BlackBerry Torch 2, BlackBerry Torch 9810 Reviews, Updated Touchscreen and QWERTY Slider

Before the new devices got announced I was under the impression that a lot of users would be holding off and waiting for the QNX-based BlackBerry devices. I thought that RIM would be in transition and release something only slightly better than last year’s offerings, leaving BlackBerry fans to be sentenced to exile or to wait patiently for the second coming of BlackBerry.


Being shipped a new device that looked nearly identical to my current Torch 9800 only worsened my fears. The body of the phone seems to be cut from the same mold. It’s such a mirror image of the Torch 9800 that only Torch owners will know you even got a new device. If you’re one of those people who feels the need to show off your new phone you’ll probably feel unfulfilled with the new Torch.
For those who care more about actual performance, this is the device for you. The new Torch is nearly twice the phone that the old Torch was. This has to be the most significant update with the smallest jump in model number I have ever seen. After a week of using the new Torch, I found myself eating my words because my faith in team BlackBerry had been restored.

Better processor and more multitasking functions

I was a big fan of the Torch 9800 but I found it a little underwhelming when it came to battery life and multitasking. The processor on the Torch 2 runs quite a bit faster than the old Torch 9800’s. Clocking in at 1.2GHz, it’s almost double the rate of the Torch 9800’s 624MHz processor while maintaining some pretty decent battery life. Counting Megahertz is somewhat futile when comparing smartphones; one chip’s 624MHz can potentially outperform another’s 800 MHz. It’s more about how the chip works in conjunction with all the other engineering elements.

I’m not sure if I’m able to say that the new Torch is twice as fast but I am willing to put myself on the line for saying that it’s at least 50% faster than it’s predecessor.

Keep in mind that the Torch 9810 is still new and has yet to be fully optimized. When I first got the 9800, there was an OS update that came a month after launch that optimized battery, cut boot times in half and made navigation a bit smoother and more responsive. Right now my Torch 9810 has what seems to be a 3-minute boot time that I hope will be cured in the first update.

Best Liquid Graphics:- OS lag reduced to acceptable levels

My biggest criticism of the Torch 9800 was that the extra flair put into the animated navigation was laggy. Users could really tell that they were causing a delay because actions were carried out about a second after you made them. I noticed the delay most when I wanted to mark my messages as read, I would have to wait for the OS animation to complete or the message will still be marked unread after exiting back into the messages list. Small stuff I know, but waiting for a computer for the sole reason of “seeing a pretty fade” is just bad design.

I know that all this OS glitter is something that consumers apparently demand. Why bother animate a smooth transition between two screens if you can just cut there? If I could turn off all the swipes and fades in favor of a less resource-intense cut, I would.

All this to say that Liquid Graphics has corrected the noticeable lag between OS transitions, and improved response time for swipe-based navigation, as well as pinch to zoom navigation.

Design - exactly same as the Torch 9800

I’m very pleased that they didn’t change the design. The upside is all the advantages of the old Torch remain: a well-balanced, large touch-screened, keyboard-driven super-phone. Your old Torch 9800’s cases, skins, battery doors, Micro SD cards, batteries, data cables and chargers are all compatible with the Torch 9810.
A couple of things they have improved are the lightweight metallic body and the new and improved slider hinge. The new Torch is now a bit lighter, more rigid and it takes a lot less coordination to open.

The white space represents the Torch 9800 screen resolution

Display: 3.2 inch diagonal touch screen display with more pixel density

The New torch has a 640×480 display, up from the 9800’s 480×360 display. The display is about as bright and you probably won’t be able to tell too much of a difference between the two models until you realize that your font is a couple of points bigger than what is was on the old Torch.
If you love tiny fonts and packing as much detail as you can on to a mobile screen, you’ll be thrilled about the new Torch’s increased pixel density. There are close to 80 percent more pixels on the 9810 and I didn’t consider the 9800 to be lacking in this department at all.

Optical trackpad:- still awesome

There is nothing to report here except for that since the dawn of smartphones, RIM has continually developed some of the best controls schemes designed specifically for mobile. Some users still feel nostalgia for the old scroll wheel, and I think everyone can agree that the new trackpad was an incredible upgrade to the sometimes-temperamental multi-directional scroll ball.

More app memory and more on-board storage

The Torch 9800 had 512MB of application ROM while the Torch 9810 boasts 768MB. With 50% more installed app memory, you can install a few more apps and games before noticing those extra-long boot times. The on-board drive space has been doubled too with 8GB for photos, music and other files. The Torch 9810 has a MicroSD slot that can accept a big 32GB card, bringing the total storage up to 40GB. While this is an improvement, it seems like storage is fast becoming a cloud-based service and we’re no longer concerned with RIM’s choice of SD Cards.

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