BlackBerry Torch 9810

Editor's Review of the Torch 9810

The Torch 9810, as its name suggests, is the sequel to RIM's debut QWERTY-slider: the BlackBerry Torch 9800. This time last year the first Torch smartphone was getting BlackBerry fans hot under the collar, so surely with its ramped-up specs the Torch 9810 can manage to do the same? Read on to find out.

Design & Build

Design is one of the first things you'll notice about the Torch 9810, as gone is the black casing of 2010, replaced by a sounds-bad-on paper brushed metal jacket. Surprisingly, this adds a touch of class to the densely-built smartphone, and gives the Torch a more playful look.

Within its new casing, you're greeted by a 3.2-inch (480 x 640) touchscreen, compared to the lower-res 360 x 480 display found on the original Torch. The slight-bump in resolution is extremely noticeable, and we'd go as far as to say the screen is almost on par with the iPhone 4.

It's not just on the outside where the phone's been given a makeover, as you'll find a faster 1.2GHz single-core processor under the hood - double that of the original Torch. While it's by no means as zippy as the Galaxy S2 or HTC Sensation, the phone is noticeably speedier and the screen much-more responsive.

OS & Interface

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is one of the first devices to run BlackBerry OS 7, along with the Torch 9860 and Bold 9900. While its not a huge-step from BlackBerry OS 7, the platform delivered a slick, fluid touchscreen interface and a greatly-improved web browsing experience.

When it comes to apps, however, the software's downfalls are revealed, as its BlackBerry App World is by no means competitive against the Android Market or Apple App Store. However, the phone did come pre-loaded with a bunch of handy goodies, including BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook and Twitter, and a couple of frustratingly addictive games.

Multimedia & Storage

On the rear of the Torch 9810, you'll find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, paired with LED flash and face detection tech. We weren't so keen on the Torch 9800's similarly-specced shooter, but things have been substantially improved with RIM's more recent handsets - delivering a super-speedy autofocus and excellent quality in low light conditions. Unfortunately, the camera wasn't so impressive when capturing 720p HD footage, which looked slightly grainy and lacking in detail.

Music-wise, you're greeted with the traditional BlackBerry Music Player, enabling you to create playlists on the go and to flick through albums in an instant. However, we weren't so impressed with the built-in loudspeaker, which, quite frankly, was absolutely dreadful.

Storage on the Torch 9810 is respectable, however. You get a decent 8GB of built-in memory, which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD.

Everything Else

As we've previously touched on, browsing on the Torch 9810 is an absolute delight. No doubt aided by the phone's HSDPA 14.4Mbps speeds and WiFi support, the phone loaded websites within an instant, and text looked bright and clear on the compact 3.2-inch screen. Our only gripe is that when we zoomed in on text it looked slightly blurry, but this is by far the best BlackBerry we've used for browsing.

Conclusion

The BlackBerry Torch 9810, undoubtedly, takes things up a level with its enhanced spec sheet - be it the faster 1.2GHz processor or greatly improved HD camera. However, if you're not so fussed about speed or media, the Torch 9800 remains completely adequate, and will no doubt see an imminent price drop.