subject: Blackberry Torch 9800 Smartphone [print this page] BlackBerry Bold brand was launched in July of 2008. At the time, they indeed took a bold step showing off all of the advanced features that people were familiar with in the Pearl and the Curve models plus full HTML web browsing with advanced features including RSS feed support and online social networking capabilities.
Now, RIM (Research in Motion) has released a new product family line for the slider called the BlackBerry Torch. The Torch 9800 is running the company's new BlackBerry 6 operating system. The new phone will offer a full 3.2" touchscreen, the traditional BlackBerry keyboard (although it tucks away in a slim slider design), an optical trackpad for navigation, 5-megapixel camera, 4 GB of onboard storage with an additional 4 GB media card and support for cards up to 32 GB included. (Note, although the phone offers a 3.2" touchscreen, it is only at 360x480 resolution, a resolution considerably lower than the iPhone 4 and other smartphones hitting the market at present.) The phone does only weighs 5.7 ounces.
What people are finding more significant about the new model is its BlackBerry 6 operating system. The BlackBerry 6 is a new browser based on WebKit, the same engine behind the iPhone and Android browsers. It offers tabs, auto-wrapping, text zoom, pinch-to-zoom features, social messages applications, instant messaging with Twitter, Facebook and other social tools, and multimedia performance with enhanced music and podcast service.
With the 6 OS, all of your apps reside on a tray that can be raised or lowered over your home screen. Your main apps are represented by icons on the home screen. You can also have icons for individual contacts or bookmarks. When you swipe left and right to see other screens, you will find Favorites or Recent.
A new feature of OS is the universal search. One just has to start typing and the Torch will look for apps and information both on and off your phone that might be a fit. There is also a universal inbox. All email, social network messages, etc are available for viewing on one display. Touch a specific message and it opens the application pertinent to that message. Hit the back key, and you are back to the inbox - just like a laptop.
The phone can also multitask, that is, if you are downloading music, you can run this in the background while you are using the browser or other parts of the OS.
How about applications? Additional apps can be found using BlackBerry App World, which they provide an icon on the homescreen for you to use. The phone does come preloaded with apps including Weather Channel, CNN Bloomberg, Web Video Search and Slack Radio Plus.
Besides the BlackBerry 6 operating system, the phone itself has a slide-out vertical keyboard, four hard keys including one to begin and one to end a call.
The BlackBerry Torch is only available through AT&T and goes on sale August 12. The cost is $199 when you but it with a two-year contract and data plan. The purchase of new apps will also be reflected on your AT&T bill.
