BlackBerry Torch 9810 by RIM Review – Specification, Features, Price

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the successor to the impressive Torch 9800 from last year. The 9810 brings to the market similar design philosophy used for the 9800, the Torch 9810 is a four row QWERTY slider. It is will be available from AT&Ton August 21, 2011. RIM with its new line of BlackBerry devices is trying to regain some its lost smartphone edge with the introduction of Android into the Market.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 AT&T

Specifications

• Display: 3.2 inch VGA (480 x 640) 16 Million Color Multi Touch Capacitive TFT
• Design: Candy Bar with Four Row QWERTY Slider
• Navigation: Blackberry Optical Touchpad
• Operating System: RIM BlackBerry OS 7.0
• Processor: 1.2 GHz Single Core
• RAM: 768 MB
• Storage Internal: 8 GB
• Storage Removable: microSD, microSDHC (32 GB Max)
• Network 2G: Tri Band UTMS 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Network 3G: Tri Band HSDPA 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
• GSM: Quad Band 850, 900, 1800, 1900  MHz
• 3G Downlink: HSDPA 14.4 Mbps
• 3G Uplink: HSUPA 2.0 Mbps
• Wireless: WiFo 802.11 b, g, n
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• USB: microUSB 2.0 Charging Enabled
• Camera: 5 Megapixel Continuous Auto Focus (2592 x 2944)
• Flash: LED
• Video Recording: 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixels) at 30 Frames per Second
• Geo Positioning: GPS with A-GPS
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity
• Battery: 1270 mAh

BlackBerry Torch 9810 AT&T

Features

The BlackBerry 9810 uses the same design styling that was used for the 9800, with some changes to the color palette. It has a mostly plastic casing with metallic highlights. The improved display provides a sharper viewing experience with vivid colors. The Torch 9810 sports the same set of ports as its predecessor; these are all located in the same place as in the 9800. The smartphone runs BlackBerry OS 7.0, though quite improved since its last version; it still has to work really hard to come abreast to the Android OS. Besides the physical QWERTY keyboard, the OS 7.0 also has a virtual QWERTY keyboard which is at times helpful when you don’t want to slide the phone and type in stuff. The smartphone comes with the standard collaboration and time management applications that BlackBerry users are so fond of.

Verdict

Like with all the BlackBerry devices, this one also sports the iconic Optical Track Pad which makes navigating through menus and positioning the cursor very easy and quick. The design styling makes it look like last year’s Torch 9800, RIM could have done better by introducing some visual differences to differentiate the differences between the Torch 9810 and its predecessor. The display though much improved since the 9800, is still not the best you could get in this size and it also suffers from low readability in direct sunlight. The keys on the Four Row QWERTY keys are stiff and that slows down typing speeds, perhaps if not limited to available area, the keys could also have been slightly bigger. This phone should have been shipped last year instead of the 9800, perhaps it is getting too late for RIM to compete in the Android/iOS/WP7 market.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 AT&T

Price

At the moment, pricing information is not available however it is expected that this smartphone will be in the same range as its competitors