours of medium use at school and work, so you could easily get 2 days if your religious about it. The Data speed is horrible looking back from my Droid Mini I used. I got around 12.5Mbs here in Sacramento on Verizon however most apps are literally only a few megabytes so don't worry about that.


Final verdict, is it still worth it? Yes and no. Loads of better devices out there, but RIM really put their heart and soul into this, and it shows. If the OS and app store got some love too, then I think it'd be darn near perfect. Don't worry, almost all the major apps are there however some like Kik messenger has the be a browser download; it will tell you your device isn't supported but that's Bologna. I love it, but think RIM really cut corners to save funds, but trust me, they need them. It was a noble effort but again, Blackberry becomes a name of the past.

Got a CDMA/GSM 9850. love love love it. and the hold to touch menu is like discovering the hidden gems in a right click on a mouse. They are all over the place, meaning you will be surprised how easy it is to get done what you want by just holding and touching where you are working.. Makes copying pasting, switching apps etc a breeze. I can Take a Pic, email it with a message and get on a new phone call with speaker phoen while i browse in less time that than i used to take just to type a message with my curve. Havent missed a physical Keypad at all, and i been using one from the Treo 280 came out. I especially like the full/reduced keypad option in portrait mode. Generally the touch interface is just faster, and easier on the fingers. and teh processes is fast enough that i dont notice any lag time. Useful Apps to down load though are Lock Plus, and a battery Monitor.