It was Friday when I received a rather large package addressed to me. Inside, the Blackberry Torch 9860. First up, I’ve got to admit that I absolutely love this handset. I have had plenty of time to have a little play and a fiddle with this device, so now it’s time for me to present the facts and my opinions on this rather stunning phone. Meet the Blackberry Torch 9860…
In the box you get the following-
1) Handset
2) Manuals
3) USB lead
4) Two USB head adapters for charging- USA and UK pins
5) Headphones
10 second review.
Looking at the device you can see it’s certainly an executive device, and I love the look and style.
First thoughts and tour around the device.
When you first see the handset, ignoring the logo, you will certainly be able to tell it is a Blackberry device. With its form factor and styling I’ve got to admit, RIM have created another beautiful handset. On the front of the device you are greeted with its large and glossy 3.7” capacitive touch screen, which is the largest screen ever seen on a Blackberry device.
Under the screen you can see the usual Blackberry buttons, including their trademark track pad. Alongside the track pad you can see the call key, the option key and on the other side of the track pad you can see the back button and call and end key, and they all are tactile and produce great feedback when using them. On top of the screen you get your speaker phone and LED notification light and the various sensors around the top of the device. Sadly we don’t get a front facing camera for video conferencing, but does this really matter?
Around the back of the device you can see the very large Blackberry logo which is placed under the camera lens and LED flash.
On both sides of the device you get the usual buttons and ports. On one side you get your volume keys and the convenience key which is used for shortcuts but is set as camera as default. On the other side you get your micro USB data and charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack, so you are free to use your own headphones or headsets.
Specifications.
The Blackberry Torch 9860 has a very large touch screen for a Blackberry, and as I have already mentioned, it’s the largest screen seen on any Blackberry. The resolution is 480×800 pixels and it really does produce vivid colours, laying claim to being the brightest screen seen on any Blackberry device as well! The 9860 is powered by a single-core 1.2GHz processor which makes navigating around the screens amazing, you also get 768MB of RAM and has a 4GB of internal storage, which can be extended up to 32GB via the micro SD card slot.
In the camera department you get a reasonable 5- megapixel camera and a LED flash, which is also capable of recording 720p HD video. Pictures and videos look stunning on the devices bright screen. With the devices 1230mAh powered battery you can be free to enjoy hours of multimedia and internet browsing.
Build quality.
The Torch feels stunning in the hand and does not creak anywhere thanks to its high quality build, and that’s what I adore about this handset. The device has a silver bezel running all around the phone giving it round and tapered edges which makes the handset sit perfectly in your hand. Also I really like the feel of the battery door, it’s stainless steel metal covered with soft touch coating making the device even more comfortable.
Software.
The Torch 9860 comes preloaded with Blackberry’s latest operating system, Blackberry OS7, which is really decent. One of the main drawbacks though is that it’s not as customisable as operating systems such as Android, but still it looks decent. You can move through the OS at decent speeds though with its large processor.
On the home screen you get your pull down docks, the top one being the connectivity and settings and the one below that being message notifications. On the right hand side of both bars you get the search button and on the other you get the profiles button, where you can quickly put your phone to silent etc.
Finally, on the bottom you get the drag up menu bar full of your applications. You can download more from the Appworld but unfortunately there isn’t much apps available to download, but you get the basic duo of Twitter and Facebook already preinstalled.
Pros.
1) Great build quality.
2) 1.2GHz processor
3) Decent camera
4) Nice user interface
Cons.
1) Extremely bad value. At £465 it makes the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 look like a bargin.
Conclusion.
Blackberry have managed to create another stunning device in its own way. It’s not really an Android or iPhone killer but I still love the device. The whole form factor that makes the Torch 9860 very different to other handsets, with so many key features and specifications it makes this device worth considering.
